DIY enema kits are the bottom line in health craze
A Brisbane mum is taking healthy living to the lower level by selling do your own enema kits, including flushing with celery juice. She claims the divisive treatment is not to be pooh-poohed.
QLD News
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A Queensland mum is selling at-home celery juice enema kits she claims have health benefits for those struggling with health issues, including cancer.
Medical experts say there is no risk with the growing alternative health trend, but warned there was no evidence it would help a range of health issues.
Happy Bum Co founder Kyah Seary has run a colonics studio in Thorneside for the past year.
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“There were absolutely no products, I looked at trying to stock them in my clinic for my clients and I couldn’t find anything remotely suitable, they were either dodgy or you had to go to a sex shop to buy them or they were so medical,” Mrs Seary said.
The mum of two became passionate about colonic irrigation as a teenager after struggling with severe constipation.
“By the time I was 16 they wanted to rip out about 90 per cent of my colon … the medical world just didn’t have any answers, so we had to look elsewhere,” she said.
“I started having colonics and it absolutely changed my world, I couldn’t believe the difference.”
She said the response to her home enema kit had been “amazing”, with clientele ranging from people suffering mild constipation to cancer.
“We certainly don’t claim that it would ever treat cancer, it’s something to help the body detoxify … like eating well, doing enema to detoxify, getting some sunlight,” she said. “We have a lot of people who are doing the coffee enemas for natural cancer therapy, a lot of people with inflammation or immune disease, women’s health, even pregnancy … some people are just looking for ultimate wellbeing, they just want to be as healthy as they can.”
Mrs Seary said parents purchase the enema kits to provide relief for constipation in children.
“It’s a non-toxic way to help them clear their bowels,” she said.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland chair Bruce Willett said the risk of complications from a TGA-approved enema was low, but there were risks from overuse.
“If you use them more than you should, you could absorb too much water and you can disturb the electrolytes in your blood,” he said.
There was no evidence available to support claims bowel detoxification had medical benefits for people with regular bowel habits.
“There are people who have serious bowel problems and chronic constipation – there is sometimes a role in it for them – but this idea of washing the lower part of your bowel out as a medical treatment when you don’t have any bowel problems, there’s really no evidence for it,” Dr Willet said.
“You’re really only washing the last 10 or 20cm of bowel out so you’re really not making a big difference.”