All over Europe enemas were regularly recommended by Doctors and were used in the home by many families for good health, to treat common infections, acne, ‘pinworms’ and the prevention of Diverticulosis. For teenagers and adults high enemas of at least 4 quarts (liters) and up to 6 quarts, were considered essential for effective results. These practices were adopted in America from about 1850 onwards, and were popularised by Dr. Harvey Kellogg, who references many European Sources in his Manuals.
Because of the difficulty in taking in enough solution for effective enemas, colonic irrigations were developed and slowly replaced the more uncomfortable high enema treatments, especially in America at the turn of the century, but to a lesser extent in Europe and England.
Regular large volume enemas were recommended in Medical books in many European countries during the period 1850 to 1950. Here are three reports with references to Medical books:-
I am Hungarian. My parents owned a lot of medical books. Once when I protested about the high enemas that they gave me, they showed me some articles in the old medical books. The doctors there, advised giving high enemas to children and adults. My mom always used a full 6 liter bag. For me routine enemas as a teenager were at least 5 liters. My mother, who was the frequent enema giver, also insisted on the holding time of 20 to 40 minutes, as prescribed in the books. I am sorry now that I ever got rid of those books, because many people today don’t believe that doctors once recommended the large volumes and long retention times for regular home enemas. From Peter 2003.
I am 55 now and from Austria. I am very familiar with very large enemas. My Mom was a Doctor and insisted on very large enemas. I got them at least once a week. I don't think that those large enemas were only given in Austria. My mother still owns books of doctors recommending large enemas for children, teens and adults. These books were published in Austria, Germany, England and one book was translated in German, originally published in Bulgaria. My mother is still alive and in good health.
At Age 12 I got large enemas of 4 liters. Mom did not measure exactly but I was on my left side and she stopped when nothing more went in. At Age 14 I got enemas of 6 Liters, restrained to a bed made of Wood and similar to a gyn table. Always light soapy water with salt. The retention time was 30 minutes. A bladder catheter was used. Two reasons: after some Liters inside you the pressure on the bladder caused additional pain, so the Urine could leave and there was also more space for the enema solution in the body. Mother also introduced a 1,4 meter long colon tube. From Herb – 2014.
If someone is given large enemas on a regular basis from childhood on, they get used to it. If you get your first 4 or 5 liter enema at the age of about 14, by the time you reach 17 or 18 large full enemas of 6 or 7 liters, are not difficult to take, although they are uncomfortable and sometimes a little bit painful. My son is well and fit, and he does a lot of sport. Also I never was severely ill. I know that full enemas are healthy, so I insist on the high volume of 6 liters and sometimes up to 7 liters and the long retention time of 32 to 40 minutes.
As recommended in Medical books and as I was taught, I make sure he retains this enema for a total of 32 minutes - 8 minutes at his left side, 8 on his right side, 8 lying on his back and 8 in knee-chest position. Sometimes if it seems that he can tolerate it, another 8 minutes standing at attention. He is healthy and never had constipation or acne problems. From Anka – Croatia - 2007.
Many family doctors in Europe recommended regular large volume enemas for teenagers and adults. Here are three reports of Doctors who recommended large volume enemas:-
My parents visited an old Doctor nearby, who always recommended very large enemas. He told my parents that a 16 year old boy or girl should learn to hold enemas of more than 5 liters. So my mother gave me and my sister enemas on a regular basis from childhood until we were students and over 20. She gave me an enema-series twice a week. After two or three smaller enemas (2 or 3 liters) I always got a very large enema.
From age 14 on the large enema was 5 liters of herbal tea with baking soda. Mother used a 5 liter can. Once a month when she wanted me to be really fully distended, for the prevention of diverticulitis, she topped up the 5 liter can from a pitcher and I got up to 6 liters. She used a balloon nozzle. Although these enemas were always uncomfortable I had to retain them for 20 to 30 minutes. From Gustav – 2005.
I'm from Northern Germany. Mom gave me an enema every week. At the age of 17 I got pinworms and mom asked our country doctor for help. He recommended daily enemas for 6 weeks. The doctor and my mother both believed in the benefits of very large enemas, so when my mother told the doctor that she gave me 4 liter enemas which I could hold for 15 minutes, he told her that I was old enough to start taking adult enemas of 5 to 6 liters. Mother was pleased to hear this.
Mom wanted to make up for lost time, so on the very first day, she urged me to continue the enema until I was holding the full 6 liters. It was painful, but mom encouraged me to hold it in for 15 minutes. After a few weeks of these daily enemas, I could hold the full 6 liters with little discomfort. Mom was very strict and a good teacher. By the end of the 6 weeks of daily enemas my mother had decided that from then on 6 liters was to be the standard amount for my weekly enemas. When I was 19 mom taught me to take 6 liters by myself.
I saw a doctor recently. When I told him that from the age of 19 my mother taught me to take regular weekly enemas of 6 liters, I told him that I had continued these enemas till today. He said that not many adults these days are willing to take 6 liter enemas to completely fill the colon for effective results. He said that my colon was OK and that I could continue with these large full capacity enemas provided I did not experience any pain. From Julia F - 2003.
I am 52 years old and from Germany. My parents are both doctors and enema givers. I got very large enemas on a regular basis. As a teenager I got an enema series at least once a week. They used a lot of different solutions, like soap and soda, syrup and water, milk and honey and a lot of different herbal teas. Some 5 liter herbal tea enemas I had to hold for 60 minutes. For the large enemas I was tied to a gyn table, and given a bladder catheter. Each series ended with a 6 liter enema - holding time: 30 minutes. Sometimes I got a full distension enema of 7 liters or more. This enema was painful! The holding time was 45 minutes.
From P.K. – 2009.
Regular large volume enemas are still used and recommended by some European Doctors today:-
In middle Europe very large enemas are still in use. Last year I went to a pharmacy in Villach (South Carinthia, Austria.) I asked the lady if they have 6 liter irrigation cans (enema cans). She said, “No, but I can order 4 liter or 6 liter cans from the manufacturer. You can have a big can within 2 days”. I asked her if 6 liter enema cans are often sold and she said: yes, not so often as 20 years ago, but often. There is a boom in Health care and alternative medicine in Europe, so large volume high enemas, I think, are becoming more popular now. From Herbert – 2005.
I am married to a Doctor who comes from India and studied in Austria. He works at a hospital and runs a medical office nearby my father's one and often they work together. After studying at university at age 22 I married my husband and one year later we got twins (girl and boy). They are 10 years old and also no strangers to enemas, including large ones with long retention times. When they are 12 or 13 we will start with really large enemas to full distension.
I still get the enema series including a full capacity enema of 6 liters once a week and a series including full distension enemas of 7 liters once a month. My mother still helps me, but also my husband (who is a Doctor too and also from India) and my aunt.
Retention time is always at least 30 minutes but mostly 60 minutes and often longer, for large enemas, crampy enemas, or very soapy ones. These facts might be difficult to believe, but very large enemas have been a tradition in Europe and are still being used today. For a teenager to accept enemas of 6 or 7 liters requires a long period of training. From Indira – 2010..
This European tradition was also adopted by Naturopaths in England. I have a booklet published by Health For All Publishing Co., Great Britain, in which a High Enema is defined as consisting of ten Imperial pints (or 6 US Quarts):-
The High Enema - In the high enema the water is forced much further up the bowels and some ten pints [10 British pints = 6 liters] of water are used, but it is wise to get this treatment under professional care, otherwise it is possible to do harm. Many people feel this type of apparatus holds the key to their health and are very disappointed when they are unable to get such treatment. Although unwilling to condemn this attitude entirely, I feel that better results could be had by a closer attention to diet. From About the Water Cure - Russel Sneddon 1965.
The following is probably the most thorough enema procedure that has ever appeared in print in English. It is recommended by a highly qualified therapist in his Naturopathic Textbook:-
Anyone wishing to take a colonic irrigation should always be properly prepared by spending at least one day on an all-fruit diet before starting. At least eight hours should have elapsed after the last fruit meal and it is always best done after a night’s rest. [The day on the fruit diet and 8 hour fast ensures that the stomach and small intestine are completely emptied thus preventing nausea.]
The results with an enema can in the private house can be just as good as the colonic irrigation apparatus. It is best to obtain an 8 pint size (5 US quart), as this is the normal maximum used in this way. Inject the water on the left side or in a kneeling or crouching position. The left side is perhaps the best position. The first irrigation should not exceed 1 pint of water at body temperature and this amount can be increased by 1 pint on each succeeding day until the patient’s maximum [from 6 to 8 Imperial pints or 4 to 5 US quarts] has been reached.
When the desired amount has been absorbed, the patient should continue to lie on the left side for 10 minutes and then turn to lie on the back for a further 10 minutes with careful kneading of the abdomen. After this the patient turns over to the right side for another 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes in the face down position. If, during this time [in the face down position] the retention of the water becomes intolerable, then it should be expelled and a longer time aimed at with the next irrigation.
If it is found impossible to hold the water for this length of time on the first day, there is no cause for alarm and greater lengths of time can be aimed at quite successfully in following treatments until a maximum of forty minutes has been reached. Quite often the encrustations of many years will be harmlessly expelled by a course of these irrigations and in many cases the patient will feel rejuvenated. From Naturopathic Practice – Hewlett-Parsons - 1968. Pages 134 – 135.
[Note: The author recognizes the difficulty in the retention of the enema in the face down position, because of the increased pressure caused by the weight of the body on the distended abdomen. Nevertheless in spite of this difficulty, he recommends aiming for the full ten minutes retention in the face down position, to ensure the loosening of hardened encrusted waste.
This long retention of large volume enemas was recommended for achieving results with home enemas, which it is claimed can be as effective as a professional colonic irrigation.
The author has the following qualifications:-
Fellow and Secretary of the Register of Consultant Herbalists and Homeopathic Practitioners
And sometimes Vice President of the Guild of Naturopaths and Osteopaths.]
Naturopathic Practice – A Text Book – Thorsons Publishers – London.
This German Colon Therapist correctly warns of the dangers of electrolyte imbalances in the blood for the long retention of large enemas:-
“Beware of using tap water or a soap solution, especially when large quantities of water are used and retained for a long time. Soap solutions result in unnecessary irritations of the colon and plain water risks upsetting the sugar and salt balance in the blood, which can result in great tiredness and even total collapse. Solutions used for enemas should ALWAYS contain a teaspoonful of table salt to each liter of water used.”
From Claire Boewer - Colonic Clinic - Munich.
To avoid the difficulty in retaining large volume enemas for as long as 30 to 40 minutes, some therapists prefer to repeat the enemas up to 5 or 6 times with a few minutes retention each time. This repetition is mentioned on a current Naturopathic website:-
Many doctors believe that enemas can only be truly effective if they are high-volume enemas of 4 to 6 quarts. High-volume enemas can give the same results as professional colonics. As with professional colonics, many believe that high-volume enemas should be repeated within single sessions until bowel movements are clear. However, listen to your body regarding its limit of repeats within a session. For instance, if you just feel too exhausted, stop. From Naturopathic Control Blogspot – 2014.
For those sceptics who don’t trust any anecdotal information, you can check my references to the Naturopathic Text Book and the current Naturopathic website. (I converted their cups to quarts, because how many of us would dispense enema amounts in cups rather than quarts.)
Howard, Retired Medical Technologist.