However, most people use enemas as part of alternative healing and wellness therapies, because they are relatively simple procedure to perform whether self-administered or by another person. The colon is the end portion of the human digestive tract (large intestine) and it is approximately 5 to 5 and half feet long and 2 and a half inches in diameter. The intestine function is to conserve water in the body and eliminate the waste from the body which, in average individuals, may have 10 to 25 pounds of dried fecal matter lying down in their colon that increases it size with obesity or allergic patterns.

Regardless the selected therapy, colonic treatment benefits can often be quickly observed in the form of improved bowel function altogether with bright clearer skin, increasing of mental clarity, and fewer headaches in comparison with those observed before the cleansing. Enemas are effective in primary bowel conditions of IBS, where colic and spasm may be relieved, as well as in constipation, where the impactions can be expelled while the bowel muscle is exercised by water temperature variation and also diverticulosis where regular elimination is important.

With the use of enemas as colonic irrigation method, many secondary conditions accompanied by poor bowel mechanics can also be aided, especially those affecting the skin, kidneys, lungs and urinary tract. The colon, as all these other eliminative organs, is responsible for eliminating waste from the body, but over time, it might lose its ability to properly do it from the gastrointestinal tract due to an improper lifestyle, poor diet, or abuse in alcohol or drugs intake.

Colon cleansing hydrotherapies are benefic to destroy all anaerobic organisms in the large bowel, including pathogens that produce a wide range of diseases. Enemas can remove parasites from the intestines thanks to the warm water used in the therapy which has a definite calming effect on the nervous system. A colon cleansing treatment in overweight people can eliminate as much as 8 to 30 pounds of dried fecal matter over a series of treatments by merely cleansing out their lower gastrointestinal tract, clearing the colon of the waste material, stimulating the immune systems and restoring proper pH balance to the body.

Enemas associated with the colon cleansing practice, allow freer passage of nutrients into the blood by increasing prevention of toxic absorption via healthy mucosa and creating a favorable environment for "good bacteria" and micro flora required for proper digestion and promoting the return of normal, regular bowel movements. Other common health problems that are helped by enemas and colon cleansing hydrotherapy include common illnesses such as insomnia, allergies, anxiety, worry, irritability, asthma, fatigue, depression, tension, cold hands and feet, loss of memory, loss of concentration, blood pressure, menstrual problems, overweight, flatulence, poor appetite, abdominal distention, indigestion, colds, prostate trouble, sagging posture, hemorrhoids and hypoglycemia.

Finally, immune and circulatory problems often also improve with colonic treatment, including the treatment of cancer in its early stage.