Part 4 (1/2)
NOTE.
If the water is not readily expelled do not attempt to force it out by straining. Instead, flatten in the abdomen by forcibly contracting the abdominal muscles.
PART IV.
HOW TO USE IT.
Having endeavored to show the true nature of disease, the rational method of treating it, and the superiority of the ”Cascade” over all previously existing methods for carrying the treatment into effect, it may be well to explain the actual manner of using the ”Cascade.”
In the first place, the reservoir should be thoroughly washed out with slightly warm water, to get. rid of the factory dust. At one time it was the practice to cleanse them all thoroughly before fitting them, but purchasers got the impression that they had been used by other persons, so it was decided to abandon that practice and send them out with the dust of the factory in them, in proof of their newness.
Having cleansed the reservoir, the faucet should be shut off and a level teaspoonful of the antiseptic tonic dissolved in a little warm water in a cup or gla.s.s and poured into the reservoir, which should then be completely filled with water as hot as the hand can comfortably bear; not to simply dip the fingers in and withdraw them, but so that you can immerse the hand and allow it to remain without discomfort. If tested with a thermometer the water should be from 100 to 105 degrees Fahr., but the hand is a safer guide, as it prevents any possible danger from a thermometer out of order, or mistaking a figure in a poor light. If tested by the hand you are absolutely safe, since water can he used twenty degrees hotter internally than externally, but in its pa.s.sage from the body it would he painful to the external parts. Hot water is the best solvent for impacted faecal matter, and, on the other hand, water below the temperature of the body is likely to cause pain. If the hands are impervious to heat, an excellent plan is to test the water with the tip of the elbow, which is a most sensitive part of the body.
It is necessary that the reservoir should be absolutely full to insure the exclusion of air, as that is also likely to cause pain, and, in addition, its presence is likely to prevent the proper reception of the water, as, according to an established law in physics, two bodies cannot occupy the same s.p.a.ce at the same time. For this reason it is advisable to solicit the bowels before taking the treatment, as, if even no faecal matter is expelled, pent-up gases are frequently liberated.
The reservoir having been filled as directed and the above directions carefully observed, the ”Cascade” should be laid down and the ”injection point” screwed in. It is then ready for use. Being all ready, the stick of rectal soap should be dipped in water--to moisten it--inserted in the r.e.c.t.u.m and withdrawn. This is simply to lubricate the pa.s.sage and facilitate the admission of the ”injection point.”
Then, standing in front of the seat on which the ”Cascade” is lying (as if preparing to sit down), pa.s.s the left hand between the lower limbs and grasp the handle of the faucet, to guide the ”injection point” into the r.e.c.t.u.m, and then carefully sit down upon the ”Cascade.” When the ”injection point” has been completely introduced and you are comfortably seated, relax the muscles and allow the whole weight of the body to rest freely on the ”Cascade,” and turn on the faucet, partially at first, then, after a few seconds, turn it on fully and you will readily receive the water.
The most convenient place to use the ”Cascade” is in the bathroom, placing it on the closet seat; or you will find the ordinary bedroom ”commode” a suitable article for the purpose, but if neither of these are available, then any firm seat, such as a wooden-seated chair, will do, but taking care to have a vessel at hand in which to discharge the contents of the bowel.
As soon as the faucet is turned on and the water begins to flow into the body, proceed to practise the following movements: Commencing in the right groin; stroke firmly but gently, right across the pelvis, or lower edge of the abdomen, to the left groin, then directly upward with the hands to a point just above the umbilicus, or navel, then straight across the body and down to the right groin. These movements are directly over and along the course of the colon, and if they are made gently but firmly, the water will be a.s.sisted on its course. A study of the diagram of the digestive apparatus at the commencement of the book will be of great a.s.sistance in enabling you to understand the reason for and the method of these movements.
It sometimes happens that after a small quant.i.ty of water has been injected there is a strong desire to expel it, which is sometimes due to nervousness, induced by the novelty of the operation. If this be so, shut off the faucet at once and resist the inclination, when, in a few minutes, the desire will have pa.s.sed away, then turn on the faucet again. Be sure to allow the full weight of the body to rest on the ”Cascade,” and have no fear. It is the weight of the body itself that furnishes the motive power and to ease up the pressure defeats the object.
As soon as all the water has entered that you feel it possible to receive, turn off the faucet, rise from the ”Cascade,” sit over the closet, or vessel, and allow the contents of the bowel to escape. At the same time repeat the stroking movement previously described, but this time reverse it, commencing in the right groin, up, across and down to the left groin. These movements have a three-fold object: they a.s.sist the water in its pa.s.sage backward and forward, thus shortening the time of the treatment; they force along the acc.u.mulated matter in the colon with the current of water, and help to dislodge adherent matter from the walls of the colon.
As we proceed on the a.s.sumption that the colon is more or less impacted (which experience shows), we do not antic.i.p.ate that more than two quarts will be received at the first treatment, but as the acc.u.mulations are removed by successive treatments, the capacity of the colon is increased, so that at the end of the second week enough should be received to completely fill the colon. The amount of water varies, of course, with the bulk of the individual, but the capacity of the colon, in the average well-grown adult, is about four quarts, but even in the case of a person below the average size, it may safely be a.s.sumed that three quarts of water are absolutely necessary for a successful treatment.
The presence of from three to four quarts of water in the body will naturally distend the abdomen and produce a little discomfort, but no apprehension of any harmful result need be entertained. Rest a.s.sured of this: it is absolutely impossible to rupture the colon, unless you were to use a force pump, and even then, before the point of rupture could be reached, the pain would be so intense that you would be compelled to desist. Again, as we have pointed out, the colon is a wonderfully elastic organ, and it would be an impossibility to distend it with water to the same extent that it is frequently distended by faecal acc.u.mulations.
Whenever pain is present during the treatment it is usually due to one of two things: either the water has not been sufficiently hot, or the reservoir has not been completely filled, but, if in spite of these precautions, pain should be present, it will be found advisable, after a small quant.i.ty of water has been injected (say from a pint to a quart) to shut off the faucet, rise from the ”Cascade” and expel it; then, upon returning to the ”Cascade,” it will usually be found that the cleansing of the lower portions of the bowel has removed the trouble. The same method of procedure holds good when there is any difficulty in injecting the water. In cases where pain is persistent, even although all precautions are taken (although such are extremely rare), a decoction of anise seed made by steeping a tablespoonful of the seed in a pint of boiling water, added to the water used for flus.h.i.+ng (omitting the antiseptic tonic), will act as an anodyne on the intestine, and completely subdue the pain.
The frequency with which the treatment is used will depend upon the nature of the trouble and the length of time it has existed. In the great majority of cases it is recommended to be used as follows when commencing the treatment: The first week use it every night; the second week every alternate night; after that use it twice a week, or as occasion seems to demand it. For the simple preservation of health, twice a week will be found amply sufficient. After using the ”Cascade”
it will be found extremely beneficial to inject from a half pint to a pint of cool water and retain it. This will be found not only a valuable rectal tonic, but an excellent diuretic as well, as it will pa.s.s off by way of the kidneys, cleansing and purifying those organs.
The ”Cascade” should not be used within three hours after eating a full meal, as, if both the stomach and transverse colon are distended at the same time they press upon each other, and the stomach, being the more sensitive of the two, nausea is likely to be produced; but although (with the above proviso) the treatment can be used with benefit at any period during the twenty-four hours, yet, just before retiring at night is by far the best time to take it, for several reasons. Firstly, it is usually the most convenient time for the majority of people. Secondly, it invariably induces a good night's rest; for no sleeping potion can equal its effects in that direction.
Thirdly, night is Nature's repairing season, when she is busy making good the ravages of the day--replacing the waste by building fresh tissue and by putting the system into a cleanly condition and purifying the blood current; at that season you are co-operating with Nature and may confidently expect, and will undoubtedly secure, the best results.
After using the ”Cascade” it is quite possible that there may not be a movement of the bowels until late the following day. This must not be considered as evidence of constipation, but simply a lack of matter to discharge. In a perfectly natural condition of existence there should be at least two movements of the bowels during the day, but it must be remembered that the human system has acquired bad habits, and it will require some time before perfect conditions are re-established. If, however, from a half pint to a pint of hot water is sipped in the morning, certainly not less than half an hour before breakfast, it will stimulate the bowels to action, even though the ”Cascade” had been used the night before, while its cleansing effect upon the stomach will a.s.sist the digestive functions in a marked degree.
It may be accepted as a truism that success invariably excites envy, therefore, it is but reasonable that the astounding results that have attended this method of treatment should have aroused a certain amount of antagonism. The hardy individual who dares to propose a new departure in the method of treating disease must be prepared to hear his theories ridiculed, his system denounced, and, possibly, his motives impugned. Consequently, it is not surprising that the ”Cascade Treatment” has some objections urged against it.
The first objection I am confronted with is, ”it is not natural.” I willingly concede that point, and will add that neither is an obstructed and engorged colon natural.
We are living (in a large measure) an artificial life. In his barbaric state man obeyed the calls of nature without regard to time or place, and it is safe to a.s.sert that under those conditions an obstructed colon was an unknown quant.i.ty. But in deference to the demands of civilized life we disregard Nature's calls and defer the response until a convenient opportunity presents itself, and for this violation of natural law, a penalty is inflicted.
An obstructed colon, therefore, being itself unnatural, man is obviously justified in using the brains that Nature has endowed him with to cleanse it. An artificial limb is unnatural, but would the same objection hold good that because a man has had the misfortune to suffer amputation, he must, therefore, limp through life on crutches, rather than use the mechanical subst.i.tute that man's ingenuity has devised?