NOTE II

Several positions are indicated as suitable and efficacious when an enema is administered, but perhaps that which will insure both comfort to the subject and complete flushing of the colon is the flat-on-the-back posture. In order that this may be conveniently assumed, a specially constructed table is of great assistance. A table, such as this, now in use at the sanitarium of the author, carries the following measurements:

Length of top, over all, 44 inches;

Width of top, over all, 18-1/2 inches;

Height of rear and higher end, over all, 23-1/2 inches; Height of front and lower end, over all, 16 inches.

Four sturdy legs, properly braced, support the top.

Lengthwise from the middle of the top, grooves, such as are carved into drain boards, run to the lower or front end of the table, thus permitting surplus water to be guided to the receiving vessel, usually the bowl of the toilet.

A semi-circle of four and one-half inches' radius is cut into the center of the lower end of the board that forms the table top.

This stand should be placed in front of a toilet with its lower or front end projecting partly over the bowl.

The subject, with head supported by a small pillow lies upon the table on his back, with feet raised so as to rest upon the upper edge of a low toilet tank.

In order to guard against spatter from discharges, an oil cloth sheet should be draped over the front of the toilet tank, with its lower edges extending below and inside the roll of the bowl. This sheet should be attached to wall and end of table in any convenient manner.

Instead of the usual fountain syringe, the author employs a tank of galvanized iron, holding approximately four gallons of water. Its measurements and shape are as follows:

A flat back 10 inches wide by 15 inches high;

A semi-circular front, 19 inches around from edge to edge of back, to which it is soldered along the 15-inch edges;

A semi-circular bottom piece soldered to the two pieces already described;

Two stout metal lugs, holed for screws, are riveted to the top edge of the back for wall supports;

A substantial and convenient small faucet is soldered into the center of the lowest point of the circular front of the tank. To this faucet are attached five or six feet of rubber tubing with the necessary rectal tube inserted at the extremity.

By the use of the table described the internal bath may be administered with but small effort or inconvenience either to patient or operator. In case of inability on the part of the patient to perform the acts necessary to the procedure involved, the operator should seat himself on the right side of the subject, in which position he can easily insert and extract the rectal tube, as well as control the flow of water into the colon.

This auxiliary appliance is of the greatest assistance in administering the enema to children, to the very ill, or to the helpless bedridden sufferer, and it is often preferred by those who are able to assume the various positions and to perform the necessary acts without the help of another.

The tank, for which measurements are given, is also a convenience, in that it obviates successive refilling of a rubber bag or hospital douche of small capacity. It should be suspended upon the bathroom wall with its bottom about five feet above the floor, this height giving through gravity just about the correct amount of force to the flow of water entering the bowel.

The author expresses the opinion that her experience in the administration of the internal bath is greater than that of any other known exponent. And out of that experience have evolved the two appliances here described. They have proved invaluable additions to comfort, cleanliness, and ease of performance in what is always an unpleasant but necessary task attached to the practice of natural therapy.

NOTE III

Those who do not wish to go to the trouble and expense of building their own apparatus, as described in Note II above, may find the J. B. L. Cascade an easy and convenient method of taking an internal bath. This device is distributed by Tyrrell's Hygienic Institute of New York, and it may be found at most good drug stores carrying rubber goods. The author considers that, for taking an internal bath, the J. B. L. Cascade is the most effective and most reliable of the many patented devices that have been put on the market.