We now come to the most important feature of the subject—the means for putting it into practice, for it will readily be admitted that such an admirable and common-sense method of treatment should have the most perfect means procurable for its application, but until the present time the available means have remained crude and undeveloped. This, however, is scarcely to be wondered at. It is the history of all important discoveries.
Those great natural forces, steam and electricity, although their value was recognized, yet required the aid of inventive genius to develop their possibilities; in fact, it has required three-fourths of a century to bring the locomotive to its present state of perfection, while the potentialities of electricity are as yet only surmised. This being so in matters that offer a rich pecuniary harvest to the inventor, it is little matter for surprise that improvement in a means of combating disease should progress slowly. In the first place, it was a new departure, unheralded to the world, and frowned upon by the members of the orthodox medical schools; consequently there was no tempting bait of a handsome profit to encourage the inventor, and until lately the indifference to matters pertaining to health was proverbial.
When Dr. Hall commenced his famous experimentation upon himself, the only appliance available for the purpose was the old-fashioned bulb syringe, which is simply a flexible rubber tube with an egg-shaped receptacle in the center. One end of the tube is inserted in the rectum, while the other end is immersed in a vessel of water, the injection of the fluid being accomplished by alternately compressing and relaxing the bulbous portion. It is needless to say that the process of “flushing the colon” copiously, the only effectual way, was a tedious, inconvenient and imperfect matter with such a crude appliance. After the lapse of a great number of years the “gravity” or “fountain” syringe was invented, which consisted of a rubber bag with a long flexible tube attached to its lower end. The bag was suspended from a nail or hook several feet above the individual, the water being forced into the body by gravity, the pressure being increased or diminished by raising or lowering the bag. This was a distinct advance upon the bulb syringe, but it still left a great deal to be desired. In the first place, they are both exceedingly tedious, a serious objection in the case of weakly or elderly people; secondly, both methods necessitate the uncovering of the lower portion of the body, which is decidedly unpleasant; and, most serious of all, it is impossible to prevent the admission of air into the intestine, and that is a fruitful source of pain and discomfort. It should, however, be borne in mind that both of these appliances were devised for an entirely different class of operation (namely, vaginal douching), and were only used for intestinal treatment because there was nothing better at hand.
Another method, sometimes employed by progressive physicians, consists in using, in connection with the fountain syringe, a tube from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length, made of a firm but flexible variety of rubber. This was introduced (its entire length) into the body, the theory being that it was necessary to get behind the impacted mass and force it out ahead of the water, which was theoretically correct, but in practice found sadly wanting. In the first place, the opening in the eye of the tube became clogged with the fæcal matter, and, secondly, with the double tube employed for the return flow, the opening was too small to allow of the passage of solid substances. The introduction of the catheter is a process requiring considerable skill, and a perfect acquaintance with the anatomy of the parts, so that personal use of it is practically impossible, or, at least, attended with considerable danger. An examination of the diagram of the digestive apparatus at the beginning of the book will enable the reader to understand the difficulties attending its introduction, since it has to pass the sigmoid flexure (No. 12), and the splenic flexure—that angle of the colon where the transverse portion turns to descend. With such a tortuous road to travel, the risk of injury to the sensitive mucous membrane is excessive—hence this instrument should never be used by the patient upon himself.
The author, however, felt that there must be an easier and more effective method of irrigating that important organ—the colon—and one unattended with any risk, and determined, if possible, to devise some better way. After much patient and tireless experimenting he invented and perfected the “J. B. L. Cascade,” a mechanical appliance which completely rids the process of all its objectionable features, and enables young and old, weak and strong, to use the treatment without the possibility of danger. It achieves the desired result far more effectively than any other known apparatus, with the least possible inconvenience to the patient, and yet so gently and easily that the operation, so far from being distressing or disagreeable, becomes a positive gratification.
The letters J. B. L. are the initials of the words Joy, Beauty, Life, which aptly indicate its purpose and effects, for we confidently claim that its use will infallibly confer these three great blessings, it being the one safe and sanative method of regaining and preserving health. Without health there is no joy in life, and perfect beauty cannot possibly exist, while with health life becomes indeed worth living.