Colonoscopy Dangers Everyone Needs To Be Aware Of

There are many colonoscopy dangers that not many people are aware of.

In this blog post, you will learn what a colonoscopy is. Then you're going to discover some severe side effects of this procedure. And finally, you will find out about the hidden economic agenda of colonoscopies.

What Is A Colonoscopy?

Colonoscopy is an exam used to detect changes or abnormalities in the colon and rectum. During a colonoscopy, a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope is inserted into the rectum.

A tiny video camera at the tip of the tube allows the doctor to look inside the entire colon. The scope bends so that the doctor can move it around the curves of your colon.

It also blows air into your colon, which expands it and helps the doctor see more clearly. You may feel mild cramping during the procedure.

If the doctor sees something abnormal, he may remove and identify any unusual growths or polyps. 

An experienced doctor performs this procedure in about 30-60 minutes. The physician will give you medications to make you feel relaxed. He will also make sure that you cleanse your colon before the procedure.

How To Prepare For A Colonoscopy

You need to clean your colon before you do the test. In general, this consists of drinking a cleansing solution. Or you might drink a clear liquid diet for several days.

You may get a list of specific foods you need to avoid for a couple of days before the procedure.

Another thing you might get is laxatives or enemas. After your colonoscopy, you will stay in a recovery room for about 30 minutes for observation. You’ll likely have some gas and bloating from the gas your doctor placed into your colon.

After the procedure, you’ll wait for about an hour to allow the sedative to wear off. You can't drive for the next 24 hours until its full effects fade.

If your doctor removes tissue or a polyp during a biopsy, he'll send it to a laboratory for testing. Your doctor will tell you the results often within a few days.

A colonoscopy can be as dangerous as colon cancer. Find out why in the next section.

Colonoscopy Dangers You Need To Know About

Colonoscopies are far more dangerous and deadly than doctors admit. Many have attacked it as being unnecessary and dangerous since it's development in 1969.

An estimated 70 000 (0.5%) patients will be injured or killed by a complication related to this procedure. This figure is 22% higher than the annual deaths from colorectal cancer.

The casualties don't include the colon prep and the anesthesia. Nor does it include the cancer risk from radiation exposure from virtual colonoscopies.

Harms from a colonoscopy may arise from the preparation, sedation, and procedure. In the United States, serious complications occur in an estimated five out of 1000 procedures.

Biopsies or removing polyps increase the risk of serious complications, including bleeding. 

Perforation Of The Colon May Lead To Death

One of the most severe colonoscopy dangers, often leading to death, is a rupture of the colon. It occurs in about one per 1000 procedures when the doctor accidentally pokes a hole in the colon.

Each year the U.S performs between five and 15 million colonoscopies. That means about 15 000 Americans die as a result of this routine procedure. To prevent one death from colorectal cancer, 1250 people would need to have a colonoscopy. 

For one life saved from cancer, one life is lost from a complication, like perforation. Up to a third of all colonoscopies routinely miss polyps and cancerous tumors. They also miss almost 100% of all polyps in the right ascending colon.

There are no clinical trials that show that colonoscopies are safe. It means we use it based on its income potential, not proven health benefits.

Another risk of colonoscopies is the solution you need to drink before the procedure.

The Laxatives Used Before A Colonoscopy Can Cause Gut Imbalances And Infections

You may drink a two-liter enema of synthetic laxatives about an hour before the colonoscopy.

It's called Mechanical Bowel Preparation (MBP) and is unnecessary. This cocktail of chemicals can cause heart failure, thrombosis, and kidney damage.

But the most damaging effect is that it destroys your bacterial flora and balance in your colon. Your colon is then wide open for infections by bacteria, yeast, viruses, parasites, and more.

The average colon contains 3–4 pounds of bacteria. If you’re healthy, most of that consists of good, healthy bacteria. But when you drink the solution, the harmful bacteria take over.

It's Impossible To Sterilize Endoscopes

Another problem with colonoscopies is that it’s impossible to sterilize them completely. That means that they spread harmful viruses, bacteria, and other pathogenic microorganisms.

There are many tiny nooks and crannies in and around the tip of the scope, which are difficult to clean. Biopsies of these scopes have revealed microscopic residues from previous patients.

There can be traces of fecal matter, tissue, blood, and mucus. So first, doctors wipe out your natural protective microflora. And then they expose the colon to an infected colonoscope.

You cannot boil this high-tech device. High temperatures destroy the sensitive electronics and optics.

At present, medical personnel bathes the scopes in a disinfectant solution. About 80% of endoscopes sit in a 2% glutaraldehyde solution for 10 to 15 minutes. But it is not enough to disinfect the air/water channels inside the endoscopes. 

If not rinsed off completely, it can cause colitis. Other side effects include cramps and abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and hemorrhaging.

Ethylene oxide gas sterilization is also ineffective. Of all the endoscopes, colonoscopes are the most difficult to sterilize.

Hospitals Don't Spend Enough Time Cleaning The Scopes

Cleaning an endoscope takes a lot of time and must be done by hand. But hospitals don't scrub, disassemble, or heat the scopes.

Gastroenterologists often cram in as many as 30 to 40 procedures per day. The AMA estimates that the basic procedure takes 75 minutes of a physician’s time.

But in reality, the total time the physician spends with each patient is about 30 minutes. This is according to medical journals, interviews, and doctors’ records.

With such an assembly line, there is little time to clean the scope. Even the government can’t agree on how long it is needed to clean the devices.

The FDA says endoscopes should be disinfected for 45 minutes to kill bacteria. But the Centers for Disease Control believes it takes 20 minutes.

So if there are many dangers of a colonoscopy, then why are doctors recommending them? Learn the shocking truth next.

The Hidden Economic Agenda Of Colonoscopies

Every year, millions of healthy individuals submit themselves to this invasive procedure to detect colorectal cancer. Men and women over the age of 50 are often recommended to get tested either by:

Despite that there are three acceptable screening methods, most doctors still recommend colonoscopies. 

Sigmoidoscopies tend to have ten times fewer complications than colonoscopies. But most doctors still recommend a colonoscopy.

Most doctors fail to review all the options with their patients and just choose for their patients. Colonoscopies are the most expensive screening test that healthy Americans undergo. They often cost more than childbirth or an appendectomy. 

The other screening options I mentioned before are cheaper and as effective as colonoscopies. Despite that, colonoscopy has become the go-to procedure in the United States.

They've defaulted to the most expensive option, without any data to support it.

Doctors Get Kickbacks If They Push For Colonoscopies

Many physicians push for colonoscopies because they get financial kickbacks for referrals. 

Doctors are more likely to make referrals if they benefit financially. A colonoscopy can cost up to $3,000 for each procedure. Therefore it has become the gold standard for colon cancer prevention.

Hospitals, drug companies, device makers, physicians, and other providers benefit from high prices. Therefore, they favor the most costly treatment option, even if there are cheaper choices.

Other developed countries often use stool tests or the FOBT test. Only a few recommend colonoscopies or sigmoidoscopies. That may be because most physicians in the world don’t get paid by each procedure.

In many other developed countries, a colonoscopy costs a few hundred dollars or under $1,000. That shows that the United States is paying far more money then they need on health care.

Americans pay more for almost every interaction with the medical system. Colonoscopies are a multimillion-dollar industry. Therefore, the industry doesn't want to let go of their golden goose.

Cancer Screenings Exist To Create New Cancer Patients

As with mammograms, colonoscopies exist to create new cancer patients. It’s part of the cancer sales funnel. Cancer screenings create future customers.

If they find cancer, the next step is often chemo, radiation, or surgery. The biggest winner is pharmaceutical companies that earn insane sums of money.

Even if colonoscopies find cancer, it will not save your life in the long run. Doctors will still recommend chemo, radiation, or surgery.

Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation known to cause more cancer. Chemo also causes more cancer when you inject toxic poisons into your body. A famous study showed that chemo only has a success rate of 2.3 percent.

If you want to prevent colon cancer, you need to change your habits. Learn how to do that next.

Colon Cancer Is A Lifestyle Disease

Colorectal cancer is a lifestyle disease. Your genes do not cause it. The majority of people in the high-risk group never get it. This means that colorectal cancer develops based on lifestyle choices.

The best way to avoid colon cancer is through prevention, not early detection. If you want to avoid colon cancer, you need to change your health habits.

This conclusion came from twenty-two experts from 10 countries that reviewed more than 800 studies.

To learn ways to avoid colon scroll to the end of this blog post.