Ok I just had to laugh at this, until I realized people will die if they follow this advice. Below are some snippets, the full link can be found HERE. They describe a strange creationist idea about vestigial organs, which culminates in the advice of NOT getting a burst appendix removed. Some of the most dangerous and bizarre claims I’ve ever read!

“Most doctors have acquired the opinion that mutilation is the only option in the case of an appendicitis, and that without them death is inevitable. We can thank the stupidity of evolutionists for this harmful misconception.”
(...)
“...Richard Schulze, the successful naturopathic doctor so hated by the FDA and AMA for being successful, has outlined the way that he has dealt with appendicitis, which I will outline here. Appendix problems are caused by poor diet and severe constipation. The first thing that he recommends is to immediately stop eating and get an enema. A high enema, or high colonic, is very much preferable. A series of regular rectal enemas may have to suffice, if the proper equipment is not available. The enema will relieve the pressure that has built up inside of the appendix. It might even be a good idea to start with a rectal enema and work your way up to a high enema.”
(...)
“Fasting is recommended to be done for a few days, during which time only juice or water should be drunk and some herbal laxatives. An appendix problem is much more serious if there has been a perforation. If there has been an infection caused by a perforated appendix, antibiotic-like herbs should be taken in very heavy doses. Purple coneflower (or echinacea, echinacea purpurea, pallida and angustifolia) and garlic (Allium sativum) are recommended. A light massage of the abdomen would help at this point, but it should only be done with great care, if there is inflammation.”

Oh, followed by an anecdote where someone TREATED THEIR CHILD THIS WAY (and should be charged with a crime!):

“Sandra Ellis describes treating her daughter for appendicitis in which the appendix actually did appear to have ruptured. She followed Jethro Kloss’s advice and used a lobelia poultice, which was supplemented by Christopher’s formula that added ginger, slippery elm and mullein. She also used comfrey tea and herbal enemas, olive oil and lobelia poultices, chamomile tea, catnip tea, alternating cold and heat packs, and reflexology. Her daughter recovered without an appendectomy, and without any infection.”

And how did this mother know that “the appendix actually did appear to have ruptured.”?  This is the other part of the problem - people completely misdiagnose some mild problem as a life threatening one, treat it with “natural” products, the person gets better, and they are sure that their medication cured the life threatening problem.

In this case, the kid quite probably got a mild case of food poisoning, had gut cramps, and the mother “knew” it was a burst appendix.

Occam

Very true, I was wondering that myself - maybe the kid had a virus and the mother claims she “cured her of appendicitis.” If no doctor was seen, she surely made her own homemade diagnosis based on the general location of the kid’s stomach pain.

But even just the fact that she was convinced it was the appendix, and did nothing, is criminal in my eyes. If some stupid adult wants to treat their own appendicitis this way - by all means - take themselves right out of the gene pool! Won’t bother me much. But I’m worried about an innocent child dying this way. The death rate for a burst appendix is very high.

What is so dangerous about this, is that some yahoos will read this nonsense on the “godly websites for good Christians” and, not wanting to listen to those “evil evolutionists” who recommend appendectomy, follow this nonsense resulting in the death of a child.

I took care of a child who died of a ruptured appendix that led to acute pertonitis. She had an undiagnosed appendicitis, just a bad stomachache. Her parents thought she’d eaten something that upset her stomach. After a few days she felt better and went back to school. Days later she was suddenly very ill and in septic shock from acute peritonitis and bowel rupture. She died despite surgery and all of the other procedures, medications and equipment at hand. That person did not have a ruptured appendix. I would not believe it unless it was independently verified through the ‘medical establishment’, I have cared for too many ill patients with a ruptured appendix to believe it is an anomalous reaction.

You both make excellent points. Once again there is no scientific evidence here, just a bunch of claims by ignorant people. How in the world does an untrained individual with no access to any sort of medical diagnostic testing make a definitive diagnosis of a ruptured appendix?

The idea of giving a high colonic enema to someone with appendicitis is just insane. If they haven’t already perforated that could easily do it.

That guy is as crazy as this one..William Campbell Douglas, MD.. He claims among other things that smoking is no where near as harmful is doctors claim it is ( and he’s supposedly an MD ). What a quack.

Oh that is so sad! That poor little girl, Asanta! I don’t think I could ever be a pediatric nurse in a hospital. All those tragic cases where children and infants die… I’d not be strong enough to handle it. Although I’m sure the reward of the lives saved and changed for the better is wonderful, I just don’t think I could ever handle the tragic deaths. As it is, I cry and become horribly depressed just by reading certain stories on the news (this week a little girl in Florida is presumed kidnapped or dead, and I was sobbing over that! I had to slip into my son’s room and give him a kiss while he slept just to comfort myself.)

Yes, I think it’s safe to say the “anecdote” was false. A child with a ruptured appendix would most certainly die. Having this false anecdote posted online as “medical advice” on a fanatical Christian website that suggests “good Christians” shouldn’t have surgery at the hands of “evolutionist doctors” is just criminal. The whackjob Hovind that runs the site has a HUGE following in the biblical creationist movement! His “theories” have been presented as “evidence’ of creationism by people who want the bible taught in science class. So he’s not some obscure blogger, he has influence in the evangelical community. It is frightening.

Macgyver, I was thinking the same thing - if an appendix was infected and inflamed, why on earth would someone blast water up there? Do they want it to rupture? What an idiot.

To lighten the mood a bit, I noted something rather funny PZ Myers pointed out in his blog, regarding the appendicitis enema/colonic advice: “I’ve noticed that quacks are often obsessed with sticking things up people’s asses…” Geez, it’s so true! Many weirdo natural sites advocate such things. What is it with quacks and the back door?

Update: The creationist nut-job Christian Theme Park owner who posted that “medical advice” on his website has had it removed, thankfully! The link to that particular page of his website is not working. (Or it’s just overwhelmed with hits now that it’s linked on many skeptic blogs?) The man is sitting in Federal Prison for tax evasion at the moment, dictating his website entries over the phone and writing them in letters to family and followers.