Biotherapeutic Drainage

“Drainage is the individualized combination of measures
to ensure the regular elimination of toxins that burden the body of a person.” — Dr. Leon Vannier

What Is Biotherapeutic Drainage?

Biotherapeutic Drainage is a method intended to support well-being by promoting the body’s efficient elimination of metabolic waste products while supporting the proper functioning of organs, tissues, and glands.

Under normal conditions, cells release waste products into the surrounding tissues. Drainage is the process by which these materials are carried through the blood and lymph away from cells and tissues toward the excretory organs, called emunctories, for elimination.¹

Biotherapeutic Drainage is intended to facilitate the body’s natural tendency to eliminate these materials gently, without forcing its natural processes.

Biotherapeutic Drainage was developed by European physicians as an approach for patients whose health concerns may be associated with environmental exposures, poor nutrition, and stress overload.

It is intended to be gentle enough for infants, children, adults, and older patients, including those taking various medications, and may be used alongside other modalities.

What Are the Basic Principles of Biotherapeutic Drainage?

The body has the potential to naturally eliminate substances that are both externally acquired and internally produced.
The goal is to support normal physiology by optimizing the body’s capacity for elimination.
The treatment is directed toward individual patients rather than diseases alone.
The method of addressing blockages to normal functioning is intended to respect physiology.
Within this model, remedies are selected to work at both intracellular and extracellular levels.
It is not intended as a quick fix.
Nature takes time to restore balance and to address the effects of modern environmental exposures.

What Is the Therapeutic Intent of Biotherapeutic Drainage?

To encourage the body toward homeostasis.
To address contributing factors as well as symptoms.
To encourage physiological equilibrium and self-regulation.
To offer a gentle, individualized approach to care.
To support a person’s natural state of health and vitality.
To support lasting well-being.

What Is the Difference Between Drainage and Detoxification?

Drainage and detoxification are not the same; they are different approaches.

Detoxification programs may encourage the body to release substances into the bloodstream. If the emunctories, or routes of elimination, are not functioning effectively, the body may need to process these substances again. This can sometimes cause uncomfortable reactions as the body works to eliminate them through its primary routes.

Biotherapeutic Drainage is described as acting at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels so that metabolic waste products have an efficient route of elimination. The remedies are intended to support two complementary actions: encouraging elimination and supporting the normal routes of elimination.

The normal routes of elimination are divided into two categories:

Primary: liver, kidneys, intestines, and lungs.
Secondary: skin, mucous membranes, nose, and genitals.

When the primary routes are not functioning adequately, the secondary routes may be recruited to facilitate the elimination of metabolic waste material.

What Remedies Are Used in Biotherapeutic Drainage?

Low-Potency Homeopathic Remedies

Low-potency homeopathic remedies, such as 3X, 6X, 4–5CH, or 30K potencies, are understood within this model to have resonance inside the cell. They are used in Biotherapeutic Drainage with the intention of supporting cellular physiological function and, in turn, normal organ function. When used in combination, plant and mineral remedies are intended to carry minerals toward organs with an affinity for the selected plants.

Trace or Oligo Elements

Trace or oligo elements are essential catalysts in enzymatic and metabolic pathways. They are used to support metabolic regulation, prepare the terrain of a patient for a more ready response, and support the efficiency of plant medicine prescriptions.

Tissue Salts, Cell Salts, or Schuessler Salts

Dr. Schuessler, a German physician, proposed that many illnesses are related to deficiencies of mineral salts in the body. He observed that symptoms or imbalances vary according to what may be lacking and concluded that providing the appropriate salts could support the body’s return to equilibrium.

Gemmotherapy (Phytoembryotherapy)

Gemmotherapy remedies are used with the intention of supporting the body’s clearance of metabolic waste products, such as mucus, broken-down metabolites, and cellular debris. Gemmotherapy remedies are also intended to support organ function and more efficient elimination.

To act as Biotherapeutic Drainage agents, products are understood within this model to need intracellular activity. This means they are used in a concentration or potentization intended to correspond with the interior of the cell. Larger doses of vitamins, minerals, and herbs are understood to act primarily on tissues and organ systems rather than inside the cell.

Low-potency homeopathic remedies are understood to have intracellular resonance, as indicated by the Materia Medica. A combination of products with this resonance may be used together. For example, plant remedies may be combined with mineral remedies in a single product or used as separate components of a complex prescription. Mineral remedies may be prescribed individually or in combination, in trace amounts, homeopathic dilutions, or as cell salts. The conceptual framework of miasm, temperament, and constitution may also be used in clinical practice when selecting remedies for an individual patient.

References

From Natural Medicine to a Medicine of the Individual, Dr. Gérard Gueniot with Dr. Pierre Tondelier, Éditions Amyris, 2010.
Biotherapeutic Drainage: Optimize Your Body’s Physiology — Patient Booklet, Seroyal Publications.