About Therapeutic Bath and Spa
Bath to help cure diseases,
increase beauty or improve general condition has been used since early in the
history of mankind. This type of treatment can also be extremely pleasurable, a
fact that has added to the popularity of these therapeutic modules. There are
many types of therapeutic bath, going under different names that combine certain
properties and ingredients in several ways.
Applications of warm water and the
effects of warm water on the body
Laying in a tube or using a
douche with warm water is a simple techique. The warm water makes the small
blood vessels in the skin and beneath the skin relax, and the volume of the
blood and lymph vessels increase. There will therefore be a higher throughput of
fluid from the blood vessels into the rooms between the cells in the tissues and
the amount of fluid in the lymph vessels increase. This will make it easier for
the tissues to get nourishment and oxygen and to deliver vastes into the lymph
system.
Warm water is also relaxing for
the mind and through this effect also for the muscles, and for the blood
vessels going through the muscles. The flow of fluid from the blood vessels into
the space between the muscle cells will increase, and the volume in the lymph
system draining the muscles will increase. It will thereby be easier for the
msucles to take up nourishment and deliver vastes, such as lactic acid, into the
lymph system. The relaxing effect on the mind make worries go away and improve
the sleep.
The greater volume of fluid in
the tissues and the greater penetrability in vessels and in the tissue
components also make it easier for molecules and cells in the immune system to
come into the tissues and clean out harmful objects and substances.
Applications of cold water and the
effects of cold water on the body
After the worm bath, there is a
common practice to take a cold shower or a swim in a cold pool. The shower or
swim has the oppsite effect of the
warm water in some ways, but in a good sense. The cold water make the small
mucles in the skin and undelaying tissues to constrict dynamically again, and
attain an effective dinamic mode of function. Also the cold water is stimulating
psycologically, but in a good sense. Cold water also has a hardening effect on
the body and mind and a training effect upon many physiological mechanisms,
especially those mechanisms that regulate blood flow, lymph flow and temperature
regulation. One learns to withstand impacts that can feal painful in the moment.
Applications of suana in combination
with cold water
Sauna or Roman bath is often
combined with the watery baths. By sauna one sits in a heated room where the air
temperatura can reach around 100 degrees celcius. Water is added to the source
of heat making the air dampy. The high air temperature, especially when the air
is humidified in this way induces heavy sweating and haevy bloodstream in the
skin. The increased blood flow and sweating has a general cleansing effect on
the body and on the skin. By Roman bath the air is held absolutely dry. It does
not involve so much sweating in the sauna.
After the sauna or Roman bath
one typically takes a cold shower or a swim in a cold pool.
Applications of added substances or
naturally occuring extra substances
The water in mineral sources has dissolved
substances that give additional effects, or one can add such substances to a tub
bath. Generally it is concidered better that the substances are occuring
naturally in the water. If this is essential or not, is difficult to prove or
disprove, but a substance that has been there all the time, will be better
entangled with the water molecules in a quantum mechanical sense, and that may
be of importanse.
By adding several ingredients
to the warm bath, specific effects can be achieved. One can get a generally
stimulating effect, a rinsing effect can be achieved, an antibacterial effect
willl often occur,
inflammations can be reduced or a mild inflammation can be produced. Sometimes a
mild inflammatory reaction is beneficial and helps the body to get rid of
harmful objects and substances.
Use of sulphure and sulphuric
compounds
Warm springs used to get water
for therapeutic bath often have a high content of sulphur compunds and some
content of hydrogen sulphide. Hydrogen sulphide in greater amounts is toxic and
has an unpleasant smell, but in timy amounts like in those spring waters, the
prensen of the compund is felt pleasantly.
Sulphur bath is bath with added
ingredients of sulphur compound or with added a colloid suspension of elemetary
sulphur. Such baths may give alleviance against skin diseases like psoriasis.
Use of aromatic oils
Aromatic oils stimulate bodily
functions and functions of the mind, and stimulate the blood flow in the skin
tissues. This is achieved both through the senses of smell and taste, and
because small anounts of the ingredients penetrate into the tissues and
generally stimulate the dynamics of many tissue processes. Some of these oils
will also have a desinfectant effect and anti-microbial effect, and thereby help
to get rid of infections.
Aromatic oils can also help to
dissolve fatty vastes stuck in the pores and snall folds in the skin, and
thereby make the skin more beautyfull, help empty clogged pores and improve the
functions of the skin. By making the pores more open, the skin can more easily
release protecting vaxes aqnd other useful substances to the surface.
Traditional aromatic ingredient
used in baths are pine needle oil, lavendel oil, rosemary oil, eucalyptus oil and camphor.
Use of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxid is another
ingredient that can be added to the water. The boubles of the gas will give a
special stimulating and pleasant tickling. A traditional way of doing so in many
spas is to add sodium bicarbonate to the water and then add some amount of an
acid.
Use of mineral salts
Salt can also be added, and
especially seasalt that contains a lot of minerals. Dead sea salt is said to be
one of the most useful variants. One can also add special salts like potassium
cloride or magnesium sulphate. The salt drains out impurities in the skin.
Salt dissolves thickened horny layers, so-called calluses. It soothes itching
and irritation as by insect bites, psoriasis and eczema. Salt also helps scarred
skin to normalize and helps to restore water ballance in the skin. The salt
helps to relax tense muscles nd soothe aching in the muscles. Salt help to give
deep general relaxation.
The minerals of the salt are
furthermore taken upp and utilized by the physiological processes in the skin.
Salty blendings mimicking
natural mineral salts are also produced to be used in the bathing water, of
which Epson salt is the best known.. Epson slat konsists of magnesium sulfate,
sodium chloride (table salt), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium
hexametaphosphate (Calgon, amorphous/glassy sodium metaphosphate), sodium
sesquicarbonate, sodioum tetraborate (borax). Epson salt have an
anti-inflammatory effect.
Some history
Therapeutic bath, often based
on water from warm springs, mineral water springs or even warm mineral water
springs were popular in the ancient greek and Roman regions and there were
numberous public baths based on these natural resources. The bath were often
supplemented with massage services or other physicl treatments.
The number of bathing services
and other physicalic therapies has since that time steadily increased and a
place that offer all these types of services is commonly called a Spa, a term
getting its name form the Belgian cuty Spa that has a famous institution for
therapeutic baths and physicalic services. The natural therpeutic bath
insritutions are not
only based on the natuarl occuring water, but commonly also the climatic
conditions on the specific places. Many of those are situated in the
Mediterranean region with a warm and dry climate with much sun during the day.
The application of the natural sun-rays is also a traditional ingredient of the
total thereaputic offers at these places.
A pioneer in bath therapy, also
called water therapy or hydrotherapy, was the German priest and naturopath
Sebatian Kneipp. He designes in th eighteen hundredths several bathing methods
for use to strengthen the body's defence against diseases and to cure diseases.
He ran his own hydrotherapy clinic and a lot of spas were fonded in Europe and
America that used his methods. Kneipp had a wholistic appoach to health
strengthening and his system also contains dietic advices, exercise and mental
treatment modules.
About Sauna
Sauna is an enclosed area where
the air is heated to a fairly high temperature and also humidiziced by letting
water avaporate.Often it is a room in a house or it can be a separate cottage
ment for that purpose. People usually sit in the sauna naked or with minimal
clothes on and the heat together with the humidity induse grest sweat secretion.
The sauna is often associated with nearby bathrooms or swimming facilities,
often with cold water.
The international word sauna comes from Finland and the Finnish form of sauna is
also the most well-known, but many cultures have variations that are close to
the Finnish one. These include the North American sweat lodge, the Turkish hamam,
the Roman Thermae, Maya's temescal and the Russian banja.
The sauna provides an electric or wood-fired oven with stones. Typically, there
are wooden betches to sit or lie on. Other equipment is the water bucket, ladle,
thermometer and humidity gauge. In a Finnish sauna, there are also birch twigs
with leaves on.
The users of the sauna start to heat up the oven until the temperature becomes
high fit. In between one is sprincling a little water on the stones that then
avaporates as steam and blends into the air. This also transfers heat from the
stones to all the areas in the room. The users sit sweating a shorter or longer
while, but eventually they go out and cool themselves with cold water. The
cooling can be by sprincling cold water onto the body, by cold douche or by
taking a cold dive or swim.
Outdoor saunas are often built near some natural lake, pool or river.. By the
winter it is common to end the sauna session by dipping oneselves or swimming in
the cold water, often through a hole chopped in the ice.
Sauna is considered to be healthy and cleansing for both body and soul and to be
relaxing. Those who have heart disease and certain other ailments should however
use the sauna with caution.
According to older sources sauna were common in Scandinavia in the Viking area.
Since swimwear was unknown, and both sexes had the same bathday, this was
something that was disliked by the clergy. The use gradually fell into oblivion
in the Middle Ages, but in Finland there has been an unbroken tradition.
In former time the Finnes used the sauna for many purposes. Home births were
often done in the sauna. Newborn babies were washed for the first time in the
sauna. Saunas are also traditional places for social gatherings. Finnish
politicians, like the Finnish president, used to invite top leaders from the
Soviet Union to the sauna to nurse friendship and having political conversations
in a pleasurable athmosphere.
Bt Finnish tradition usually one heats the sauna before going in, so you will be
sweating on a quiet and comfortable way. Then one throws water on the stove to
increase the humidity and the users usually like to spank each other lightly
with a bundle of birch twigs put together for such uses, a so-called vihta.
A special type of sauna is the infrared sauna, called IR sauna, where the
heating will mainly occur through infrared radiation.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information is nutritional in nature and should not be construed as medical advice. This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.