Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, the treatment of disease with the bath, is one of the most useful nature cures. The hipbath is one of the most useful forms of hydrotherapy. As the name suggests, this mode of treatment involves only the hips and the abdominal region below the navel. A special type of tub is used for the purpose. The tub is filled with water in such a way that it covers the hips and reaches up to the navel when the patient sits in it. Generally, four to six gallons of water are required. If the special tub is not available, a common tub may be used. A support may be placed under one edge to elevate it by two or three inches. Hipbath is given in cold, hot, neutral or alternate temperatures. 

IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS: Certain precautions are necessary while taking these therapeutic baths. Full baths should be avoided within three hours after a meal and one hour before it. Local baths like the hipbath and footbath may, however, be taken two hours after a meal. Clean and pure water must be used for baths and water once used should not be used again. While taking baths, temperature and duration should be strictly observed to obtain the desired effects. A thermometer should always be used to measure the temperature of the body. Women should not take any of the baths during menstruation. They can take only hipbaths during pregnancy till the completion of the third month.

Cold footbath 

A simple nature cure for inflammatory conditions is the cold footbath. Three to four inches of cold water at a temperature of 7.2 ºC to 12.7º C should be placed in a small tub or bucket. The feet should be completely immersed in the water for one to five minutes. Friction should be continuously applied to the feet during the bath, either by an attendant or by the patient by rubbing one foot against the other. A cold footbath, taken for one or two minutes, relieves cerebral congestion and uterine haemorrhage. It also helps in the treatment of sprains, strains and inflamed bunions when taken for longer periods. It should not be taken in cases of inflammatory conditions of the genitourinary organs, liver and kidneys.

Cold hipbath

The cold hipbath is a routine treatment in most diseases. The water temperature should be 10ºC to 18ºC. The duration of the bath is usually 10 minutes, but in specific conditions it may vary from one minute to 30 minutes. If the patient feels cold or is very weak, a hot foot immersion should be given with the cold hipbath. The patient should rub the abdomen briskly from the navel downwards and across the body with a moderately coarse wet cloth. The legs, feet and upper part of the body should remain completely dry during and after the bath. The patient should undertake moderate exercise like yogasanas in a warm room, after the cold hipbath, to warm the body. A cold hipbath is a versatile therapy. It relieves constipation, indigestion, and Obesity, and helps the eliminative organs to function properly. It is also helpful in uterine problems like irregular menstruation, chronic uterine infections, pelvic inflammation, piles, hepatic congestion, chronic congestion of the prostate gland, seminal weakness, impotency, sterility, uterine and ovarian displacements, dilation of the stomach and colon, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhage of the bladder and so on. The cold hipbath should not be employed in acute inflammations of the pelvic and abdominal organs, ovaries and in painful contractions of the bladder, rectum, or vagina.

Epsom saltbath

The Epsom salt bath is useful in cases of sciatica, lumbago, rheumatism, diabetes, neuritis, cold and catarrh, kidney disorders and other uric acid and skin affections. The immersion bathtub should be filled with about 135 litres of hot water at 40ºC. One to 1 1/2 kg of Epsom salt should be dissolved in this water. The patient should drink a glass of cold water, cover the head with a cold towel and then lie down in the tub, completely immersing the trunk, thighs and legs for 15 to 20 minutes. The best time to take this bath is just before retiring to bed.

Hot footbath

A simple nature cure is the hot footbath.In this method, the patient should keep his or her legs in a tub or bucket filled with hot water at a temperature of 40ºC to 45ºC. Before taking this bath, a glass of water should be taken and the body should be covered with a blanket so that no heat or vapour escapes from the footbath. The head should be protected with a cold compress. The duration of the bath is generally from 5 to 20 minutes. The patient should take a cold shower immediately after the bath. The hot footbath stimulates the involuntary muscles of the uterus, intestines, bladder and other pelvic and abdominal organs. It also relieves sprains and ankle joint pains, headaches caused by cerebral congestion, and colds. In women, it helps restore menstruation, if suspended, by increasing supply of blood especially to the uterus and ovaries.

Hot hipbath

A hot hipbath helps to relieve painful menstruation, pain in the pelvic organs, painful urination, inflamed rectum or bladder and painful piles. It also benefits enlarged prostate gland, painful contractions or spasm of the bladder, sciatica, neuralgia of the ovaries and bladder. This bath is generally taken for eight to 10 minutes at a water temperature of 40º C to 45ºC. The bath should start at 40º C. The temperature should be gradually increased to 45 º C. NO friction should be applied to the abdomen. Before entering the tub, the patient should drink one glass of cold water. A cold compress should be placed on the head. A cold shower bath should be taken immediately after the hot hipbath. Care should be taken to prevent the patient from catching a chill after the bath. The bath should be terminated if the patient feels giddy or complains of excessive pain.

Hot immersion bath

The hot immersion bath is a valuable treatment in chronic rheumatism and obesity. It gives immediate relief when there is pain due to stones in the gall bladder and the kidneys. This bath also relieves capillary bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia in children. It relieves congestion of the lungs and activates the blood vessels of the skin muscles. This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6º C to 40º C. Generally this bath is started at 37ºC and the temperature is then gradually raised to the required level by adding hot water. Before entering the bath, the patient should drink cold water and also wet the head, neck and shoulders with cold water. A cold compress should be applied throughout the treatment. This bath can be advantageously employed in dropsy when there is excessive loss of tone of the heart and blood. The bath should be terminated as soon as the skin becomes red. In pneumonia and suppressed menstruation, the bath should be administered at 37.7º C to 40º C for about 30 to 45 minutes. This bath should be given when the menstruation is due and may be repeated for two to three days in succession. In dysmenorrhoea, this bath should be given at 38º C to 44.4º C for 15 minutes. In chronic bronchitis a very hot bath taken for 5 to 7 minutes should be accompanied with rubbing and friction. This relieves congestion of the mucous membrane and provides immediate relief. After the bath, oil should be applied to the skin if necessary. The hot bath should not be taken in cases of organic diseases of the brain or spinal cord, nor in cases of cardiac weakness or cardiac hypertrophy.