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 Balneotherapy -
Healing with Water
This excerpt is reprinted from Healing Springs,
The Ultimate Guide to Taking the Waters, by Nathaniel Altman.
One of the most important activities that takes place at a traditional
spa is balneotherapy, a natural approach to health and healing that
uses hot spring water, gases, mud, and climatic factors (such as heat)
as therapeutic elements.
Simple Solution: In addition to bathing, modalities such as
hydrotherapy, mud therapy, physical therapy, massage, steam baths,
physical exercises, inhalation of water vapor, and drinking mineral
water are often used as part of a complex therapy for both health and
preservation and treating disease.
Over the past four centuries, the science of balneology has evolved
into a medical specialty in Europe and Japan, where special courses in
balneotherapy are offered to both physicians and nurses by major
medical schools. Doctors believe that thermal springs facilitate
healing in a number of important ways.
Eight ways Balneotherapy Heals:
* Bathing in hot springs gradually increases the temperature of the
body, thus killing harmful germs and viruses.
* Thermal bathing increases hydrostatic pressure on the body, thus
increasing blood circulation and cell oxygenation. The increase in
blood flow also helps dissolve and eliminate toxins from the body.
* Hot springs bathing increases the flow of oxygen-rich blood
throughout the body, bringing improved nourishment to vital organs and
tissues.
* Bathing in thermal water increases body metabolism, including
stimulating the secretions of the intestinal tract and the liver,
aiding digestion.
* Repeated hot springs bathing (especially over 3- to 4- week period)
can help normalize the functions of the endocrine glands as well as
the functioning of the body's autonomic nervous system.
* Trace amounts of minerals such as carbon dioxide, sulfur, calcium,
magnesium, and lithium are absorbed by the body and provide healing
effects to various body organs and system. These healing effects can
include stimulation of the immune system, leading to enhanced
immunity; physical and mental relaxation; the production of
endorphins; and normalized gland function.
* Mineral springs contain high amounts of negative ions, which can
help promote feelings of physical and psychological well-being.
* The direct application of mineralized thermal waters (especially
those containing sulfur) can have a therapeutic effect on diseases of
the skin, including psoriasis, dermatitis, and fungal infections. Some
mineral waters are also used to help the healing of wounds and other
skin injuries.
Indications for Balneotherapy:
Over the several hundred years during which the science of medical
balneology has developed, physicians have been able to identify the
health conditions that can best be treated by healing springs. The
following list of indications for balneotherapy is based on the
research of Yuko Agishi, M.D.
CHRONIC DISEASES
Chronic rheumatic diseases
Functional recovery of central and peripheral neuroparalysis
Metabolic diseases, especially diabetes, obesity, and gout
Chronic gastrointestinal diseases
Chronic mild respiratory diseases
Circulatory diseases, especially moderate or mild hypertension
Peripheral circulatory diseases (affecting the hands and feet)
Chronic skin diseases
Psychosomatic and stress-related diseases
Autonomic nervous system dysfunction
Vibration disorder (a middle ear disorder affecting balance)
Sequela of (conditions resulting from) trauma
Chronic gynecological diseases
CONTRAINDICATIONS
If you have any illnesses or diseases, or are pregnant, consult with
your physician before using spa therapy.
CAUTIONS
Avoid soaking in a hot spring alone, caution and the elderly should
use with caution, don't use a spa if you are under the influence of
alcohol or drugs, especially heart medications, don't overheat, drink
plenty of cool water, and use private pools if you have a skin
disease.
This excerpt is from the Aromatherapy Companion
Balneotherapy
Balneotherapy is the art of water therapy, and one of aromatherapy's
best friends. There is nothing quite so soothing and relaxing as a
leisurely soak in a hot bath. As the warmth of the water cradles your
physical body, providing relief from the constant pull of gravity,
your psyche is refreshed and restored, the weight of the world
momentarily lifted. Add a few drops of well-selected essential oils
and you approach nirvana.
Water is nature's greatest and most effective solvent. It acts as a
liquid suspension, carrying a variety of minerals and chemicals,
depending on its source. When we immerse our bodies in a warm bath,
our skin rapidly begins to absorb chemicals that are suspended in the
water. These chemical components can make their way to our bloodstream
in as little as 2 to 15 minutes. It will take a normally healthy
person from half an hour to three hours to eliminate most of these
chemicals through the expired breath and urine. In unhealthy or obese
people, this process may take up to 10 hours. That is why adding
essential oils to a bath is such an effective aromatherapy treatment.
The premise of balneotherapy is built on this solvency. Just as we
absorb the essential oils we intentionally add to the water, we absorb
a variety of other chemicals and minerals suspended in our water. No
two waters are exactly the same. Spring waters, often thought of as
pure, actually contain a variety of minerals. It is the presence of
these minerals, from the depths of the earth, that makes certain
spring waters highly valued for their curative properties.
The amazing virtues of water have been sung throughout the ages.
Ancient myths featured countless sea nymphs, mermaids, and water
goddesses. It's no wonder that most ancient gods and goddesses
associated with water were believed to be sources of life, fertility,
and fecundity. Water is our element. We most likely evolved from
aquatic creatures -- and in any event, our first months of life were
spent floating in an amniotic bath. In our dreams water symbolizes the
ebb and flow of our emotions. We use water for cleansing, refreshing,
and relaxing. Water is the basis for our body's evaporative cooling
system. It flushes out toxic wastes, plumps up our cells, and
lubricates our moving parts. Water is crucial to our survival. Without
it we would literally dry up and blow away.
A Brief History of the Bath
Although the Romans may not have invented the bath, they raised
bathing to a high art. Roman citizens lingered for hours in communal
hot baths, where they socialized, conducted courtship, and even sealed
business deals. They built lavish baths wherever they found natural
hot springs. The remains of Roman baths are still evident throughout
Europe, the Mideast, and North Africa.
The Roman reverence for bathing has survived in Turkey, where patrons
still visit public baths to be soaped, steamed, and scrubbed clean by
attendants. Meanwhile, a highly ritualized bathing culture has evolved
in Japan as well. Whole towns exist as destination resorts around
Japanese natural hot springs. The harried Japanese make annual visits
to these springs, and in between find time for frequent visits to the
"Sento" -- the local communal hot-tub house. Japanese homes are for
the most part poorly heated, and the family bath becomes an important
source of warmth in winter.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, bathing fell out of favor in
Europe. For the next few centuries the practice was considered suspect
and unhealthy, immersion a frightening and distasteful experience.
Washing was an unpleasant and infrequent necessity, to be carried out
quickly and furtively, with a basin of cold water.
Water Therapy
Water therapy as practiced today was introduced in Austria in the 19th
century by the Reverend Father Sebastian Kneipp. Father Kneipp
believed in the healing properties of water and prescribed treatments
that included drinking mineral waters, soaking in hot springs, taking
cold showers, and walking barefoot in the early-morning dew. Healing
spas that subscribed to Father Kneipp's philosophy sprang up all over
Europe, and "taking the waters" became a popular social pastime for
the rich and privileged.
Today health spas abound throughout the United States, Europe, and the
Mediterranean. Modern spas have evolved beyond mere mineral-water
treatments to offer many other complementary therapies as well as
physical fitness, relaxation training, and nutritional counseling.
Aromatherapy has been universally adopted as a valuable synergistic
component of most spa therapies.
You can create your own spa experience with just a few essential oils
and a tub of hot water. An aromatherapy bath is the ultimate luxury.
Experiment with 3 to 5 drops of several different, complementary oils,
adjusting the total amount to suit your individual taste. You can add
the oils directly to the bath or, for added luxury, disperse them in a
cup of milk first. Essential oils combine well with all other bath
additives. Add Epsom salts, sea salts, and algae to mineralize the
water and increase buoyancy. Add oatmeal or honey to soothe and
nourish the skin. Add bicarbonate of soda to "soften" the water. Add
fresh or dried herbs and flower petals for their aesthetic and
therapeutic qualities.
- from The Aromatherapy Companion by Victoria Edwards.
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