Home Hydrotherapy - Immerse Yourself In Healing

Once upon an end-of-summer, I was checking out a late melon in the garden (it was a little too late—should have been picked a week earlier, I’m afraid), when WHAM! something nailed me on the finger. I never saw what it was, but it felt like a scorpion, so I did my usual trick of rubbing a piece of raw onion on the sting and it improved almost instantly. That settled the matter. It was a scorpion, I thought, because fresh onion juice works like a charm on scorpion venom, if you apply it quickly.

Only... I thought wrong. It wasn’t a scorpion. Or, if it was, it sure wasn’t the relatively tame variety we generally get around here. It was a venom with a delayed reaction. Several hours later, my finger suddenly started to swell and turn an obnoxious shade of purple. Perhaps a piece of the stinger was lodged in the wound? I sterilized a needle and went exploring. No luck. I tried every disinfectant and herbal remedy within reach. Still no luck. That finger just kept swelling and swelling and turning more and more purple, until it was almost black. Genuinely annoyed by now, I began wondering if it might have been a brown recluse spider that had gotten me. Brown recluse bites can be a bit tricky, you see. They have this irritating tendency to slowly rot flesh and turn gangrenous.

Anyway, it was at this point that my very mainstream father suggested something so pure and simple, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it, myself. After all, I’m the “nutty naturalist” of the family. “Soak your finger in hot salt water,” Dad said. “Heavy on the salt and as hot as you can stand it.” I did, and it worked beautifully. The bite opened and ran like a leaky faucet for a few days, but that’s exactly what it needed. The swelling went down, the color lightened, and within a week, all was pretty much back to normal. So I didn’t have to amputate anything or die of gangrene, after all.

And the long and the short of all this is that Dad didn’t realize it, but the cure he had recommended was just basic HYDROTHERAPY. Now, some people may associate that term only with those fancy health spas where you sit around chest-deep in bubbling whirlpools, while powerfully built attendants with thick accents chant encouragingly, “Breathe! Breathe!” And that is a bona fide form of hydrotherapy. But, literally speaking, hydrotherapy is ANY kind of cure, treatment, or strengthening program that relies primarily upon water. Depending on the ailment being treated, and what effects you’re after, the water can be used hot, cold, or warm, as liquid or steam, with or without additives, and externally or internally.

Any kind of bath or soak is hydrotherapy, of course. Steam inhalation is hydrotherapy. Drinking extra water is hydrotherapy. Even enemas are a form of hydrotherapy—although I hope everyone will excuse me if I skip over that particular practice.... In fact, the only “Water Cures” I’m going to immerse myself in here are the four basic types of healing baths. Any of these can be utilized at home.

THE FULL-BATH: We all know what this is, right? Before the advent of showers, people used to have one of these every Saturday night (unless it had rained heavily within the previous few days, in which case, a bath would have been considered redundant). Warm full-baths of 90-95 degrees F. are relaxing and soothing to the nerves. They’re also considered helpful for mild colds, low fevers, and bladder or urinary problems. Hot baths (100-113 degrees F.) and cold baths (55-65 degrees) both shock the system, causing increased heart action, but with a cold bath, the heart slows down again after the initial shock. A hot bath immediately followed by being bundled up in blankets will cause profuse sweating, which makes it good for colds, fevers, and the elimination of bodily wastes retained because of poor kidney function. By adding herbs, minerals, or essential oils to the water, you can custom tailor a bath to suit almost any need.

THE SITZBATH: Basically, this is the practice of sitting in a small amount of water with one’s feet, legs, and upper body out. There are bathtubs designed especially for sitzbaths, but any tub large enough to comfortably accommodate one’s kiester will work. Sitzbaths are usually taken either warm or hot, and often with the addition of healing herbs. Simply fill the tub with water enough to just reach your navel. Once sitting in it, prop your feet up on a hassock or stool set beside the tub and wrap yourself in large towels or blankets, so that you end up completely covered from the neck down. Soak for 10-20 minutes, and then rinse with a brief, cool shower. Sitzbaths are reputed to be good for the genito-urinary tract, the lower abdominal area, and the rectum. They can be used for pelvic congestion, cramps, menstrual problems, hemorrhoids, inflammations, kidney pain, and intestinal pain.

THE HALF-BATH: Sort of a cross between the full-bath and the sitzbath, the half-bath requires sitting in water up to the navel with the feet and legs under, but the upper body out of the water. It’s said that taking a cold half-bath for a mere 5-15 seconds once a day is helpful for headaches, insomnia, nervous distress, an over active thyroid, flatulence, and constipation. Sitting in a warm half-bath for 10 minutes is considered beneficial for low blood pressure and problems relating to menopause. Often the warm version includes a brisk brushing of the skin and is sometimes concluded with a quick spray of cold water on the back.

THE FOOTBATH: Soaking one’s tootsies used to be a popular home remedy for all sorts of ailments, and it’s a shame the practice ever went out of style, because it’s so effective, yet so simple to administer. All you need is a tub big enough to immerse both feet and calves, and a comfortable chair to sit in while doing so. A hot footbath, lasting about 15 minutes, is said to be a good treatment for chronically cold feet. It’s also recommended for bladder, kidney, throat, and ear inflammations. Cold footbaths are considered helpful for tired feet, insomnia, headaches, nosebleeds, colds, and constipation. Alternating between the two (1-2 minutes in the hot, ½ minute in the cold, etc. for 15 minutes—ending with the cold) is reputed to promote circulation in the legs and help prevent varicose veins. It may also be useful in the treatment of weak menstrual flow, insomnia, headaches, high blood pressure, and cold feet. A warm ginger footbath is said to invigorate the whole body.

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[DISCLAIMER: The information in this article is offered primarily for reference and personal enrichment. It is NOT intended to be a substitute for the advice of a licensed health-care practitioner. Since the actual use of herbs, therapies, etc. by others is beyond the author’s and publisher’s control, NO expressed or implied guarantee as to their effects can be given, nor liability taken.]