taken for longer
p
eriods. It s
h
ould not be
t
aken in c
a
ses of infla
m
matory con
d
itions of the genitourina
r
y organs, liver and kidn
e
ys.
Tip 14. The
cold hipbath is a routine treatment in most diseases.
The water temperature should be 1
0
ºC to 18ºC. The durati
o
n of the bath is usually 10 minutes, but in specific conditions
it may
vary
f
rom one m
i
n
ute 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
t
he abdomen briskly from
the navel downwards and across t
h
e body with a moderately coarse wet cloth. The legs, feet a
n
d upper part of the body should remain completely dry during and after the
bath. The
p
atient should undertake
moderate exercise like yogasanas in a warm r
o
om, after the cold hipb
a
th, to warm
t
he body.
A cold hipb
a
th is a vers
a
tile therapy. It relieves constipation,
indigestio
n
,
and
Obesity, and helps the
eliminative organs to fu
n
c
tion properly. It is also
h
elpful in ute
r
ine problems like irregular
menstruation, chronic u
t
erine infec
t
ions, pelvic inflammatio
n
, piles, hepatic co
n
gestion, ch
r
onic cong
e
stion of the p
r
ostate glan
d
, seminal weakness,
impotency, sterility, ute
r
ine and ovarian displ
a
c
e
ments, dilat
i
on of the st
om
ach and colon, diarrh
o
ea,
dysentery,
h
aemorrhage
of the blad
d
er and so o
n
. The cold hipbath should not be employed in acute infla
m
mations of the pelvic a
n
d abdominal organs, ovaries and in
p
ainful contr
a
ctions of
the bladder,
rectum, or vagina.
Tip 15. The
Epsom salt bath is useful in cases of sciatica, lumbago, rheumatism, diabetes, neuritis, cold and catarrh, kidn
e
y
disorders and other uric acid and skin affections.
The immersion bathtub should be filled with about 135 litres
of hot water at 40ºC. O
n
e to 1 1/2
kg of Epsom salt sho
u
ld
be dissolved in this wat
e
r. The pati
e
nt should drink a glass
o
f cold
water, cover the head with a cold t
o
wel and then lie down in the tub, c
o
mpletely immersing the trunk, thighs and legs for
15 to 20 minutes. The
b
est time to take this ba
t
h is just
be
f
ore retiring
to bed.
Tip 16. A simple nature cure is the hot footbath.
In this method, the pati
e
nt should k
e
ep his or her
legs in a t
u
b or bucket
f
illed with hot
water at
A temperature of 40ºC to 45ºC. Before taking this
b
ath, 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 s
h
ould be pro
t
ected with a cold compress. The du
r
ation of the
bath is gen
e
rally from
5 to 20 minutes. The pati
e
nt should t
a
ke a cold
s
h
ower imme
d
iately after the bath.
The hot foo
t
bath stimul
a
tes the involuntary muscles of the u
t
erus, intes
t
ines, bladder
and other pelvic
and
a
bdominal
organs.
It
also
relieves
sp
r
ains
and
a
n
kle
joint
pai
n
s
,
headach
e
s
caused
by cerebral congestion,
and colds.
I
n women, it helps resto
r
e menstruation, if susp
e
nded, by increasing
supply of blood especi
a
lly to the uterus and ovaries.
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