Bath Therapy

In this Therapy, the patient should keep his or her legs in a tub or bucket filled with water and before taking this bath, a glass of water should be taken and the body should be covered with a blanket.
i. Hot Foot Bath Therapy:The duration of the bath is generally from five to 20 minutes, where, the legs of the patient should be kept in hot water at a temperature of 40C to 45C. And a blanket should be covering the body, so that no heat or vapour escapes from the footbath. The head should be protected with a cold compress. The patient should take a cold shower immediately after the bath.
ii. Cold Foot Bath Therapy: A cold footbath should be taken for one or two minutes by taking three to four inches of cold water at a temperature of 7.2C to 12.7C in a small tub or a 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.

8. Steam Bath Therapy:Steam bath induces perspiration in a most natural way, if taken generally for 10-20 minutes or so. The patient, clad in minimum loin cloth or underwear, is made to sit on a stool inside a specially designed cabinet. Before entering the cabinet, the patient should drink one or two glasses of cold water and protect the head with a cold towel. A cold shower should be taken immediately after the bath. If the patient feels giddy or uneasy during the steam bath, he or she should immediately be taken out and given a glass of cold water and the face washed with cold water. Very weak patients, pregnant women, cardiac patients and those suffering from high blood pressure should avoid this bath.

9. Immersion Bath Therapy: Immersion Bath is also known as full bath. It is administered in a bathtub, which should be properly fitted with hot and cold-water connections. The bath can be taken at cold, neutral, hot, graduated and alternate temperatures. There are various types of the immersion baths. They are:
i. Cold Immersion Bath Therapy: This may be taken for four seconds to 20 minutes at a temperature ranging from 10Cto 23.8C. Before entering the bath, cold water should be poured on the patient`s head, chest and neck and the head should be protected with a cold moist towel. During the bath, the patient should vigorously rub his or her body- after the bath the body should be quickly dried and wrapped up in a blanket. If the climate is favourable, moderate exercise should be undertaken. This bath should not be given to young children or very elderly persons.
ii. Graduated Immersion Bath Therapy: The patient should enter the bath at a temperature of 31C. The water temperature should be lowered gradually at the rate of 1C per minute until it reaches 25C. The bath should continue until the patient starts shivering. This bath is intended to avoid nervous shock by sudden plunge into the cold water.
iii. Neutral Immersion Bath Therapy: This bath can be given from 15 to 60 minutes at a temperature ranging from 26C to 28C. It can be given for long duration, without any ill effects, as the water temperature is akin to the body temperature.
iv. Hot Immersion Bath Therapy: This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6C to 40C. Generally this bath is started at 37C 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.
v. Epsom Salt Immersion Bath Therapy: The immersion bathtub should be filled with about 135 liters of hot water at 40C. 1 or about one half 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.