Hydrotherapy, from Greek, simply means “treatment with water”. About two thirds of the human body is water. Water is crucial to metabolism. We can spend several days without food, but not without water.
At all stages in life, water is a powerful means of health maintenance and recovery. It is indispensable for purification by dissolving toxins for elimination. It safeguards the vitality and balance of the nervous system and directly or indirectly regulates most organic functions.
Baths and hydrotherapy help detoxify the organism, relieve physical and mental fatigue and favor recovery from disease. In naturism, water may be used in all three states (solid, liquid and gaseous).
Solid: Ice may be used to treat inflammation, phlebitis etc.
Liquid: Water may be applied in the form moist dressings, immersion, revitalizing baths, trunk baths, seated baths, showers, etc.
Gaseous: used for inhalation, or as steam in the sauna and locally, etc.
Many illnesses start in the bowels, especially associated with fermentation and chronic congestion/inflammation. During cold baths the abdomen experiences a thermal shock: cold water on the outside, fever on the inside. This makes the blood flow towards the extremities, in this case facilitating evacuation. The organs are relieved of the overload of blood and relax, something that rarely happens without therapy. In short, cold water helps restore blood circulation, beginning with the digestive system. The lowering of the intestinal temperature also inhibits the fermentation of fecal matter.
Overall, cold baths freshen up in more than one way, bringing back vitality and well-being. They have remarkable effects on fatigue and nervous imbalance and, because the nervous system branches out to all parts of the organism, the benefit is not only felt by the abdominal organs.
Reference:
Tratamentos naturais de A-Z; Antônio Tomé- Editora: Vida Plena.
