Full Immersion Bath

Different research and studies have demonstrated that immersing yourself in hot water can help relax the entire body and mind. There has also been some substantial evidence that shows how impactful this can be on your overall daily living and health.

Immersion bath is also known as the full bath. It is administered in a bath tub made of porcelain or enameled iron or fiberglass. The tub should be properly fitted with hot and cold water connections to administer the bath at cold, neutral, hot, graduated and alternate temperatures. In this therapy, the patient is immersed in a bath of warm or neutral water that is often treated with healing Epsom salt. This bath helps release any tension in the body. This healing water therapy soothes the nervous system and helps in the treatment of heart and blood vessel diseases. It is a cleansing technique that provides relief from insomnia and anxiety. It can also heal burn injuries and helps in treating anxiety-related diarrhoea. This therapy is beneficial in rejuvenating the whole body, reducing body pain, sleeplessness, fatigue, and asthma.

Physiologically, warm water immersion affects the cardiovascular system and cold water immersion affects the neuromuscular system.

Full tub Cold Immersion Bath

Temperature: 18–24°C.
Duration: 15 minutes

Procedure

Before the start of the therapy, the patient is required to take a shower. Before entering the bath tub, the patient head, neck and chest should be made wet with cold water and the head should be protected preferably with a cold moist towel (compress). Rubbing of the body should be done by the patient himself or by the attendant during the bath. The bath should be terminated if the patient feels chill. Soon after the bath, the patient should be dried up and covered with a warm blanket. Moderate exercise is also recommended after this.

Benefits

The full cold immersion bath has an overall beneficial effect on the body. This bath is helpful in reducing high temperature during fever. It is prescribed in cases of obesity and in dyspepsia to improve the appetite. This bath also improves the skin by increasing the blood circulation and stimulating the activities of nerve endings. When used for this purpose, bath should be of short duration 3 to 15 seconds.

This treatment is beneficial for: increasing blood flow, decreasing blood flow, artificially inducing fever in the body to fight viruses, relieving pain in muscles or joints, decreasing inflammation, or increasing metabolism. Overall, the bath helps to relieve extra-exerted stress on the body and nervous system.

Precautions

This bath should not be given to young children and very old persons. It should not be given in febrile conditions caused due to acute inflammation as in Acute Peritonitis, Gastritis, Enteritis, Endometritis, Oopheritis etc. and in cases of fever with chills. The cold bath is contra–indicated in Hematuria (blood in urine), because this condition indicates a disease either in the bladder or kidneys (In such conditions a short hot bath, followed by cold friction, wet sheet rubbing and a cold compress should be repeated a number of times). It should be avoided in cases of Asthma and Sinusitis.

Full tub Hot immersion Bath

For this treatment, the water is heated up to 37 degrees C. The patient should first wash his/her head with cold water, put a cold compress on the head and drink some cold water. After entering the hot water bath, massage of the body should be done. This bath should be given for up to 20 minutes depending on the condition of the patient. On coming out of the bath, the patient should take a cold shower.

This therapy can also be helpful in treating diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, PCOD and PCOS pain. The whole process of also helps the body eliminate all toxins, and the risk of chemical waste storage in the body is reduced. Since this technique flushes out harmful toxins, it is ideal for those with kidney failure issues.

Precautions

Patients with inflammation of spinal cord and cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension and physical weakness should not take this bath.