Effects
The effects are substance specific. Warm baths are generally warming, soothing, relaxing, vasodilating, and circulatory deregulating, e.g., blood pressure lowering and fatiguing.
Indications
- Skin diseases, e.g. eczema, dry skin, psoriasis, acne.
- Rheumatic complaints, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, spine; eg sore muscles, osteoarthritis.
- Colds, colds, coughs
- Nervousness, tension, stress
- Female suffering
- As a stimulant
- Hemorrhoids
Dosage
According to the package leaflet of the finished medicines. Medicinal drugs such as hay flowers, are usually not added directly to the bath, but placed in a suitable bag in the bath. Medicinal drugs can also be prepared first like a tea, then the extract is added to the bath. In the genito-anal area and for women’s ailments often used as sitz baths.
Classification
- Cosmetic baths
- Baths for colds usually contain a selection of expectorant essential oils
- Oil baths (oleobalneologics) contain a high proportion of oils or hydrocarbons.
- Rheumatism baths
Active substances (selection)
Surfactants:
- Soaps
Lipids: oils, waxes, hydrocarbons:
- Peanut oil
- Olive oil
- Almond oil
- Jojoba oil
- Kerosene
- Soybean oil
- Sunflower oil
Active pharmaceutical ingredients:
- Tannins
- Mesulfen (Soufrol out of trade)
- Rubefacients, e.g. nicotinic acid esters.
- Tar: ammonium bituminosulfonate
Salts:
- Sea salt
- Sodium hydrogen carbonate
Numerous medicinal drugs, preparations and essential oils and other plant ingredients:
- Noble fir
- Eucalyptus
- Spruce
- Hay flowers
- Chamomile
- Chestnut
- Lavender
- Bog
- Rosemary
- Lemon
- Numerous others
other bath additives:
- Milk powder: contains lactic acid and is said to have a mild keratolytic effect.
- Beer
Other excipients
Contraindications
Due to the increased temperature and depending on the ingredients, the following contraindications apply:
- Infants and toddlers: depending on the bath, there are also special baths for skin care of infants and toddlers on the market (Pelsano med bath emulsion).
- Eye contact depending on the ingredient
- Skin injuries: increase the absorption of active ingredients; essential oils can burn strongly (!) on open wounds, such as skin blisters.
- Fever, hyperthermia
- Cardiovascular disease, e.g. heart failure, hypertension.
- Pregnancy
Adverse effects
Possible adverse effects include skin reactions, such as hives, hypotension, and hyperthermia.
Products (selection)
- Antidry
- Dul-X cold bath
- Bath salt, Dead Sea medicinal bath salt
- Balmandol, bath oil
- Balmed Hermal F, Medical oil bath
- Denosol cold bath
- Perskindol Classic Bath
- Pulmex cold and bronchial bath
- Soufrol sulfur oil bath
- Weleda, various
