Tip 17. A hot hipbath helps to relieve painful menstruation, pain in the pelvic organs, painful urination, inflamed rectum or bladder and painful piles.

It also benefits enlarged prostate gland, painful contractions or spasm of the bladder, sciatica, neuralgia of the ovaries and bladder.

This bath is generally taken for eight to 10 minutes at a water temperature of 40º C to 45ºC. The bath should start at 40º C. The temperature should be gradually increased to 45 º C. NO friction should be applied to the abdomen. Before entering the tub, the patient should drink one glass of cold water. A cold compress should be placed on the head. A cold shower bath should be taken immediately after the hot hipbath.

Care should be taken to prevent the patient from catching a chill after the bath. The bath should be terminated if the patient feels giddy or complains of excessive pain.

Tip 16. A simple nature cure is the hot footbath.

In this method, the patient should keep his or her legs in a tub or bucket filled with hot water at atemperature of 40ºC to 45ºC. Before taking this bath, 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 should be protected with a cold compress. The duration of the bath is generally from 5 to 20 minutes. The patient should take a cold shower immediately after the bath.

The hot footbath stimulates the involuntary muscles of the uterus, intestines, bladder and other pelvic and abdominal organs. It also relieves sprains and ankle joint pains, headaches caused by cerebral congestion, and colds. In women, it helps restore menstruation, if suspended, by increasing supply of blood especially to the uterus and ovaries.

Tip 15. The Epsom salt bath is useful in cases of sciatica, lumbago, rheumatism, diabetes, neuritis, cold and catarrh, kidney disorders and other uric acid and skin affections.

The immersion bathtub should be filled with about 135 litres of hot water at 40ºC. One to 1 1/2 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.

Tip 14. The cold hipbath is a routine treatment in most diseases.

The water temperature should be 10ºC to 18ºC. The duration of the bath is usually 10 minutes, but in specific conditions it may vary from one minute 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 the abdomen briskly from the navel downwards and across the body with a moderately coarse wet cloth. The legs, feet and upper part of the bodyshould remain completely dry during and after the bath. The patient should undertake moderate exercise like

yogasanas in a warm room, after the cold hipbath, to warm the body. A cold hipbath is a versatile therapy. It relieves constipation, indigestion, andObesity, and helps the eliminative organs to function properly. It is also helpful in uterine problems like irregular menstruation, chronic uterine infections, pelvic inflammation, piles,
hepatic congestion, chronic congestion of the prostate gland, seminal weakness, impotency,sterility, uterine and ovarian displacements, dilation of the stomach and colon, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhage of the bladder and so on. The cold hipbath should not be employd in acute inflammations of the pelvic and abdominal organs, ovaries and in painful contractions of the bladder, rectum, or vagina.

Tip 13. A simple nature cure for inflammatory conditions is the cold footbath.

Three to four inches of cold water at a temperature of 7.2 ºC to 12.7º C should be placed in a
small tub or 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.
A cold footbath, taken for one or two minutes, relieves cerebral congestion and uterine
haemorrhage. It also helps in the treatment of sprains, strains and inflamed bunions when taken

for longer periods. It should not be taken in cases of inflammatory conditions of the genitourinary organs, liver and kidneys.

Tip 12. Hydrotherapy, the treatment of disease with the bath, is one of the most useful nature cures.

The hipbath is one of the most useful forms of hydrotherapy. As the name suggests, this mode of treatment involves only the hips and the abdominal region below the navel. A special type of  tub is used for the purpose. The tub is filled with water in such a way that it covers the hips and
reaches up to the navel when the patient sits in it. Generally, four to six gallons of water are required. If the special tub is not available, a common tub may be used. A support may be placed under one edge to elevate it by two or three inches. Hipbath is given in cold, hot, neutral or alternate temperatures.

IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS:
Certain precautions are necessary while taking these therapeutic baths. Full baths should be
avoided within three hours after a meal and one hour before it. Local baths like the hipbath and
footbath may, however, be taken two hours after a meal. Clean and pure water must be used
for baths and water once used should not be used again. While taking baths, temperature and
duration should be strictly observed to obtain the desired effects. A thermometer should always
be used to measure the temperature of the body. Women should not take any of the baths
during menstruation. They can take only hipbaths during pregnancy till the completion of the
third month.

Tip 11. (Basic Healing Principles) Fasting Is a Time of Rest

Fasting is a time of rest.
A lot of energy is spent during the fast in the process of eliminating accumulated poisons and toxic waste materials. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the patients gets as much physical rest and mental relaxation as possible during the fast.
In cases of fasts in which fruit juices are taken, especially when fresh grapes, oranges or grapefruit are used exclusively, the toxic wastes enter the blood -stream rapidly, resulting in an overload of toxic matter, which affects normal bodily functions. This often results in dizzy spells, followed by diarrhoea and vomiting. If this physical reaction persists, it is advisable to discontinue the fast and take cooked vegetables containing adequate roughage such as spinach and beets until the body functioning returns to normal.
The overweight person finds it much easier to go without food. Loss of weight causes no fear
and the patient's attitude makes fasting almost a pleasure. The first day's hunger pangs are
perhaps the most difficult to bear.
The craving for food will, however, gradually decrease as the fast progresses. Seriously sick persons have no desire for food and fasting comes naturally to them. The simplest rule is to stop eating until the appetite returns or until one feels completely well.