Tip 19. Use the mud bath to remove impurities.

The mud or clay bath is another mode of the nature cure. It is applied in the same way as mud packs, but only on a larger scale on the entire body.

In this, mud or clay is first ground and sifted to remove all impurities, and then made into a smooth paste mixed with hot water. The paste is then spread on a sheet that in turn is wrapped round the body. One or two blankets are then wrapped over this, depending on the temperature of the room and that of the pack. A mud bath is followed with a cleansing warm water bath and a short cold shower.

The mud bath is found to tone up the skin by increasing the circulation and energising the skin tissues. Frequent mud baths help to improve the complexion, clear spots and patches on the skin following skin disorders or due to smallpox. It is very beneficial in the treatment of skin diseases like psoriasis, leucoderma and every leprosy. This bath is also valuable in getting relief from rheumatic pain or pain in the joints caused by injuries.
The duration of the bath should be from 30 minutes to one hour. Care should also be taken to avoid the patient catching a chill during the bath. Mud applications also form a vital part of natural beauty treatment.

Tip 18. The hot immersion bath is a valuable treatment in chronic rheumatism and obesity

It gives immediate relief when there is pain due to stones in the gall bladder and the kidneys. This bath also relieves capillary bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia in children. It relieves congestion of the lungs and activates the blood vessels of the skin muscles.

This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6º C to 40º C. Generally this bath is started at 37ºC 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. This bath can be advantageously employed in dropsy when there is excessive loss of tone of the heart and blood. The bath should be terminated as soon as the skin becomes red.

In pneumonia and suppressed menstruation, the bath should be administered at 37.7º C to 40º C

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.