Mud bath

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Woman after a mud bath, depiction on a postcard from 1927

A peat bath is a full or partial bath in bath peat mixed with water , which is broken down in peat bogs . Mud baths are offered in many health resorts , but can also be prepared at home in the bathtub. However, freshly prepared bath peat has a better healing effect. Mud bath or mud spa is also an additional name for health resorts that offer mud treatments.

A mud bath is a thermal water bath in which (mostly medicinal) mud sediment is applied to the skin by immersion or brushing. See the article on " Fango ". In Turkey , for example, there is a mud bath in Sultaniye near Dalyan . In the USA , self-made mud baths were a party gag .

The active components of the peat have only been partially analyzed. There is some controversy among medical professionals as to which complaints can be alleviated or cured by mud baths and packs. The use of moor or bath peat is part of balneotherapy .

Already Paracelsus has "Moor" is recommended as a remedy for various diseases. Around 1800 French soldiers are said to have set up the first German mud baths after they had got to know them during Napoleon's Egypt campaign . After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig, Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte had the troops set up the first spa with mud treatments in Bad Nenndorf . However, there is said to have been a mud bath in Bad Pyrmont as early as 1802 . In the 19th century, mud baths were created in numerous European health resorts, u. a. in Marienbad (1813), Franzensbad (1827), Karlsbad (1836) and Bad Aibling (1845).

effect

General effect

Bath peat is a very good heat store that retains heat for a long time and slowly releases it to the body during a bath, much more slowly than water. So-called “watery” mud baths, which can also be used in the bathtub, are less effective than thick mud baths, which store heat for much longer and release it to the body more slowly. That is why mud baths are used as so-called overheating baths with a temperature of up to 46 degrees Celsius, which are perceived as less hot in this medium. About 20 minutes in the mud bath let the body temperature rise by about two degrees, which corresponds to an artificial fever . By warming the core of the body, endocrine and vegetative control circuits should be influenced, which has an indirect positive effect on the immune system and stimulates the metabolism . In addition, the warmth relaxes the muscles. Possible cardiovascular problems can be avoided with a heart cooler .

It is known that bath peat contains anti-inflammatory substances such as humic acids . Humic acids are said to be the effective agent in peat packs that only come into contact with circumscribed skin areas. The peat treatments are also said to have a lasting relaxing effect on the nervous system.

The influence on the hormonal balance could be proven in clinical experimental studies with thick, mushy full baths of peat, whereby plant constellations preserved in the peat and occurring regionally different could also play a role. Even with infertility , statistically relevant successes were achieved. Medical research on this is far from over.

Thermal lake Specchio de Venere (translated "Mirror of Venus") on the volcanic island of Pantelleria . Its sulphurous bottom sludge is applied to the skin by bathers. The myth of being a fountain of youth surrounds the outflow-free lake .

Thick pulpy variant

In the thick pulpy variant, the general effect is supplemented by a floating effect due to the much lower displacement compared to water, which gives a relative weightlessness and which largely relieves the entire joint system of the body for the duration of the bath. It is therefore also suitable for treating rheumatic complaints and other joint diseases.

Hygiene and recycling

For reasons of hygiene, a shared bath in moor or bath peat is not recommended. As part of a cure, single baths in the tub are common, whereby the peat should only be used once.

In recognized moor spa baths, the ground peat used once is brought back to the mining areas, then broken down again after a regeneration phase lasting several years and reused.

Indications

Mud baths are recommended by medical professionals for:

• arthrosis
• osteoporosis
• ankylosing spondylitis
• Complaints in the menopause
• rheumatism
• gynecological diseases

Contraindications

Mud baths are not recommended for:

• chronic inflammatory diseases
• Heart disease
• strong varicose veins
• Cancers
• weeping eczema and open wounds
• high blood pressure
• pregnancy
• very sensitive skin

See also

• Mud spa

Web links

Commons : Mud bath  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Moorbad  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Healing moor. MDR contribution

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !