Take a Bath!

[Guest Guest]

HEALING BATH

 

By KATHY SENA

 

THE MODESTO BEE

 

(Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2001)

 

 

 

Mae West said it best: "When in doubt, take a bath."

 

 

 

And doctors agree. According to Lynn Keegan, R.N., Ph.D., and Dr. Gerald T. Keegan, authors of "Healing Waters," a half hour in the tub can relieve myriad ills. A bath's warmth and gentle water pressure prompt your blood vessels to dilate slightly, which, in turn encourages a slower heart rate and relieves muscle tension.

 

 

 

And if you add one or more of the ingredients described here, you can turn your bath into a pool of healing waters, too.

 

 

 

HOW HOT? A bath that feels warm to the touch is most therapeutic -- and least drying -- says Dr. Jerome D. Fallon, a dermatologist in private practice in Crystal Lake, Ill. "An overly hot bath is drying to the skin,"

 

 

 

he says. Oil moves faster when it's heated, and a very hot bath can quickly dissolve the skin's protective oil layer.

 

 

 

Our experts recommend avoiding cold baths. After all, it's the warmth from the water, they say, that relieves aching muscles and aids relaxation. The ideal bath temperature is between 95 and 104 degrees, according to the authors of "Healing Waters."

 

 

 

HOW LONG? If you have fewer than five or 10 minutes to spare, you might as well take a shower, says Dr. Scott Rackett, a dermatologist in Redondo Beach. The ideal bath is 20 to 30 minutes long, he adds. Any more than that, and you're just drying out your skin. A 20-minute bath will work well with any of the ingredients described below.

 

 

 

Also, if you stay in longer, you'll be tempted to add more hot water, which will dilute the effects of anything you've added to your bath, notes Dr. Howard Murad, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California at Los Angeles.

 

 

 

What if you just can't resist the lure of a good book and an entire hour of blissful soaking?

 

 

 

"Be sure to use lotion on your skin after your bath," Fallon says. "Lotion contains both oil and water, and it helps your skin retain and replenish its natural oil."

 

 

 

And no matter how long you bathe, do dry off quickly. "Don't let yourself drip dry," says Rackett. "That really accelerates the loss of water from your skin."

 

 

 

Adding certain ingredients to your bath can provide specific therapeutic benefits. Our experts recommend the following:

 

 

 

Oatmeal -- What it does: Colloidal oatmeal (finely milled oatmeal made from the inner part of the oat) relieves itchy skin caused by dryness, poison ivy, sunburn, eczema, psoriasis -- even chickenpox, according to Fallon.

 

 

 

This form of oatmeal, which resembles fine face powder, is specifically created for the bath and disperses well in warm water, he notes.

 

 

 

How to do it: Colloidal oatmeal comes prepackaged in individual packets. Use one packet per bath.

 

 

 

By adding oats to a sock and holding it under warm running water, you can reap some of the same benefits. Just don't dump rolled oats directly into the bath: You could be in for a hefty plumbing bill.

 

 

 

Saline -- What it does: You don't have to cry a river of tears to get quick relief from yeast-infection symptoms, says Dr. Gideon G. Panter, a staff gynecologist at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center. Panter recommends saline baths to his patients who have yeast infections.

 

 

 

"A yeast infection is a disorder of the ecology of the vagina," he explains. The saline solution helps return the vagina to a normal, healthy state.

 

 

 

How to do it: Just add 1/2 cup table salt to a warm bath.

 

 

 

"Relief is instantaneous," says Panter, who suggests using a saline bath for two to three nights in a row at the first sign of symptoms.

 

 

 

Bath salts -- What they do: Bath salts -- including Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) and sea salt -- work primarily by drawing fluid from your system and reducing swelling, says Murad. Soaking in a warm tub with bath salts can help relieve PMS-related bloating, too, he notes.

 

 

 

How to use them: If you're using straight Epsom salts from your local pharmacy, you'll need about two cups per bath to get the maximum benefit. If you're using fancier bath salts blended with other ingredients, you'll usually get the best results by adding slightly more than the amount specified on the label.

 

 

 

"Many people use just a few tablespoons of bath salts," says Murad, who recommends using up to a full cup per bath.

 

 

 

Cornstarch -- What it does: Much like colloidal oatmeal, a cornstarch bath can be used to soothe itchy skin caused by poison ivy, sunburn, eczema, psoriasis -- or just plain, old-fashioned dry skin, says Murad.

 

 

 

How to use it: Murad recommends adding a cup of cornstarch to the bath, pouring it directly into the stream of warm running water to help it dissolve.

 

 

 

Herbal tea -- What it does: You can increase your relaxation response by adding great-smelling herbs and teas to your bath water, according to Dr. Harold Bloomfield, author of "Healing Anxiety With Herbs."

 

 

 

Bloomfield favors submersion to neck level at a temperature of about 100 degrees and suggests avoiding potentially irritating herbs such as thyme, sage and oregano in favor of traditionally relaxing additives such as lavender and chamomile.

 

 

 

How to do it: To minimize cleanup, try placing three to five of your favorite herbal tea bags under the faucet as you run your bath.

 

 

 

Or create your own bath sachet by placing half a cup of herbs in a muslin bag or cheesecloth and letting the herbs steep in the water.

 

 

 

A third -- and even easier -- option is lying back and luxuriating in one of the many prepackaged herbal-tea infusions now on the market, such as Harney & Sons' Soothing Blend Bath Infusion, Tub Tea or Bulgari's Tea Bags for the Bath.

 

 

 

Vinegar -- What it does: OK, so it won't leave you smelling like a rose.

 

 

 

But a vinegar bath can help makes the skin's pH level slightly more acidic so that certain bacteria won't grow, says Dr. Alan Blaugrund, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of New Mexico.

 

 

 

For example, a vinegar bath can help curb persistent foot odor. And doctors often recommend vinegar baths as a preventive measure against possible vaginal infections when taking antibiotics, Blaugrund says.

 

 

 

"If you're taking an antibiotic for bronchitis, for example, you're also killing off the good bacteria (in the vagina)," he explains. "A vinegar bath helps restore the slightly acidic mantle to the skin that allows the good bacteria to flourish."

 

 

 

How to use it: Add about a pint of plain white vinegar to a warm bath. "Just be sure to shower off with plain water -- no soap -- after your bath so you don't smell like a salad," Blaugrund adds. And see your doctor if symptoms continue.

 

 

 

WHAT NOT TO ADD TO YOUR BATH -- Not every addition to the bath is good for your skin. Here are some you may want to avoid:

 

Bubble bath. If your skin is blistered, burned or cut, or if you tend to suffer from vaginal or urinary-tract infections, you'll want to skip bubble baths. That's because most contain detergent, which removes oil from the skin, according to Fallon. (Picture those dish-detergent ads that show the greasy food being lifted from the pan. Then imagine the same thing happening on the surface of your skin.) Also, some ingredients added to bubble bath (such as sodium laurel sulfate) are added to create a nice foam. Unfortunately, these are the very same ingredients that irritate and dry sensitive skin.

 

 

 

Scented products. If you tend to have skin allergies or frequent vaginal irritation, you'll want to avoid scented bath salts and oils or other bath products that may be perfumed, suggests Decker.

 

 

 

Products containing alcohol. Alcohol can be very drying to the skin, says dermatologist Dr. Marsha Gordon, co-author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beautiful Skin." She notes, however, that some ingredients, such as alcohol esters and cetyl alcohol, sound like alcohol but lack its irritating effects.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Thanks for the info!

 

Quote:

Also, some ingredients added to bubble bath (such as sodium laurel sulfate) are added to create a nice foam. Unfortunately, these are the very same ingredients that irritate and dry sensitive skin.

 

I think this is what I may be allergic to. I'll have to check if it's in the products I have.

~Jo

[Synn]

What about baby oil? Or different oils?

[gardnmom]

My favorite is coconut oil for the skin, it feels oily when it first goes on, but is quickly absorbed and soon after just feels soft and smooth.

[Guest Guest]

[Guest Guest]

naw... sometimes we just need to do for ourselves! take that old powdered milk and throw in the bath water! a few candles, lock the bathroom door of course, a book, a glass of wine and exhale.

[bee1425]

Quote:

Take a Bath!

Please! ....................

[germanbini]

A hot bath can also induce a fever (elevated body tempeture). Cold viruses like a cooler envonment to grow that is why they multiply in the sinus cavity. A hot bath raises your body/blood tempeture as well has steam the sinus cavity. Many a cold can be caught before it starts with a hot bath.

[plentiousgrace]

If you shave your legs before you bathe, and soak in baby oil, glycerin and coconut oil with warmed water 1:1:1:5-10

For thirty minutes, then bathe and wash with a mild soap your legs will feel like a million dollars.

[Linda]

off to take a bath.... i have forgotten how good one does feel.... thanks for the reminder

[Synn]

Quote:

1:1:1:5-10

What does this mean?

[Roseofsharon]

Boy this is really making me wish I had stuck with the tub (claw foot) for Christmas!

[shamrockus]

Quote:

Quote:

1:1:1:5-10

What does this mean?

[Kygal]

i have a tub.

 

(i didnt have one the wholw time i was pregnant and i suffered greatly for it.)

[Pixie]

yarrgh...i am looking up older posts...things i saw before, and wish to find again, but i feel like there is a lot missing from these threads. oh well. is there any hope of recovering what was lost? i think the original poster was....darn, i cant remember her name, but she had a picture of dame edna for her avatar. used to post a lot i guess. i know it was this thread, because i posted here...but my post turned into kygal. lol *sigh*

[Necie]

Know what ya mean, Pixie. I was thinking this the other night when I was looking back at some old posts. All my old ones are now under 'Bright Blessings'. So I know who to look under and I think I read EVERY post (well, almost) before the move, so I remember most of what's missing. I do miss some of those great posts though. Mountain Mommy and Dar did a wonderful job with the change and I love the new site and as they say 'chit happens', but it can get frustrating, huh? I was thinking 'Geesh, this is like sitting next to someone who's talking on the phone and only getting half the conversation-AND I don't even know who I'm sitting next to cuz they have on their holloween costume.' haha Pretty goofy, huh? Then I think 'Imagine how the new people see it? Must be really weird.'

[Darlene]

Unfortunately, no, we cannot recover the posts that were lost, nor can we undo the chaotic changes that happened during the move.

 

I understand your frustration, 3900 posts of mine were totally wiped out, along with all of the other Admin's and a few Mods for some reason.

 

We're just trying to rebuild the best we can and hopefully people will understand.

[Grubby]

Pixie,

 

What were you looking for? Maybe we could help you find

some answers to what you were looking for.