One of the very oldest methods of healing illnesses has always been with the use of water. Many kinds of water have been found to be healing, and people have gone to hot springs, ocean water, mineral water, and even ice cold water with the intention of healing their body, or preventing infections. One of the main uses of water has been the use of hot water to raise the body's temperature and thusly kill off dangerous viruses and bacteria that have invaded a person's body. Fever is our body's natural defense against these invasions, and too often nowdays, people turn to an aspirin or similar medication to prevent the fever, not realizing that this is prolonging the illness itself. While it is not good to have a fever get so high that it can damage the body or the brain, it is a healing thing when we have an infection and our body fights it with hyperthermia. Amazingly, heating up the body temperature can also help fight other illnesses, and even help to prevent (or cure) cancer, since the heat kills the cancer cells. An example of this is a place in Italy that was a very swampy area, and many people would get malaria due to all of the mosquitoes there. Eventually, they drained the swamp, the land dried up, the mosquitoes died, and people did not get malaria. However, doctors noticed that within a year's time, many more people were getting sick with cancer, which before had seldom happened in that area. Researchers determined that the recurrent fevers of the malaria had been also killing off any cancer cells before they could spread into the body. While serious illnesses should only be treated with hyperthermia under a doctor's supervision, it is perfectly safe for most people to simply add some hot water therapy to help keep themselves healthy and illnesss-free. Hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and even just a hot bath can all help to raise our body temperature to a level that can help kill off any virus, or contagious illnesses, in many cases. Here is an interesting article that describes several safe uses of artificial hyperthermia that can be used to help prevent (or even treat) colds, and other illnesses caused by viruses. http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/therapeuticbaths.htm
Interesting topic Yvonne, .......the water cure was a big thing in Malvern, a small spa nestling in the Malvern Hills where I used to live, it's only a few miles from my home in Worcester. Hypothermia was created by dousing you in icy cold water and wrapping you in wet blankets, sounds a bit gruesome to me There is a 4 hour BBC video of Victorian Pharmacy below, and if you forward to 39 minutes there is a short bit about the water cure. The Water Cure One of the Water Cure treatments In 1842 the hydropathic (water cure) doctors, Dr James Wilson and Dr James Gully arrived and set up their practices. The famous, the wealthy and the curious tried the cure. Local inhabitants witnessed the arrival of ‘celebrities‘ such as Florence Nightingale who made many return visits. Charles Dickens and his wife, Charles Darwin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, the American writer Henry James, and many others also visited. The Water Cure stimulated the trade in bottled Malvern water. Schweppes began its long association with our natural spring water at this time. Donkey rides on the hills became popular and provided employment for women and young children in particular. St Anne’s Well However, by the late 1870s the Malvern Water Cure had declined, following the death of Dr Wilson in 1867 and the departure of Dr Gully in 1873. Malvern also faced stiff competition from much cheaper, but equally effective, treatments on the Continent. Forward to 39 minutes.
I definitely like the idea of using the hot water better than the ice cold baths and being wrapped in cold, wet sheets, @Terry Page . When I am at the fitness center, I usually soak in the hot tub and then get into the swimming pool; so I am going from the hot to a (relatively) cold water environment, and I think the change probably helps even though it is not as dramatic as being wrapped in wet sheets. If one thinks about it, when we get a cold or flu, as we start to get a fever , we usually feel cold , at least that is what happens with me. Once we are bundled under warm blankets, that probably serves to help raise the body temperature and then we also sweat the toxins out when we "break the fever" afterwards. I watched the part of the video about the cold water treatments, and it was interesting how the cold water can stimulate the white blood cells and help heal, whereas the hot water actually helps to make the body temperature high enough to kill the invading virus or bacteria. Hot springs that have mineral water are also supposed to be very healing to the person because the different minerals are healing, and the pH of the water also helps to kill unwanted organisms. That is one reason why eating anything with sugar when you are sick is bad, because the sugar changes the acid/alkaline balance of our body. I wish that we lived closer to where there were hot springs; but there does not seem to be any that are close to where we live.
I have this swelling on my leg which I call a mouse. It appears from time to time probably due to fatigue or excessive use of my legs in walking (I had stopped jogging a long time ago). The mouse is on my right leg only. My sister who is a nurse advised me to apply hot compress on the affected part. That's what I do every other night during bedtime so the heat can heal my leg while it is at rest. With the killing of virus, I have heard of that from the vendor where I bought my heating pad. It is made of cloth with beads inside and when I place it in the microwave for 2 minutes, there is the aroma like roasted nuts. Maybe it can kill the virus in the body, I hope.