Thermal waters: every cure of its water

The therapies based on thermal waters are particularly suitable for different types of chronic diseases (and not) affecting various systems.

For ENT diseases and those of the respiratory tract, aerosols made with drugs can be associated, in spas, inhalation therapies (inhalations, aerosols, humage or nebulizations) with thermal waters, generally sulphurous for their ability to fluidify bronchial mucus.

For gynecological diseases, spa doctors often recommend vaginal irrigations with salsobromoiodic mineral waters, which contain high levels of sodium chloride, iodine and bromine which, acting on the thyroid, stimulate ovarian activity. For “dry” vaginitis, salty waters are also recommended, while sulphurous waters are widely used for more productive ones.

As far as vascular pathologies are concerned (varicose syndromes, post-phlebitic or outcomes of phlebitis and saphenectomy) baths and whirlpools are usually used, especially with carbonic waters, able to stimulate the opening of capillaries and venous walls. For venous insufficiencies it is very useful the vascular walkway to be implemented in two water corridors equipped with hydromassage jets placed at different heights and filled with thermal water at different temperatures, added with ozone.

At the gastrointestinal level, dyspepsia, constipation or irritable bowel syndrome can be treated at the spa.

Not only thermal waters

In case of pathologies affecting both the gastrointestinal and urinary tract, it is possible to follow a hydroponic treatment, which consists in drinking precise quantities of oligomineral waters:

• Bicarbonate, with low carbon dioxide content, is indicated in case of gastric hypersecretion and related diseases
• Sulphated water is indicated for digestive problems and, if heated in the morning, can have laxative effects.

Hydromud therapy, which combines hydroponic therapy with mud applied to the liver area, and balneotherapy (immersion in thermal waters) are also particularly indicated in dyspepsias and constipation.

Baths and mud baths to care for the skin

For some dermatological diseases, especially psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis, but also for eczema and atopic dermatitis, the thermal bath (balneotherapy) is the most suitable treatment: it is implemented with different types of water (salsobromoiodic, radioactive, bicarbonated, sulphurous) at a temperature of 36-38 ° C, except for sulphurous waters, which are used for warm baths at 32-35 ° C.

Balneotherapy and the application of mud with sulphurous and salsobromoiodic waters are also used to improve symptoms and functional recovery in case of rheumatic diseases.

“It should always be remembered – points out Umberto Solimene, president of Femtec, World Federation of Thermal Centers – that thermal therapies are not DIY treatments: they must always be agreed and prescribed by the family doctor (also to take advantage of the annual cycle that is borne by the National Health Service) and controlled by the medical staff who must be present in every spa to ensure seriousness and effectiveness of the treatments”.