Anyone who has ever visited a Russian bathhouse and felt its healing steam will probably tell you that after her visit a bad mood disappeared somewhere, aching joints in her joints disappeared, other sores ceased to be felt, which until recently had literally poisoned life. At the same time, there is a constant desire that such pleasure lasts as long as possible.
Since time immemorial, the Russian people went to the bathhouse not only for taking water procedures. For him, she was a venue for ancient customs and rituals, as well as fortune-telling. And why do people go to baths today? Let's try to figure this out.
Folk healer
Baths have been around for centuries. And people prefer to go into them not only in order to wash themselves well. There are many adherents of this invention. And all because bath procedures have medicinal properties with which mankind has been familiar since ancient times.
For example, Hippocrates often prescribed a steam room for his patients. He believed that the toxins and poisons that had accumulated in the body and poisoned it during the illness would certainly leave the body due to increased sweating. It is worth saying that this ancient Greek doctor himself used the methods of treatment he developed, which allowed him to live 110 years.
Wellness bath procedures were offered to their patients by the healers of Ancient Rome. They rightly believed that water along with steam (both dry and wet) works real miracles.
In Russia, they also knew that conducting bath procedures is beneficial to health. Our ancestors believed that a well-heated steam room could heal any patient, even the most seemingly hopeless one. For a long time in Russia bathing wellness procedures were used for diseases of the nervous system and musculoskeletal system. In the steam room, gout and colds were treated, joints were repaired and skin diseases got rid of. It was believed that there was no ailment from which the bathhouse could not have saved.
Respiratory Treatment
Often the only way to get rid of certain diseases are steam and hot air. That is why bathing wellness procedures are recommended in the treatment of respiratory organs. During their holding, hot steam gives away its heat to a person. At the same time, light, pathogenic microbes warm up and lose the ability not only to multiply in the body, but also to penetrate into it.
In the Russian bath, a so-called heat stroke is created, repeatedly enhancing the therapeutic effect. This phenomenon occurs when liquid is poured onto hot stones in a steam oven. And if you add various healing infusions and decoctions to the water, you can get a wonderful opportunity to breathe in healing vapors.
A visit to the bath will help after an attack of bronchial asthma. At the same time, it is recommended to use brooms made of tree branches densely covered with leaves. After all, it contains healing components that, evaporating, cleanse the lungs of sputum, produce a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and will contribute to the disinfection of the bronchi.
Great benefits of bath procedures in getting rid of pneumonia. They will help with bronchitis.
Cramps and muscle cramps
Bath procedures are an excellent way to get rid of many ailments. They will help with diseases of muscle tissue. And in this case, it is also worth resorting to hot steam and self-massage performed by a broom. Such procedures will help to get rid of sprains and bruises as soon as possible due to the activation of restoration processes in damaged tissues.
Those people whose muscular system has recently been subjected to excessive physical exertion are advised to visit the steam room for several self-massage sessions. It is advisable to use special creams that deeply warm the skin. When stretching the muscles, a visit to the steam room should be combined with massage sessions performed by hands or brushes with varying degrees of stiffness.
Bath procedures are especially indispensable for the treatment of dislocations and bruises. Hot steam will warm up the muscles well and enable it to recover faster.
The bath will also help those who froze some of the parts of the body (leg or arm). Of course, rubbing vodka or alcohol can be used to create a rush of blood to the limbs, but this will require a lot of physical effort and time. Quickly and effectively rid a person of signs of frostbite will allow a visit to the steam room. In this case, it is recommended to pour solutions of mustard or eucalyptus, chamomile or linden, nettle or needles on hot stones.
Relieving Arthritis and Rheumatism
The consequences of technological progress have led to the fact that modern man in everyday life spends less and less physical effort. For most people, this has negative consequences in the form of muscle atrophy. Such changes, in turn, lead to various disorders in the joints, which lose their flexibility due to the deposition of various decay products (salts and acids).
Similar processes end with osteochondrosis, radiculitis and arthritis. A bathhouse will help get rid of these diseases, which bring excruciating pain. Even with a single visit to the paired body, the former flexibility partially returns.
For faster disposal of the disease, the use of badger fat is recommended. It is used directly in the steam room after thoroughly warming the joints. In the same way, you can use bee honey or bear fat.
Often in the treatment of radiculitis and arthritis in the bath, hot compresses are used, for which steamed birch buds are used. Strengthening the effect of such a procedure can be achieved by wrapping a belt of dog hair.
Immunity strengthening
The use of bath procedures is a wonderful way to maintain human health. In order to feel cheerful and full of vitality, we all need good immunity, which can be strengthened by hardening procedures.
Even in ancient times, people drew attention to the fact that contrasting temperatures have a beneficial effect on human health. This is confirmed by modern research. So, if a person heated by a bath immediately plunges into snow or into an ice hole, then the body reacts to this by releasing a huge charge of energy. In this case, the most intense activation of vitality. Such bathing procedures are useful for men and for women with an inactive lifestyle. In addition, with regular holding, such hardening will increase the body's immune forces, protecting it from colds and inflammatory diseases.
Slimming
A woman of any age wants to be slim and beautiful. But do not forget that the person’s appearance is largely affected by his health. Indeed, many are unhappy with their brittle hair, poor skin condition, ugly complexion, and overweight. And these are the components of health.
Bath procedures will allow getting rid of many problems. For women, a steam room is recommended as an effective tool to lose weight. Hot water enhances blood circulation, due to which a deep cleansing of the body occurs and metabolic processes increase.
Bath procedures for weight loss are repeated in courses with a break of 2-3 days. They should be continued until the desired result is achieved. In between visits to the steam room, it is recommended to drink at least two liters of apple juice daily, excluding coffee or sweet tea from the diet. It is worth saying that bathing procedures for weight loss are so effective that they allow you to get rid of 300 to 400 g of excess weight in one session in a steam room.
There is another way to make your body beautiful. It involves taking a cool shower after five minutes in the steam room. Then you should turn around with a hot towel and return to the bath for another two minutes. This must be repeated at least 4-5 times. The contrasting effects of cold and heat in the best way will destroy the fat deposits under the skin, which will be eliminated from the body.
However, it should be borne in mind that such bathing procedures are recommended for healthy and strong women. For people with a sick heart, this method of losing weight is far from the best.
Skin care
Taking a bath or shower is certainly beneficial. However, the tap water in our homes contains chlorine, which has an adverse effect on the skin. Quite another matter - water in the bath. She is much softer and better. In addition, the charm of this water lies in the atmosphere, saturated with the smell of oak and birch brooms, combined with puffs of steam and hot air.
However, water alone is clearly not enough for the skin. Perform this procedure with a bar of soap with the simple name "Bath." This product does not have any special enchanting aromas, but it is most suitable for a steamed body due to the additives of natural extracts of medicinal herbs contained in it.
Many women believe that bath procedures for the skin are harmful. And to prevent exposure to hot steam, they rub oily creams into the body. However, this is not worth doing. A fat cream only clogs the pores and prevents the skin from breathing normally. The opposite effect is provided by the bath air. It cleanses the pores and therefore improves the appearance of the skin.
There is one old people's council, using which you can get a feeling of unusual freshness. According to him, a little honey should be rubbed into the skin while performing a massage or self-massage of the body. Despite its simplicity, this procedure is very effective. It will allow you to clean the pores, as well as nourish the skin and remove irritation from them.
Nail & Hand Care
During bathing procedures, you can not only steam. Many women use this time for hand care. Of course, in public baths it’s difficult to engage in oneself. But the facilities at the village or country house may well replace a small beauty salon.
So, it is recommended to use bath procedures for rejuvenating the skin of the hands, which often looks groomed and rough. Moreover, in addition to moist and hot air, expanding the pores, it is necessary to use exfoliating and softening mixtures and compositions.
One of the simplest recommendations is oil wrap. To perform this procedure, you will need either a fatty cream or vegetable oil. After applying the product on the skin, cotton gloves should be worn on the hands.
The same procedure is performed for nails. Only in this case, a pinch of salt must be added to the vegetable oil. A mixture of milk and honey (1: 1) applied to the hands will give beauty to their hands.
One of the anti-aging agents will be ordinary bath brooms. They are pre-soaked in water, into which hands are then lowered.
Feet care
Pleasant trips to the bath can be combined with very useful procedures. And among them there are those that are aimed at foot care. Often, all sorts of corns appear on our feet. Our legs also hurt from corns that formed when wearing uncomfortable shoes. The most suitable place to get rid of these growths is a bath. Here the legs are perfectly steamed, which allows you to remove keratinized layers from their skin.
The bathhouse will also help those who suffer from heel spurs, which brings discomfort when walking. To eliminate such deposits on a sore spot, it is recommended to apply a compress from the alcohol tincture of lilac.
Bath procedures will help get rid of excessive sweating. This process is accompanied by a not very pleasant smell coming from the legs. To get rid of the problem after the bath, you should wipe the feet and skin between the fingers with an ice cube. But the legs themselves with enough to pour cold water. Also recommended are foot baths with infusion left after soaking an oak or birch broom.
With overwork and muscle strain, coniferous solutions will help the legs. Baths from them will save the skin from bruises.
Contraindications
Bath procedures are not useful to everyone and not always. There are some restrictions regarding general well-being and health. So, there are diseases in which visiting the steam room is strictly prohibited, and one of them is hypertension, which has reached the second or third stage. Indeed, in the bath, body temperature rises to 38-40 degrees, and after it arterial pressure also rises. A similar condition for hypertensive patients can end not only with a worsening of the condition, but also with loss of consciousness, stroke, heart attack, renal failure, etc.
Doctors also forbid taking a steam bath with those who suffer from certain cardiovascular diseases. After all, everyone knows that when visiting a steam room, the pulse quickens. And this indicates an increase in the load on the heart muscle. So, trips to the bath with endocarditis, pericarditis and myocarditis are prohibited. With such pathologies, sessions in the steam room sometimes end tragically. The hot air of the baths is also contraindicated for those who have suffered a heart attack. Caution is required from patients with a diagnosis of arrhythmia, angina pectoris, coronary arteriosclerosis and aorta.
What other contraindications have bath procedures? For bursitis and other inflammatory diseases, you should seek the advice of a doctor. The adoption of a decision by a specialist will depend on the degree and severity of the disease.
The doctor's recommendations regarding the possibility of visiting the steam room will be needed for anemia and infectious diseases. But a categorical ban on such trips exists in patients with asthma, dermatitis and eczema.
Falling asleep during bath procedures is also contraindicated. It will not bring health benefits and significantly increase the load on the heart and blood vessels.