Types of Sitz Baths

Types of Sitz Baths

A good way to supplement your treatments for diseases of the abdomen or the buttocks is doing sitz baths. This type of bath stimulates the intestines, strengthens muscles, regulates renal function and helps the evacuation of stones or kidney stones. Depending on what you want to treat, there are different sorts of sitz baths and we reveal them in this OneHowTo article.

What is a sitz bath

A sitz bath is a treatment for diseases of the regions covered from the abdomen to the buttocks and genitals and can treat both internal and external diseases. This type of bath stimulates the activity of the intestines, strengthens the muscles and the abdominal area and regulates genital and renal function. It is also an anti-inflammatory and sedative, it facilitates the evacuation of calculations and is found to be effective against renal colic.

When we take a sitz bath, the person has to sit in a bucket of water or a bath and rest their feet on a low stool or footstool. In this position, the water must cover only from the navel to the buttocks and genitals. The water temperature must be lukewarm, but sometimes you can use warm or hot water.

The recommended duration is between 5 and 15 minutes. Throughout this time we have to give rubs and massages of various types in the parts of our body that are submerged in water. There are different types of sitz baths and you can see them in the following paragraphs

A stimulating sitz bath or cold sitz bath

This type of bath is used in chronic diseases affecting sexual organs such as pelvic inflammation,and the digestive tract, such as constipation or diarrhoea. To take a stimulating or cold sitz bath the water has to be cooler, about 12º C (56.6º F) temperature. The sick person will have to apply this bath for 20 minutes and finish by drying with vigorous rubbing. It is advisable to use a slightly rough towel.

A tonic sitz bath

A tonic sitz bath is applied for belly and underbelly diseases. Particularly in lumbago, sciatica, jaundice, inflammation of the genitals, menstrual disorders and infertility cases. For this type of bath, the water must be at 16 °C (60.8° F) and should last about 10 minutes.

Derivative sitz bath

Usually this type of bath is used for congestive states head, neck or chest such as cerebral congestion or chronic gonorrhea. In the derivative sitz bath the water must be at a temperature of 18 ° C (64.4°F), and after a while you can add cold water to prolong the bath a little more. Generally, the duration of the derivative sitz bath is 20 minutes except in anemic, nervous and sick people who present weakness. In these cases the duration is 5 minutes.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to Types of Sitz Baths, we recommend you visit our Healthy living category.