• This is also known as full bath. It is administered in a bath tub which should be properly Fitted with hot and cold water connections.
• The bath can be taken at cold, neutral, hot, Graduated and alternate temperatures.

COLD IMMERSION BATH: 

• This may be taken for four seconds to 20 minutes at a temperature ranging from 10 Degree C to 23.8 Degree C.
• Before entering the bath, cold water should be poured on the patient’s head, chest and neck and the head should be protected with a cold moist towel.

• During the bath, the patient should vigorously rub his or her body. After the bath the body should be quickly dried and wrapped up in a blanket.
• If the climate is favorable, moderate exercise should be undertaken. This bath helps to bring down fever.

• It also improves the skin when taken for five to 15 seconds after a prolonged hot bath, by exhilarating circulation and stimulating the nervous system.
• This bath should not be given to young children or very elderly persons, nor be taken in cases of acute inflammation of some internal organs such as acute peritonitis, gastritis, enteritis and inflammatory conditions of uterus and ovaries.

HOT IMMERSION BATH:

• This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6 DEGREE C to 40 DEGREE C.

• Generally this bath is started at 37 Degree C and the temperature is then gradually raised to the required level by adding hot water.
• Before entering the bath, the patient should drink cold water and also wet the head, neck and shoulders with cold water.
• A cold compress should be applied throughout the treatment. This bath can be advantageously employed in dropsy when there is excessive loss of tone of the heart and blood.

• This bath also relieves capillary bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia in children. It relieves congestation of the lungs and activates the blood vessels of the skin muscles.
• The bath should be terminated as soon as the skin becomes red.
• In pneumonia and suppressed menstruation, the bath should be administered at 37.7 Degree C to 40 Degree C for about 30 to 45 minutes.

• This bath should be given when the menstruation is due and may be repeated for two to three days in succession. In dysmenorrhoea, this bath should be given at 38 DEGREE C to 44.4 DEGREE C for 15 minutes.
• In chronic bronchitis a very hot bath taken for 5 to 7 minutes should be accompanied with rubbing and friction.
• This relieves congestion of the mucous membrane and provides immediate relief After the bath, oil should be applied to the skin if necessary.
• The hot bath is a valuable treatment in chronic rheumatism and obesity.
• It gives immediate relief when there is pain due to stones in the gall bladder and the kidneys.
• The hot bath should not be taken in cases of organic diseases of the brain or spinal cord, nor in cases of cardiac weakness and cardiac hypertrophy.

CATHERINE SHALINI RAJA
M.P.T.,MIAP.,PGDYN
CARDIO RESPIRATORY PHYSICAL THERAPIST
FITNESS & SPORTS REHABILITATION SPECIALIST.