Give hydrotherapy a try.
It seems there are many new centers popping up in cities and on the news that offer “cold plunge” pools or cryotherapy to increase blood flow and briefly shock your nervous and cardiovascular systems, with the result of boosting the immune system and reducing inflammation. There are many benefits of cold plunging, but this therapy may be limited because people may not want to take a cold plunge or there may not be a pool available.
There are also some spas or resorts that have hydrotherapy pools – one cold, one lukewarm and one hot – and you would spend a certain amount of time in each pool in order to get the health benefits. Steam rooms are also very beneficial. Either dry or wet saunas can have even more benefit if you end it with a cold shower for 30 seconds to five minutes.
As naturopaths, we often recommend constitutional hydrotherapy treatments that utilize a series of cold and hot moist towels applied for a sequence of time to the back and torso. I love to recommend the wet sock treatment or other hydrotherapy techniques to boost immunity, improve blood flow, reduce pain and inflammation and boost energy levels.
Most people don’t have a hot tub, cold plunge pool or sauna at their home. If you don’t, here are a few ways that we can get the benefits of hydrotherapy at home. All of these methods will increase blood flow, cleanse the skin, boost the immune system and release natural endorphins to make you feel good.
- End your hot shower with 30 seconds of cold water. It closes your pores and invigorates your skin.
- Try a wet sock treatment nightly. Get a thin pair of socks, wet with cold water, wring them out. Put on your feet and then put a thicker dry pair of socks over the wet socks. Go to bed, cover up to stay warm. In the morning, the socks will be completely dry and you’ll have a boosted immune system. Use daily to prevent illness or when you are sick, as it can improve your energy and help you get over the illness faster.
- Try a wet t-shirt treatment. It works the same way as the wet sock treatment.
- Inhale steam. This works great for a stuffy head, cough, stuffy nose or ears. Add essential oils like eucalyptus or peppermint to help open up the sinuses and lungs even more.
- Take an Epsom salt bath with hot water and essential oils to help achy muscles and reduce inflammation. You can apply a cold, wet washcloth to your forehead for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Soak achy feet in hot water with Epsom salt for 10 minutes then place feet in ice water for 30 seconds to five minutes.
- Use cold or hot compresses. Apply a hot compress to help with puss-filled skin infections, on eyes to treat styes or eye inflammation or to treat any painful areas. Cold compresses can also be used to reduce swelling and inflammation. It may also be beneficial to end a hot compress with a cold compress to promote healing, especially if there has been inflammation longer than 48 hours. Give hydrotherapy a try.
These are simple treatments that can be done at home daily to boost the immune system through cold and flu season and can be done at any age, from infants to elderly. FBN
By Christina Kovalik
Dr. Christina Kovalik NMD, LAc, The Vitality Doctor, is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist specializing in hormone optimization, optimal health and vitality. She is a new Flagstaff resident, practicing since 2004, and opened her second location in Doney Park in 2020. For more information, visit thevitalitydoctor.com or call 928-863-6086.