Bathing

Bathing is the washing of the body with a liquid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.

Quotes

Based on available literature, this review suggests that hydrotherapy was widely used to improve immunity and for the management of pain, CHF, MI, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma, PD, AS, RA, OAK, FMS, anorectal disorders, fatigue, anxiety, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hyperthermia, labor, etc. It produces different effects on various systems of the body depending on the temperature of water and though these effects are scientifically evidence based, there is lack of evidences for the mechanism on how hydrotherapy improves these diseases, which is one of the limitations of hydrotherapy, and further studies are required to find the mechanism of hydrotherapy on various diseases. ~ A Mooventhan and L Nivethitha

Increasing comfort and physiological stabilization in preterm infants during neonatal care improves their neurophysiological development. Bathing procedures that support this development and will not expose the newborn to stress should be preferred. ~ Halil İbrahim Taşdemir

• He took her upstairs to Guido’s big tiled shower. “I will show you the greatest luxury of this century—it almost makes up for the two World Wars.” Turning on the hot water, he sprinkled bath herbs on the tiles. The stall filled with scented steam. Slowly, he undressed her. Kathe’s skin was stark white under the electric light, smelling of excitement and caked with dirt; in the whole time they had been together, Kathe had bathed only once, in the cold waters of the Rhine.
  He positioned her under the hot cascade from the shower nozzle, her bare hips pressed against the hard warm tiles, her feet braced in the corners of the stall. Dieter scrubbed both their bodies with spiced soap—his hands slid down her breasts and between her legs. Kathe realized that the sixteenth century had a lot to discover about sex and cleanliness.
  • R. Garcia y Robertson, Gypsy Trade (1992), reprinted in The Moon Maid and Other Fantastic Adventures (1998), ISBN 0-9655901-8-6, p. 25

• Routine tub bathing not only disrupts preterm infants' sleep but also causes an increase in distress behavior. Preterm infants' stress increases with the intrusiveness of nursing procedures. NICU caregivers should consider the effects of routine nursing activities that influence the infants, and modify handling to promote techniques to promote preterm infants' recovery, growth and development.
  • Jen-Jiuan Liaw 1 , Luke Yang, Yeong-Seng Yuh, Ti Yin, “Effects of tub bathing procedures on preterm infants' behavior”, J Nurs Res. 2006 Dec;14(4):297-305.

• Then in her bath she sponged from foot to head,
  Her body, arms, breasts, thighs, and things unsaid,
  Powdered and dried herself with delicate care.
  • G. A. Moore, Pagan Poems (1881)

• In patients with acute anal pain due to hemorrhoids or anal fissures, neither cold water (<15°C) nor hot water (>30°C) sitz bath (SB) did control pain statistically. Similarly, after sphincterotomy for anal fissure, SB produced no significant difference in pain but significant relief in anal burning and better satisfaction score with no adverse effects were observed compared with control group. Healing and pain relief was not significant in SB but it improved patient satisfaction in acute anal fissures.
  Though there was no strong evidence to support the use of SB for pain relief and to accelerate fissure or wound healing among adult patients with anorectal disorders (ARDs), patients were satisfied with using SB and no severe complications were reported. In contrast, warm-water SB (40°C, 45°C, and 50°C for 10 min each time) in ARD, pain relief was more evident and lasted longer at higher bath temperatures. Pain relief after SB might attribute to internal anal-sphincter relaxation, which might be due to thermosphincteric reflex, resulting in diminution of the rectal neck pressure. The higher the bath temperature, the greater the drop in rectal neck pressure and internal sphincter electromyographic activity, and longer the time needed to return to pretest levels.
  • A Mooventhan and L Nivethitha; “Scientific Evidence-Based Effects of Hydrotherapy on Various Systems of the Body”, N Am J Med Sci. 2014 May; 6(5): 199–209.

• Mean labor pain scores were significantly higher in control group than immersion bath (IB) group suggest that use of IB as an alternative form of pain relief during labor. WI in primipara at any stage of labor, from 2 cm external opening of the uterine cervix, significantly decreased parturition duration compared with traditional delivery. It raised both the amplitude and frequency of uterine contractions proportional to uterine cervix gaping with no disturbances in contraction activity of the uterus. A 3-cm gaping of uterine cervix is the optimal timing for WI in the primipara because earlier WI at 2-cm uterine cervix gaping also accelerated the labor but required repetitions of WI or use of oxytocin for correcting weakened uterine contraction.
  In contrast, IB did not influence the length of labor and uterine contractions frequency. However, contractions length was statistically shorter in IB and it can be an alternative for woman's comfort during labor, since it provides relief to her without interfering on labor progression or jeopardizing the baby.
  WI during first stage of labor reduces the use of epidural/spinal/paracervical analgesia/anesthesia compared with controls and there is no evidence of increased adverse effects to fetus/neonate or woman from laboring in water or water birth. Neonatal swimming can accelerate babies growth in early stage. In a microbiological study, comparing neonatal bacterial colonization after water birth to conventional bed deliveries with or without relaxation bath showed no significant difference between three groups in neonatal outcome, infant's and maternal infection rate.
  • A Mooventhan and L Nivethitha; “Scientific Evidence-Based Effects of Hydrotherapy on Various Systems of the Body”, N Am J Med Sci. 2014 May; 6(5): 199–209.

• Based on available literature, this review suggests that hydrotherapy was widely used to improve immunity and for the management of pain, CHF, MI, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma, PD, AS, RA, OAK, FMS, anorectal disorders, fatigue, anxiety, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hyperthermia, labor, etc. It produces different effects on various systems of the body depending on the temperature of water and though these effects are scientifically evidence based, there is lack of evidences for the mechanism on how hydrotherapy improves these diseases, which is one of the limitations of hydrotherapy, and further studies are required to find the mechanism of hydrotherapy on various diseases.
  • A Mooventhan and L Nivethitha; “Scientific Evidence-Based Effects of Hydrotherapy on Various Systems of the Body”, N Am J Med Sci. 2014 May; 6(5): 199–209.

• Increasing comfort and physiological stabilization in preterm infants during neonatal care improves their neurophysiological development. Bathing procedures that support this development and will not expose the newborn to stress should be preferred.
  • Halil İbrahim Taşdemir, Emine Efe, “The effect of tub bathing and sponge bathing on neonatal comfort and physiological parameters in late preterm infants: A randomized controlled trial”, Int J Nurs Stud. 2019 Nov;99:103377.

• Tub bathing is a safer, more pleasurable/comfortable bathing option and is the recommended method for bathing healthy, late preterm infants.
  • Halil İbrahim Taşdemir, Emine Efe, “The effect of tub bathing and sponge bathing on neonatal comfort and physiological parameters in late preterm infants: A randomized controlled trial”, Int J Nurs Stud. 2019 Nov;99:103377.

See also

• Cleanliness
• Handwashing
• Soap
• Swimming