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Natural sunlight (heliotherapy), of course, is the best source for ultraviolet light. Most people today get too little sunlight, except in short doses during the summertime. A source of ultraviolet radiation that approaches natural sunlight is the sunlamp bulb. It may be used on any household AC current and screwed into a standard reading lamp. Privacy should be secured and the eyes protected, covering them with a black cloth, or using dark glasses. Special precautions should be taken to avoid the burns that result from direct rays of the sunlamp. For average people the maximum time for first exposure should be about six minutes, with a distance from the lamp of thirty inches. For greater safety, a greater distance can be employed, with exposure time proportionately increased, depending upon the lamp manufacturer’s directions. One minute daily may be added to the exposure, up to fifteen minutes maximum. The eyes should always be protected. Gradual skin tanning will usually occur.

Ultraviolet rays aid the body in producing Vitamin D. This helps us absorb calcium, thus building strong bones and teeth. Infections in the skin are improved and a general tone of the body results from the regular use of sunlight or ultraviolet. Many other physiologic effects are being discovered, but the benefits can be had only by those who use this valuable remedial agent.

These are only a sample of many forms of hydrotherapy useful in home treatments. More complicated procedures can be given in sanitariums and hospitals where this therapy is emphasized. Water treatments do take time. So, remember that nature, if assisted, will do her work wisely and well. Hydrotherapy, massage, and physical medicine will continue to find their place in homes and hospitals where diseases are treated physiologically and where the body’s needs are truly regarded in your recovery from illness.

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A neutral tub bath with a temperature of 94° to 98° F. is a valuable sedative. Effective in exhaustion of the central nervous system, insomnia, and nervous irritability, it becomes one of nature’s finest tranquilizers, as well as an inducer of restful sleep. The tub should be filled with water at the above temperature to cover the individual up to the neck.

The room should be quiet, with subdued light, and a pillow or folded towel placed under the head. When the individual lies quietly and relaxes in the water, the tub should be covered with a sheet to preserve the water temperature, as well as for privacy. The skin should be dried by gentle blotting, without friction or unnecessary rubbing, and at least thirty minutes of undisturbed rest should be allowed after this treatment.

Other types of baths can be used with medication. Dry starch may be added to a tub of water at neutral temperature to relieve skin irritation. Aveeno or finely pulverized oatmeal (sold at most pharmacies) may also be used, adding two cupfuls to a full tub of water for the relief of skin irritation. An Aveeno bath is not as drying as a starch bath. Lumping may be avoided by placing the Aveeno in a coarse muslin bag and soaking it in a towel of hot water first. Since these substances may make the bottom of the tub slippery, care should be taken to prevent falling. For itching of the skin water dispersible oil such as Alpha Keri, or oil of juniper (Almay Tar) may be used. A pine oil bath, using one-half ounce of balpine oil to a tub of water, is a pleasant, refreshing sedative and produces slight redness of the skin. Look in health food stores for these oils.

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The sprays apply water from multiple “needle” spray heads striking the entire body surface, except the head and the feet. They are used, not only for cleansing, but also as a tonic measure, with or without previous application of heat. Women should wear a shower cap. Ambulatory patients may prefer to wear thong sandals.

After the individual washes him or herself with soap and rinses well, the therapist adjusts the spray from a sedative temperature to hot and then to cold. The most sedative effects are seen with a neutral spray, while hot and cold contrast can be used as a vigorous tonic. The latter has a definite fatigue-relieving effect and can be employed as a progressive program in vascular exercise.

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Someone has said, –If a procedure is capable of doing good, it is also capable of doing harm.” The hot water bottle is generally considered a simple home remedy, but precautions are necessary to make it safe and effective.

Patients who are paralyzed or unconscious have an impaired sense of temperature and cannot tell if a hot water bottle is too hot. Those who have cold extremities may likewise have some impairment to the circulation. Burns may result if caution is not exercised in the use of hot water.

Water at 115° to 125° F. can be poured into the hot water bottle making it 1/3 to 1/2 full. Air should be expelled by placing the bottle on one side, until the water reaches the neck. The top is then closed securely and the device checked for leaks. A flannel cover or towel is used to cover the hot water bottle. It should NEVER be used without some protective covering. Avoid placing heating devices in contact with patients who are unconscious or paralyzed, who have poor circulation or advanced diabetes. If used properly, hot water bottles can relieve pain, relax and warm a bedfast patient, and even prolong the effect of fomentations. Congestion is relieved and sleep assisted by the use of this simple home remedy.

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Four principal channels for the elimination of waste products are the lungs, the skin, the urinary tract, and the colon. In illness the elimination of toxic waste products is of primary importance to the healing process. In home care it is sometimes necessary to give an enema for colon cleansing or to stimulate bowel activity.

An enema can be given in several positions. For an extremely weak or sick person, it is best given in bed, with the patient lying on his left side. A salt solution is usually used with 1 teaspoon of salt to 1 pint of water. Tap water can also be effective, but soap suds solutions should be avoided, because of their irritation. In cases of colitis or unusual chronic inflammations of the bowel, a charcoal slurry solution can be made by stirring powdered activated charcoal into water. Then use only the cloudy solution, which results after the liquid has set for a couple of hours. This “slurry enema” will reduce inflammation locally, giving considerable relief.

After inserting the enema tube carefully into the rectum, using a lubricant to aid passage, the container is elevated and the solution allowed to run in slowly. By slowly distending the colon, a normal stimulus to defecation is induced. The height of the can above the bed and the degree of pinching of the tubing regulate the rate of the flow. If a person complains of a desire to expel the enema, stop the flow for a few seconds by clamping the tubing. A small volume of solution repeated is better than a large amount, because an over distended bowel loses the tone necessary for vigorous contraction.

The individual should then be placed on a bed pan or assisted to the commode. If your patient is very ill, he or she should be continually attended to until the evacuation is completed and he or she is comfortable again.

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