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File 3 - Article 6 Previous Index Next
Author: James W Johnson
Title: Water Treatment at Home - Part 2

Most people, even if they clean their homes regularly, feel that it needs a good SPRING CLEAN' which we call A HEALING CRISIS' . In other words the body is trying to throw out the rubbish (toxins) that has accumulated over a period of time. Colds, fevers, boils, sickness and diarrhoea, as well as any other form of acute illness are examples of the body's self healing efforts, and as such should not be suppressed. The eliminating organs, particularly the kidneys, lungs and skin are working overtime to restore your body to a better state of health. Anything we can do to help this eliminating process will be helpful and this is where water treatment can be beneficial.

The question arises, what equipment do we need to carry out water treatment at home? Happily, most things that we need are present in most households e.g. - a hand held shower, or even a watering can! Cotton material such as an old pillow case or sheet, some warm woolly scarves or blankets, a few safety pins, buckets or washing up bowls and some towels suffice for most hydropathic treatments. What sort of conditions could be helped by water treatment? I' m afraid the list would be too long to print in a short article. Some of the more common ailments include: - colds and fevers, burns and cuts, asthma and skin problems, (these are often connected) headaches and migraines, bladder and kidney problems and a host of others. All these can be helped by using water treatment in various forms and applications.

The COLD COMPRESS or WET PACK is probably the most useful and versatile of the simple home treatments. It is one of the most effective ways of helping the KIDNEYS do their work more efficiently. To APPLY the COMPRESS, all you need is a single thickness of some cotton material such as a pillow case or sheet. It needs to be approximately ten inches wide, (narrower for children) and long enough to wrap around the waist. Next, you need a double thickness of warm, soft woollen material, slightly wider than the cotton, a strip of an old blanket, or a couple of woollen scarves would suffice. Finally you need a couple of safety pins. Lie the double thickness woollen material on the bed; wring the cotton material out in cold water, (wring it out well, don' t have it dripping wet) then place it on top of the woollen material, lie back on it and pull it quickly and firmly round the waist, then pin with the safety pins. It must be firm but not too tight. For children and adults they can be miracle workers.

A NECK COMPRESS is made in the same way but scaled down in size. I usually use one of my woollen socks to cover the damp cotton material, but a small scarf would do just as well. It is important to remember that on whatever part of the body you use a compress, ALWAYS wear a WAIST one at the same time. There are three things you must remember when using compresses:-

1 Wring the cotton material out well, but don' t have it dripping wet.

2 Make sure the compress is firm but not too tight for comfort.

3 After a few minutes, check that it has warmed up, if not, remove, and try again using a thinner or narrower piece of cotton.

For LUNG problems, obviously one of the simplest things to do is plenty of DEEP BREATHING, but where there is congestion of any kind such as ASTHMA, BRONCHITIS or PNEUMONIA when deep breathing becomes difficult, then water treatment can usually help a great deal. Alternate hot and cold applications will help to relieve any congestion, and thus help breathing to become more easy. For this you need two small guest towels and two hand towels. The two guest towels are wrung out alternately, first with hot water, as hot as can be comfortably withstood, and then cold water, placing them over the chest area, (two minutes with the hot then half a minute with cold), continuing this alternately for ten to fifteen minutes. Cover with the dry hand towel with each application. Continue this sequence two or three times a day until the condition is relieved.

Invaluable knowledge gained from my father and grandfather included the different way of treating an ASTHMATIC ATTACK from PNEUMONIA. With asthma there is a spasm of the bronchial tubes, and the spasm can often be relieved by folding a hand towel lengthways and placing it on the bed with the guest towel, also folded lengthways, wrung out in cold water, placed on top of the dry hand towel. The patient then lies back with the spine against the damp guest towel. This has a soothing effect on the nervous system. At the same time, use hot applications over the chest area which helps to relieve the bronchial spasm. The hot and cold needs to be repeated at regular intervals as the cold warms up and the hot cools down.

In cases of PNEUMONIA the treatment is reversed, i.e., the hot towel, which has an enervating effect on the nervous system, is placed on the spine. This can be kept hot by lying on a partly filled hot water bottle whilst at the same time placing a guest towel wrung out in cold water over the chest, covered with the dry hand towel. It should be wrung out regularly with cold water as it warms up very quickly due to the high temperature associated with this condition. These treatments for ASTHMA and PNEUMONIA should not be used at home without the supervision of a Registered Naturopath.

The SKIN as mentioned before is the largest eliminating organ in the body and as such should be looked after with great care. After a warm bath or shower always finish off with sponging down or spraying with cold water. A cold splash first thing in the morning (if you are brave enough to try it) is very invigorating and helps to set you up for the day. Most skin conditions can be helped by the use of cold water applied to the affected part, whether bathing it regularly with cold water or the use of compresses, but remember that wherever you put a compress, ALWAYS wear a waist compress as well.

To finish, I must give you one or two words of warning. It is inadvisable to use compresses if you are on medication of any kind without first consulting your Naturopath. This applies too if you are in doubt about the treatment.

DO NOT advise relatives, friends or neighbours to use compresses, unless they are familiar with the Nature Cure approach to health.

Always keep in mind that your body is working all the time to get you well and keep you well, it is not trying to kill you off, so stop interfering with its work and let it do its work, it knows what it is doing.

Editor's Note: Part 2 of this article originally appeared in File 5.