Water
We all did this right, when we burnt or scalded our
hands. We rushed to the next faucet and cooled the skin under running
cold water. This stops the damage and helps prevent blisters. There are
tons of books out there - especially in Europe - about water therapies.
The best known is about „Pfarrer Kneipp“ a German priest, who
„invented“ the so-called Kneipp Therapy in the early years of this
century. There is also a movie telling his story. When Sebastian
Kneipp was in his early twenties, he had contracted tuberculosis - a
deadly lung disease. When he was praying for help, he came across a
book about a water therapy. Desperate as he was, he tried it at once.
Dived and swam every day (also in wintertime!) for some minutes in
river Danube and - got well. Later he passed this knowledge on and
refined the „Kneipp Therapy“. In Bad Woerishofen, Germany (Bavaria) he
worked as a naturopathic layman doctor , much to the dismay of the
accredited doctors and authorities (including his bishop) But word
spread out that he could heal the people with his water cures and they
came flocking to his place till he died. Today there is a huge „Pfarrer
Kneipp“ industry going. Cure places offering Kneipp treatments all over
Bavaria... That‘s how it goes with everything new and unscientifically
effective: First they ridicule it, then they fight it and then they
adopt it and put some rigid rules on it....
As this booklet is too
small to describe the whole volume of his recommendations, I recommend
that you read „My water Cure“ or „My will - a legacy to the healthy
and the sick“ or „Thus shalt Thou live“ all written by Pfarrer Kneipp
himself.Bedides from the large number of his water applications, there
are still other cures out there. Ever heard of „ascending bath?“
Ascending relates to the temperature. No matter whether it is an arm-
foot- or full bath, you start with lukewarm water and add that long hot
water until it is just bearable (don‘t overdo!) The ascending arm bath
is highly recommended with beginning colds, as the mucous skin of the
nose gets as a reflex better circulated and the cold is stopped before
the beginning... Ascending lower body baths are recommended for
bladder, womb or kidney problems, where there it is important to get
warm. The ascending full bath (eventually „spiced“ with a cup of sea
salt) is another fine home remedy to fight colds - as long there is no
fever yet. With fever anything that heats up should be avoided. After
such a bath wrapping in a warm bath towel and go to bed and sweat the
stuff out - that boosts the immune system. One restriction:
Applications where hot water is involved, should only be done by people
with healthy heart and circulatory system. If rapid heartbeat occurs,
get out of the water, splash some cool water over the body and lay down
and rest. People with high blood pressure should not go too high with
the temperature. A real good thing, if the morning daze won‘t go away,
are the „splashes“ in accordance to Pfarrer Kneipp. After a warm shower
you should have cold water splashed first over the right leg, then the
left leg, then right and left arm up to the shoulder then the front and
the back. After that the circulation works and you feel fresh. This
simple cure has helped so many people who could not get started in the
morning or who suffered from cold hand and feet. Everything you should
know about salt bath, you‘ll find in the chapter about Salt
Ice
After tonsillectomy or other throat surgeries they give you some ice cream to keep the swelling down. If you sprained your ankle you can put ice packs on it - if you are the so-called C-Type (C stands for cold) who tolerates it. A so-called W-type (w= warm) can‘t have these cold packs.
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