Hydrotherapy and the application of hot and cold has a long history of use in medicine throughout the world. Hot and cold water (in immersion baths and foot baths) as well as saunas and traditional medicine practices such as sweat lodge temazcales are all ways to enhance the innate immune system.
A common question I receive from patients is whether there is a form of hydrotherapy that can shorten the duration of COVID or improve its outcome. The research literature suggests that those who undertook hot baths followed by a final brief cold bath had lower viral infection rates and lower mortality rates during the 1918 pandemic. Hydrotherapy’s application to COVID-19 is still being explored, but it is posited to have similar, positive effects.
The benefit is theorized to be a result of enhanced immune function in response to hot and cold applications. Basic hydrotherapy is to be used for prevention; and then if one falls ill, consider conducting it daily and intensively during illness.
COVID-19: A brief overview
COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Anyone exposed to the virus is at risk of developing a full-blown case, yet the disease ranges widely in its severity and the risk increases with age. In the US, the CDC has reported that 8 out of 10 deaths from COVID-19 were in people aged 65 and older.
Many people who develop symptoms show one or more of the following:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle or body aches
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of taste or smell
- Diarrhea
Though many patients exhibit only mild symptoms during a COVID-19 infection, there is still a risk of experiencing Long COVID – where symptoms return and continue for weeks, months, or years.
Since hydrotherapy boosts your immune system, it may diminish the risks of COVID and provide your body with extra support if you do have either COVID or Long COVID.
What is Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy, simply stated, is the use of hot and cold water for health benefits. Studies do indeed suggest that hydrotherapy techniques are effective ways to shift or otherwise enhance one’s state of health.
Frequent use of the sauna has been found to reduce the risk of pneumonia. Roger Seheult, MD., a pulmonologist, is one of the physicians working in this area of clinical application and research.
The use of sauna is nearly universal in Finland and may contribute to a lower number of COVID-19 cases and lower mortality as compared to neighboring Nordic countries who have similar stay-at-home and testing strategies. An article: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work discusses the reduction of sick days among people who use cold showering methods, and includes an excellent review of the physiological and neuroendocrine responses to cold showering.
I have also shared with many of my students the traditional practice of applying a hot mustard fomentation to the chest during bronchitis and pneumonia.
In my analysis, the differing immune responses by individuals identified in various research papers suggest that these hydrotherapy techniques serve to bring balance to the individual’s specific needs, rather than a one-type-response-fits-all.
The root word for medicine comes from the ancient Sanskrit MA, which means to measure or to balance. Thus, true medicine helps restore balance and sustains resilience to fight off stressors.
Hot showers ending in a splash of cold, or saunas followed by jumping in the snow or dipping in icy lakes, are all excellent ways to enhance immune health, boost mood and help avoid depression.
The 3 Best Hydrotherapy Techniques
Here are a few of my favorite ways to use hydrotherapy for different symptoms:
Applying Heat
When you are anxious or in pain, a great way to self-soothe is to apply a hot water bottle to your belly or any painful area. A rice-filled heating pad is a good alternative. I recommend avoiding electric heating pads if possible.
Another easy way to apply heat is with a bath. I recommend adding a cup of Epsom salts to a warm (not hot) bath. If you wish, you may also add an essential oil, such as lavender. Soak for 20 minutes. The magnesium in the Epsom salts will be absorbed, helping ease any muscle aches and aiding with sleep.
Using a sauna during COVID, even though it is not an established first-line defense, can help diminish one’s viral load.
Applying Cold
When you feel fatigued, run a shower that is lukewarm. Slowly turn up the cold as much as you can tolerate, then let the water flow directly on your spine for 5 minutes. (Note that you may want to gradually build up to this length of time if you have been acutely ill recently.)
Alternating Heat and Cold
One of the most powerful ways to boost immune function is by alternating hot with cold. I like to combine a hot-and-cold shower with a homemade body scrub, though you can use a store-bought one or omit that element entirely.
- Mix together equal parts coarse sea salt and baking soda.
- Add enough water so it becomes a thick paste, and then add in a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
- Get in the shower with a skin brush and get wet.
- Turn the water off, and begin scrubbing, starting at your toes. Work up your whole body, first the front and then the back, taking your time.
- When you’re done, turn the water back on, rinsing with water that’s as hot as is comfortable for you.
- Finish by rinsing for a minute with ice-cold water.
- Towel dry and drink 6 ounces of water.
Potential Benefits of Hydrotherapy for COVID-19
Hydrotherapy’s effects continue to be researched, but there are many benefits to instituting this kind of at-home self-care when you are recovering from COVID-19. Below are some of the specific benefits to cold and hot hydrotherapy techniques.
Cold water…
- Increases oxygen intake
- Reduces inflammation
- Increases alertness
- Stimulates immune cell function
- Improves digestion by drawing blood toward the viscera
Hot water and heat…
- Increases circulation through dilating blood vessels
- Ameliorates respiratory symptoms
- Opens airways
- Clears nasal passages
- Inhibits pathogens
Depending on your or your loved one’s particular COVID-19 symptoms, you may find either heat or cold, or both in alternation, to be of great value in your recovery and healing process.
Facts About Fever
The concept of heat also applies to the healing function of fever in the body and why management of temperature up to 102-103 degrees (and not suppression of fever) is generally a safe (patient-specific) approach to enable the body to fight infection.
In other words, raising the body’s temperature can help mitigate viral infections.
Heat counters pathogens, enhances innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, and activates regulatory processes that dampen inflammatory responses while preventing excessive tissue damage.
Additional Uses of Hydrotherapy
Not only can hydrotherapy techniques help treat symptoms from COVID or other respiratory conditions, they have a track record as treatments for other health conditions, including:
- Muscle pain and stiffness
- Joint pain and arthritis
- Burns
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Neuropathy
- Fibromyalgia
- High blood pressure (including during pregnancy)
In many cases, hydrotherapy is used as a complementary treatment to enhance a patient’s overall care. For specific recommendations based on your unique condition, it’s always wise to consult with a health care practitioner.
More Resources
My telemedicine practice for integrative mental health and natural medicine for trauma-related sequelae is open and active. I welcome hearing from you.
Interested in more about Natural Medicine? I have modules on hydrotherapy in my certification/CE programs for Mental Health (now on discounted sale!) and my certification and CE course Integrative Medicine and Nutrition for Diabetes Type 2, Cognitive Decline, and Alzheimer’s.
Checkout our new certification page and the list of dynamic clinicians in our directory .
She served as a Fulbright scholar on traditional medicine, a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and a National Institutes of Health-funded research scientist in mind/body medicine.
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