Consult your health care practitioner before using this therapy.

Naturopathic Constitutional Hydrotherapy

Rich in history

Stemming from modern hydrotherapy treatments that originated in Europe, the constitutional hydrotherapy treatment was developed and perfected by a naturopathic physician, Dr. O.G. Carroll (1879-1962). Dr. Carroll was the "the busiest health practitioner of any persuasion in the United States in the 1930's and 1940's" and his practice centered around this treatment that he had perfected by 1923 and which did not change for the next 40 years.

Goals and principles of the treatment

One of the principles of naturopathic constitutional hydrotherapy is that health (and healing) is proportional to the normal flow of healthy blood. Naturopathic constitutional hydrotherapy influences the quantity of blood flowing through a given tissue and improves the quality of the blood circulating. This is accomplished in the treatment by enhancing blood flow through the organs of elimination (skin, liver, lungs, kidneys, colon) and subsequently deriving improved blood quality through the increased elimination of metabolic waste products. Concomitant treatment, aimed at tonifying the organs of digestion and improving the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients into the blood, help to build up desirable blood elements such as oxygen, nutrients, optimize blood and immune cell populations, further improving overall blood quality.

Viewing the blood as the vehicle conveying life to all cells (oxygen, nutrients, etc.), naturopathic constitutional hydrotherapy manipulates the circulation in order to maximize the benefits of this process for overall health and healing. It enhances the immune response, improves overall nutrition, promotes detoxification and helps restore nervous equilibrium. Naturopathic constitutional hydrotherapy works because it helps to optimize the quality of blood, while improving the efficiency of its circulation.

Procedure for Home Constitutional Hydrotherapy

Although an in-office procedure with sine wave treatment is the most effective form of Constitutional Hydrotherapy, the repeated use of home constitutional hydrotherapy can be very useful. Consult your health care practitioner before using this therapy.

1. Prepare a basin with cold water, add at least one tray of ice cubes to it, and place a thin hand towel into the cold water.
2. The treatment recipient should stay warm, on a comfortable surface, and tucked under several blankets throughout the treatment. To keep the blankets dry, you can keep beach towels between the wet towels and the blankets.
3. Soak 2 thick towels with hot water, the towels folded in half should still cover the chest and abdomen for a total of 4 layers.
4. Take the bath towel from hot basin, wring it out, fold it and place the 2 hot towels on the affected area for 5 minutes. A 3rd hot towel would be ideally used to re-heat the chest and abdomen after the 5 minutes to assure the area is well warmed.
5. After that time, wring out the cold towel, remove the hot towel from the affected area and quickly place the cold towel over the chest and abdomen. Wrap in warm blankets and allow the body to warm the cold towel over 10 minutes. If you do not warm the towel in 10 minutes, contact your physician for modified instructions.
6. Prepare the hot towels again and apply to the entire back and repeat the cycle.

   Back to Treatments