Participants: Margot Marshall (Host), Dr. Eddie Ramirez
Series Code: HL
Program Code: HL000024A
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00:14 Welcome to "Healthy Living!"
00:16 I'm your host Margot Marshall. 00:18 Hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of years 00:21 to bring relief from many ailments. 00:23 Today, Dr. Eddie Ramirez explains hydrotherapy, 00:27 and we'll show you some simple treatments that you can 00:29 do at home. 01:07 We are privileged today to have Dr. Eddie Ramirez help us 01:10 understand the amazing benefits of hydrotherapy 01:14 or water treatments if you like. 01:16 Welcome to the program Eddie! Thank you very much. 01:18 We are really looking forward to having you 01:19 tell us how to treat these ailments. 01:21 Well hydrotherapy is something that has been used 01:25 for a long period of time. 01:28 In fact, I remember recently I had a long layover in 01:31 England and so I was trying to figure out what I was 01:34 going to do with my time, but my top two options 01:37 ended up being in Stonehenge and Bath, England which is a 01:42 place the Romans used to use for hydrotherapy. 01:45 Unfortunately, the closest one was Stonehenge so that's 01:49 why I went there, but one of these days I'll end up 01:52 going to Bath. 01:54 But anywhere you go, you always 01:56 find these hot springs around the world. Yes. 02:00 And people have realized there are benefits of using these 02:05 hot springs. 02:06 What happens with hydrotherapy is that there is nothing 02:10 magic about the water per se, but it is the manipulation 02:15 of the heat through water - so some researchers actually 02:20 have proposed that the correct name of this modality 02:24 should be "hydrothermal therapy" because you are 02:29 manipulating heat with water. 02:31 Yes that sounds like a really good, you know, way to call it. 02:35 And you know, the reason why this is so effective is that 02:40 the largest organ in the body is the skin and the skin has an 02:47 effect on blood vessels and even internal organs 02:53 as we will be learning today. 02:55 You're going to learn quite a bit of information, 02:57 so I encourage you to stay tuned as we will be 03:01 learning the principles of hydrotherapy. 03:04 We even have some volunteers here that will help us 03:06 apply these treatments so you can see 03:09 how it's done. Oh excellent! 03:11 And when talking about the properties of water, 03:16 let's just understand a small concept. 03:19 There is a measurement of energy that we use 03:23 in physics that is called "the calorie," and in order to 03:28 raise 1 cubic centimeter of water 1 degree, 03:35 I'm going to be requiring 1 calorie, okay? 03:40 So water has the capacity to store tremendous amounts 03:47 of energy - that is why water is so useful in hydrotherapy. 03:51 For example, if you have ever been in a place where 03:55 there is snow, you will notice that even though it 04:00 snowed a few days ago and the temperature 04:04 is above zero degrees, still many times there is snow 04:10 on the ground - how come that happens? 04:13 Well, it's because you require in order to melt 1 centimeter 04:20 of snow, in order to melt it into liquid, you're going to 04:24 need 79.2 calories. 04:28 See, you needs lots of energy, the water is able to store 04:34 this heat and then the opposite also happens and I'm sure 04:37 many women that have been cooking, 04:41 they have experienced this. 04:42 They open the pan where the water is boiling, 04:47 the steam comes up and what happens? 04:49 Oh I know, I know what happens. 04:52 When we first got married, I wanted stainless 04:55 steel saucepans, I was determined to have them 04:57 and couldn't afford them straight away, so I thought 05:00 if I buy cheap saucepans, I won't want to throw them out. 05:03 So I used basins, enamel basins with a plate on the top. 05:08 Each time I would look into see if it was cooked, 05:11 that steam came out and I just had burns on my arms 05:15 for a long time before I figured out how to, 05:17 yes, it really does burn. 05:19 The reason why is because you are releasing 537 calories. 05:26 So within less than a second, you will get a nice burn there, 05:33 (Oh yes, a very nice burn!) 05:35 as a result of steam converting from gas into liquid. 05:40 So this is something very unique about water, 05:43 the ability to concentrate that energy. 05:47 So that's escaping - all that extra heat is just 05:51 escaping out of the water. 05:53 That's right, as it converts from steam to water, 05:56 it releases that energy. 05:58 If your skin happens to be there, that energy 06:02 goes ahead and hits your skin. 06:03 That's why you get burned. 06:06 And also we have another quality in hydrotherapy which 06:11 is called "the conducting capacity." 06:13 We can actually see this on the screen. 06:16 The conducting capacity of water is 27 times more than 06:23 of air - that's why if you are in 23 degrees centigrade 06:29 outside, the day feels very nice, 06:32 the temperature is wonderful. 06:34 Yet if you jump into a bathtub with 23 degrees, 06:40 you're going to feel that it is quite chilly. 06:42 You will feel very uncomfortable. 06:44 How come you're comfortable outside in the air, 06:48 but not in the water? 06:49 Because of the ability to transmit that much efficiently. 06:55 Wow, that explains it really well because, you're right, 06:59 I remember once doing some hydrotherapy and the pool was 07:02 16 degrees and you wouldn't think that would be as 07:04 cold as it is, I'm telling you... 07:06 Yes that is very cold! 07:08 Very cold but in air temperature it's not, so the water has 07:12 this capacity to conduct temperature. That's right! 07:16 Also there is a law that we can have in mind when 07:21 we are doing hydrotherapy treatments and this is called, 07:26 "Van't Hoff's Law," which says that the velocity of any 07:30 simple chemical reaction increases 2 to 3 times 07:35 for each rise in 10 degrees Celsius within a limited range. 07:41 Basically what this says is, when things get warmer 07:46 in the body, the internal functions of the body 07:51 happen quickly. 07:53 Why would we need this? 07:54 We are blessed with something that is called "fever." 07:58 Fever - what it does is it raises the body temperature 08:02 in order for the internal reactions of the body 08:05 to happen better. 08:07 So you're fighting a cold, for example, there are viruses 08:12 all over your body, so the body in order to make the 08:17 killing of this virus more efficiently - what it does is 08:21 it raises the energy and in that way you're immune system 08:26 happens to run faster; cells happen to consume 08:30 the energy faster and you actually see this in the 08:34 respiration - that's why you breathe a little bit 08:37 more when you have fever. 08:39 And it was very interesting, I was in the immunology class 08:42 when I was in medical school, the topic of the day was 08:46 "fever," and the professor was explaining with great 08:50 detail why fever, you know, increases metabolism, 08:55 increases the ability of the immune system to kill germs. 08:59 Some germs actually don't like to be so hot, 09:01 so you end up actually damaging some of the germs 09:04 when the temperature does up. 09:07 So then I raised my hand and said, "Professor, I have a 09:10 question, so how can we remove the fever when somebody 09:14 has fever?" A good question that was! 09:17 He kind of stumbled a little bit - didn't expect it. 09:19 And basically what he said was, "Well, it's tradition that 09:25 we do that." Ohh. 09:27 And the thing of it is, is that you have to use common sense. 09:32 But when you have a fever, you need to learn to 09:35 work with the fevers. 09:36 It's a good idea to be measuring the temperature, 09:38 make sure it doesn't go too high - then we can get in 09:41 trouble and if you saw even Van't Hoff's Law, 09:44 it says there - "... within a limited range." 09:47 In other words, this is not infinitum - it has a 09:50 certain limit. 09:52 So you're saying that the fever - when we get sick 09:55 and our temperature goes up, it's the body's own way 09:59 of helping you to deal with what's going on in the body. 10:02 That's right! It's helping you aid with the problem. 10:05 If you cut down the fever, the disease is going to 10:09 extend farther okay, so be careful with that. 10:14 Also be careful with children that have had seizures 10:18 and so forth - you don't want those children to be 10:22 experiencing fever and so forth, 10:23 those are going to be very, very delicate illnesses. Sure. 10:27 But anyhow, let's continue with the topic - there is 10:30 something important about hydrotherapy and that is 10:34 management of temperature. 10:37 In fact, ideally, when you do hydrotherapy you actually 10:40 should have a thermometer that will be a good investment. 10:43 Thermometers are not that expensive, it's just a matter 10:45 of just having one handy so you could have 10:48 good control of the temperature. 10:51 And we actually have a little chart we want to share with you, 10:55 and here you can see the different temperatures. 11:00 In hydrotherapy, we don't use very hot temperature above 40. 11:06 Then we have hot - this one is the one we usually use 11:09 38 to 40; warm 33 to 38; neutral which is the 11:13 temperature of your skin 34.5 to 36; 11:17 tepid 27 to 33; cool 21 to 27, and then cold 13 to 21, 11:25 and very cold 0 to 13. 11:28 Now they're all Celsius. 11:30 That's right, they're all Celsius those ones, you know, 11:32 so we're talking to Australians so they can understand 11:36 very well what we are saying. Um hm. 11:38 Now, my point is that very hot temperatures - we don't 11:43 use in hydrotherapy. 11:44 They are excellent if you have a chicken and you 11:46 want to remove the feathers, they work wonderfully for that, 11:49 but for hydrotherapy, you do not use that. 11:52 Also, I want you to use common sense - a child you cannot 11:57 give too much range of temperature. 12:00 Somebody very ill - you cannot 12:01 give too much of a temperature change. 12:03 So not too not and not too cold. That's right! 12:05 You just bring that margin in a bit closer. 12:08 Closer to the neutral. Yes. 12:09 Somebody very elderly, you don't do that. 12:13 So have common sense, you know, when you are 12:17 applying these principles that you may not cause trouble. 12:21 Hydrotherapy is not righteousness by works. 12:25 It doesn't mean that you have to be burned 12:27 in order to get the benefit. 12:28 So it needs to feel good, in fact, somebody applying 12:32 hydrotherapy needs to be a good communicator. 12:35 As you are talking to the person that the treatment 12:38 is being applied, the person is to be giving you feedback; 12:42 "Yes, it's too hot," "No, it's not hot enough," 12:45 and so forth. 12:46 Then let's go quickly through the effects of heat 12:49 and the effects of cold. 12:52 That's the reason why we do that change. 12:54 If you notice, blood flow will increase with the heat 12:57 and so does inflammatory response. 13:00 Spasm, actually both of them will decrease spasm. 13:04 Hemorrhage, heat will increase that and edema also. 13:08 And the last thing that is important - heat will bring 13:13 blood to the surface, cold will send the blood from the skin 13:18 down to the internal organs." 13:19 That's why in hydrotherapy, as a general rule, 13:22 you always finish the hydrotherapy treatment 13:26 with cold - even when you're taking your hot shower 13:30 in the morning, it is a great idea if you can actually 13:35 finish that treatment with cold water. 13:39 To send the blood back where it belongs. That's right! 13:41 You send the blood back where it belongs. 13:44 So let's talk a little bit about the prototype of the treatments 13:49 which is called "the hot foot bath." 13:52 You can see on the screen - that depends 13:55 on what we want to accomplish. 13:57 If we want to use it as a stimulant, let's say in the day 14:01 you want to start your day in a good way you can do a 14:04 hot foot bath from 3 to 5 minutes hot followed by 14:08 cold within 30 seconds to 1 minute. 14:12 Then sedative - at the end of the day you have a headache, 14:15 you want to relax, so for 6 to 10 minutes and the heat 14:20 should be mild heat - not very, very hot but just nice 14:24 and comfortable so that the person can enjoy it much better. 14:29 And also, what would you use this for? 14:34 Well there are many applications about it. 14:37 For example, we have the fact that the organs are connected 14:43 to the rest of the body. 14:44 So for example, your feet are connected to your pelvic 14:48 organs, your lungs, your sinuses and your brain - meaning 14:53 the things that are related to that can be benefited by that. 14:58 For example, you've been working the whole day, you have a 15:01 congestion headache from so much thinking, 15:03 you have this headache. 15:04 A hot foot bath would be a fabulous therapy to apply. 15:09 So let us ask our volunteers to show us how you do 15:15 one of these hot foot baths and we will see that on the screen. 15:20 So we have the therapist measuring the temperature 15:24 of the water - remember we said that we need to make sure 15:27 the temperature is correct; then the patient sitz down 15:32 and needs to feel comfortable. 15:34 It's a nice idea to cover him up so that we can 15:38 warm the body more efficiently. 15:41 And it's nice to have a little towel so that if sweat 15:46 is coming down, we can actually capture it. 15:48 When you have the right temperature, you can also 15:52 test the water with your elbow and then you can 15:55 put the feet in the water. 15:57 You talk to the patient - how is the temperature? 16:01 Be sure that you are communicating well. 16:03 You cover him up well so that the treatment can 16:08 conduct that heat correctly. 16:11 It's a good idea to put a cold cloth on the head 16:15 so the head doesn't get too hot but the rest 16:18 of the body does get warm. 16:20 And you wait, remember how long you want to apply the 16:24 application - 5 minutes, 10 minutes depending on the 16:29 purpose. 16:30 And then it's a good idea to do contrast - we said that 16:36 cold brings cold water there. 16:39 If you need to put higher temperature on the water, 16:43 you always lift the feet as she just did, add the hot water, 16:48 then you put the feet there. 16:49 The water does tend to cool over time too. That's right! 16:52 It cools down so it's a good idea to do that. 16:56 Then once you have been satisfied with the time, 17:03 then, as we said, you always finish with some cold water 17:07 and that's what she is doing. 17:09 If it's for relaxation purposes, the water is not going to be 17:11 that bad, that cold or you can actually put your 17:15 feet in a basin that has actually cold water - ice cold 17:21 water, you know, but that would be like more type of 17:24 stimulating - like to start the day and so forth. 17:29 And after treatment, make sure the patient has enough 17:33 covering and make sure there are no drafts in the room. 17:37 And it is a good idea to rest 15- 30 minutes as the person 17:44 is receiving this therapy. 17:46 As you can see, it is actually quite simple and effective. 17:51 Very doable, very doable. 17:53 I've done those and they're very, very potent 17:56 for a congested headache and it's amazing that probably 18:00 in 20 minutes or so and, you know, the blood just seemed 18:03 to be relieved from the head and it's wonderful. 18:06 Also for menstrual pain, fabulous 18:09 treatment for that, okay. 18:11 We said the feet are connected to the pelvic organs, 18:15 this is not reflexology, this is called "reflex effect." 18:21 And let's go briefly through some of these reflex effects. 18:27 So for example, in your feet as we said, we have 18:30 a connection between brain, nasal area, 18:35 lungs and pelvic organs. 18:37 This is something we can actually measure in a 18:40 physiology laboratory - this is no hocus pocus type of thing, 18:44 there is science behind this. 18:45 That's the reason why when you walk barefooted, 18:48 when the floor is cold, you're actually going to get 18:52 a little stuffy nose and so forth. 18:54 I have a friend who, if her feet get cold, she starts sneezing. 18:58 That's right because of that reflex effect. 19:02 Also, the area around your face, that is also related to the 19:09 brain area and so is the back of the neck and when you 19:14 apply hot or cold, you are doing an effect 19:17 towards the head also. 19:18 So also, if you have a congestion headache, 19:20 that could have that effect. Oh okay. 19:23 Also when you have the areas of the upper body such as 19:30 the right lower or upper abdomen, that one is related to 19:36 the liver and if you go to the other area which is 19:40 on the left of the upper abdomen, that area is 19:44 related to the spleen. 19:46 Also the lower back is related to the kidneys, 19:54 so I'm hoping you're taking notes, you know, because 19:58 this is going to be quite a lot of information. 20:00 The central part of your abdomen - that one 20:03 is related to the kidneys and ureters. 20:06 So if you want to do an application of heat and cold, 20:09 you would apply that. 20:10 Then also the area that is called the perineal area which 20:16 is the area between your anus and your genital organs, 20:21 that area is related to the prostate in the case of 20:26 the males and is related to the female organs 20:31 in the case of the females. 20:33 So you can do what is called, "sitz baths" the same way 20:37 that we apply that hot foot bath - that just to the pelvic 20:41 areas and in that way - you can get some benefit from that. 20:44 Also, if you have nervous problems, for example - a 20:49 diabetic has issues with the nerves in their feet - 20:52 beware of that. 20:54 In fact, it is contraindicated to do treatments 20:58 on a diabetic's feet as they don't feel the heat 21:02 and you can actually burn him 21:04 and then it ends up being worse than that. 21:08 So then that demonstration we just saw of the hot foot bath, 21:11 you're saying that wouldn't be a good thing to do 21:14 on someone with diabetes. That's right! 21:16 That would be contraindicated. 21:17 Or with someone who had poor circulation or what else? 21:21 Any other? That's right, people that have 21:24 very bad varices, (varicose veins), that would also 21:28 be one of the contraindications. 21:31 Also we have the skin over the breasts - those are related to 21:35 the pelvic organs and so does the skin above the abdomen, 21:40 that one is related, in general, to the whole intestines. 21:45 And finally, the area around the heart - that one also has 21:51 an effect towards the heart, so as you can see - 21:54 Oh well that's good, that's not hard to remember. 21:56 I can remember the heart relates to the heart - yes. 21:58 There are many areas in the body, 22:00 so how are we going to get there? 22:02 Well we can use a modality called, " the fomentation," 22:07 and the fomentation is an effective way of applying 22:10 moist heat - not only for the internal organs as we were 22:15 talking about the different areas of the body, 22:18 but also whenever you get an injury. 22:20 For example, you get a sprain in the hand or so, 22:25 what we want first we want to apply what is called "the RICE," 22:30 and RICE is the word for "REST Ice, Compression, Elevation" 22:37 for the first 2 to 3 days. 22:41 While the body is trying to control things up, 22:44 the best thing you can do is to apply ice. 22:47 If you apply heat, the blood vessels that are broken 22:51 you will create a big hematoma and so forth. 22:54 Yeah bruising, so don't use heat when you've 22:58 just had that kind of injury to prevent 22:59 any bleeding or any kind of bruising. Um hm. 23:01 So you want to apply ice there. 23:03 Then after that, then you apply the moist heat. 23:08 So let us see an example, we're going to ask 23:10 our volunteers to show you how you can do, 23:15 very easily, a hot fomentation. 23:19 So you need a microwave, you'll need a towel, 23:24 and that towel is wet, it's wrung very well, 23:29 it's put in a plastic bag and then you put in the microwave. 23:32 I think we can see it there in the microwave... 23:34 That's right, it's inside the microwave right now. Yes. 23:37 The patient gets on the bed and then 23:41 it's a good idea to cover him. 23:43 In his case his problem that we are simulating here is 23:47 a fact that he has a little bit of congestion in the chest. 23:53 So we make the person comfortable. 23:57 It's a good idea to apply some heat on the feet. 24:00 You can actually put the feet also in hot water 24:03 at the same time you're doing that with the same methodology. 24:06 It's a good idea to pray before the application and by 24:09 personal experience I can tell you it's much more 24:13 efficient when you do that. 24:15 Very carefully, it can be very hot, you get that fomentation 24:20 you use some hot-type of fabric, okay? 24:27 Now they're going to put a barrier between the... 24:29 That's right, you don't want to burn the patient - you apply 24:34 the moist heat. See that steam coming off. 24:37 She is using a wool fabric which is fabulous for that purpose, 24:43 and then you apply a towel. 24:44 You communicate with the patient - if it is too hot, 24:47 you need to ask and you add another layer. 24:50 Be careful males sometimes they tend not to speak very much. 24:53 Make sure you ask him. 24:55 If you notice, he is nice and red, so then you apply 24:58 between the transition and nice application of cold. 25:03 It could be all the way to ice water. 25:05 But that steam didn't last very long, probably 3 minutes? 25:08 That's right, 2 to 3 minutes depending on how thick 25:11 the fabric is - is how long the application is going to last. 25:15 So you need to keep... 25:16 And you need to have another fomentation ready 25:19 in the microwave while you apply that. 25:24 And you could do that, two, three, four times? 25:27 That's right, you can do this three, four, five times. 25:30 So how long you are going to leave it depends on 25:33 how warm the fabric is that is carrying the heat. 25:37 You can even put your hand underneath so you can be 25:39 testing to make sure that it's nice and warm. 25:42 You always finish with cold. 25:44 She has ice cold water and you quickly rub over the area 25:48 that you have done in order to send the water there. 25:51 Make sure you dry it so the person feels comfortable 25:55 and it is important to cover up the patient and let him rest. 26:01 And you can also close with a word of prayer. 26:06 Make sure the patient is comfortable, 26:08 then leave him there in the room, make sure that he is 26:12 resting enough and make sure that you keep the 26:18 communication open, you know, if there's any 26:21 uncomfortableness and so forth. 26:23 And as a general rule, if you are uncomfortable with 26:26 something, don't do it, okay? 26:29 For safety, you'd say, "Well what about that problem, 26:31 should I apply it? Yes or no?" 26:33 If you're not comfortable, please don't do it. 26:36 But where else might you apply that kind? 26:39 Like the patients that you were saying... 26:40 You can apply this like for pain in joints, for pain with nerves 26:45 like somebody has probably with arthritis. 26:47 That's right, you would apply it like on the hands 26:50 if a person has some arthritic-type of pain. 26:52 Muscle tension - works wonderfully on your back. 26:56 Insomnia - you apply this before going to bed. 27:00 This will relax the back. 27:02 Where would you apply it for insomnia? 27:03 Whereabouts on the body would you? 27:05 On the chest would be a good application. Okay. 27:07 And also if you have problems like pneumonia, bronchitis, 27:12 you can actually apply a double one on your chest and the back. 27:15 As you are taking your normal treatment, this can 27:18 complement things - also to produce sweating in case 27:21 you want to remove a certain substance - if somebody is 27:24 trying to stop smoking and so forth. 27:26 And also, warming up before, a massage - this would be 27:31 a fabulous application - then the therapist can just work 27:35 on those nice, warm muscles. Yes. 27:38 So you can see, very useful and very simple to apply these 27:41 principles - I hope you try them out. 27:44 Thank you for that excellent information Eddie, 27:46 and you're well qualified to share it with us, thank you. 27:49 Well since the 1990s, I became certified by the 27:52 state of California to allow me to teach hydrotherapy 27:56 principles and I've done it literally all over the world 27:59 from Africa to America, to Asia and now here in Australia. 28:03 And we are very privileged, thank you so much! 28:06 Well we hope that you will tap into these water therapies 28:10 and experience their benefits. 28:11 We certainly tried to make them very simple for you. 28:14 And if you want to watch our programs on demand, 28:17 just visit our website at: 3abnaustralia.org.au 28:22 and you just click on the watch button and then you 28:25 can view our programs at any time. 28:27 Please join us next time. God bless you. |
Revised 2019-11-18