Balneology

The application of bath for healing purposes in the traditional Unani medicine system is known as Balneology. The bathing therapy is conducted in a bathing room which is refer to as Hammam in Arabic and ancient Unani text. This bath house consists of a number of rooms or apartments. The first apartment is known as the disrobing room. It is furnished with mattresses, cushions and mats. It usually contains a cold water shower.

The most important is the centrally located principal apartment known as hararah. The patient or the bather enters hararah covered with towels; one around the head, one over the chest and the back and a large round the middle. The bath attendant removes all the towels except the one round the middle. He then begins by cracking the joints of patient's fingers and toes and several vertebrae of the back and neck.

He also kneads his flesh, rubs the soles of his feet, his limbs and body with a woolen bag. After this the bather plunges into a bath, wherein he is thoroughly washed with soap, water and fiber of palm tree. Then he returns to the first room and reclines upon a mattress and can also resort to light refreshment. Once again, the attendant rubs the sole of his feet and his body, before the patient wears clothes.

Moreover, before resuming the dress aromatic oils or ointments are rubbed in and fragrant powders are sprinkled on the skin. The bathing therapy is especially beneficial for ailment like treatment of hectic fevers and afflictions of stomach and spleen. However, the bath therapy has positive effects on diverse activities like on respiration, pulse, innate heat, humors, general nutrition, quality of body and strength.