Ulcerative Colitis & Hydro Therapy

Hydro therapy is one of my all time favorite ways to deal with the symptoms of my Ulcerative Colitis. It helps with the cramping and rectal pain of Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis causes frequent urgent bouts of diarrhea. These flare ups cause stomach cramping and the lack of nutrients absorbed by the body cause muscle cramps all over the body but mostly in the legs. Rectal pain is also caused by the diarrhea.

Hydro therapy can be very simple or very complex. I am going to start with the simple, at-home methods of hydro therapy.

First, you can take a sitz bath after an episode. This is where you put water that is as hot as you can stand it into a shallow tub that you can sit in. this water helps to clean the rectum after an episode. This is especially helpful if wiping is very painful. You can add a little baby oil to help lubricate the area. This will help to alleviate irritation. The baby oil will act as barrier to protect your skin.

Another form of hydro therapy is soaking in a warm bath. The water for this should be lukewarm. Water that is too hot will more than likely dry out your skin. This can cause itching over your entire body, which is difficult to deal with when you are having an Ulcerative Colitis flare up.

A hydro therapy massage is nice when you are having a flare up. To do this at home, invest in a pulsating shower head, preferably one that is removable. You simply point the stream of water to the areas of your stomach, back or legs that are sore.

You can also go to a spa or office that offers hydro therapy. A note of caution: these are not a good option during a flare up because you are confined to one space during the procedure. This makes running to the bathroom impossible.

You can add scents, such as vanilla or lavender, to the water during any of these hydro therapy treatments. Both of these scents have a relaxing effect. You can use any scent that you like if neither of these is appealing.

It is important to note that hydro therapy is not a cure for Ulcerative Colitis. It is simply a way to make the symptoms of the disease more manageable. When you use these methods in conjunction with your conventional treatment, you can achieve wonderful results.