The use of balneotherapy in dermatology.

Amy Huang, Sophie Seité, Tony Adar

Journal: Clinics in dermatology 2018;36(3):363-368

PMID: 29908578

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing in thermal spring water. This therapy has been used for centuries and remains a popular form of treatment for dermatologic and rheumatologic diseases today. Although the favorable climates of balneotherapy thermal centers have known beneficial effects on psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, the thermal spring waters themselves can also potentially decrease skin inflammation. The addition of phototherapy to balneotherapy, or balneophototherapy, further enhances the anti-inflammatory effects of thermal spring water. We have reviewed the literature on balneotherapy in the treatment of skin diseases, as well as describing their use in three different treatment sites, each with unique climates and chemical properties of the mineral water used in balneotherapy-the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan, the La Roche-Posay Thermal Center in France, and the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

Address: Department of Dermatology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY. Electronic address: [email protected].; La Roche-Posay Dermatological Laboratories, Asnières, France.; Department of Dermatology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.

DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2018.03.010

Link outs

Free resources

Medical:

https://medlineplus.gov/psoriasis.html

Other Literature Sources:

https://scite.ai/reports/29908578

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

MeSH Terms: Balneology, Cold Temperature, Dermatitis, Atopic, Dermatology, France, Hot Temperature, Humans, Iceland, Immunomodulation, Israel, Jordan, Mineral Waters, Psoriasis