Lunedì 14 Giugno 2010

CHILDREN AND SPA

Treatment and prevention with thermal water

It is during childhood that it is possible to achieve better results with thermal waters in treating diseases such as rhinogen deafness, rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngolaryngitis, simple chronic bronchitis or obstructive bronchitis and dermatological diseases such as atopic dermatitis.  

A child is not yet immune from diseases and, by attending schools (nursery, kindergarten and primary school), he is subjected to frequent infections. This can also create logistic problems to families who have to take care of him.

Prevention at the spas, especially for those diseases that concern the whole respiratory system, is really important thanks to those natural treatments that are thermal waters.

Nowadays primary prevention (in order to avoid further appearance of diseases) is the parents’ commitment, since the National Health Service allows just one cycle of thermal treatments every year. To tell the truth, it is important to say that in this way you can prevent aggravations and relapses, carrying out the so-called secondary prevention.

As far as treatments are concerned, the family doctor or the paediatrician have to fill in a form requiring for thermal treatments on a National Health Service prescription pad in which they have to indicate a clear diagnosis among those allowed (for example: diagnosis “chronic bronchitis”, authorized treatment cycle “inhalation treatments”, or “rhinogen deafness treatments”). This request will suffice to go to the chosen spa and start with acceptance papers, examinations and treatments assigned by the doctor of the spa.

Waters to be used can vary, for example for hypersecretive diseases, otherwise called catarrhal, sulphur waters are preferred, while, for diseases with inflammations, bromine and iodine-salt waters are preferred. In the treatment of atopic dermatitis, excellent results are achieved, not only with sulphur water, but also with waters low in mineral content.

One of the scientifically proven actions is the increase of secretory immunoglobulins that form a primary barrier against infections of the mucosae.

None of the thermal treatments can be carried out during the acute phase of the illness, so the child has to be in good health or in the remission phase from the chronic disease that usually affects him.

Inhalation treatments can also be used as prevention but they have to interest the whole respiratory tree, since the same thing happens the pathology that naturally affects the baby.

Very important are the treatments for rhinogen deafness, a form of hearing impairment depending on the obstruction, by catarrhal secretions, of the tube, which is the conduct that joins the nasopharynx with the  middle ear, created to compensate for the ear internal pressure by making it equal to the one of the atmosphere that surrounds us.

Of great interest are also the results achieved with balneotherapy (that is carried out simply with baths in tubs) in the treatment of dermatological diseases, primarily the atopic dermatitis, especially during the earlier years of life.

It is advisable to undertake two treatment cycles every year,  preferably during late spring and in August/September, before school.

Dr. Stefano Berti
Specialist in Internal Medicine
Specialist in Medical Hydrology