Balneotherapy

thumb|A lump of peat thumb|Peat stacks in Südmoslesfehn (Oldenburg (district)|district of Oldenburg, Germany) in 2013 thumb|Peat gatherers at Westhay, [[Somerset Levels in 1905]] thumb|Peat extraction in East Frisia, Germany in 1987

thumb|right|200px|The medicinal spa of Harkány is supplied by thermal wells that produce high sulfide content chloride water containing sodium-, calcium- and hydrogen carbonate. A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to prehistoric times. Spa towns, spa resorts, and day spas are popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan.

city in Sapareva banya municipality, Kyustendil oblast, Bulgaria

Balneotherapy ( "bath") is a pseudoscientific method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic effects. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy, there are some overlaps in practice and in underlying principles. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation, or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular minerals such as silica, sulfur, selenium, and radium. Medicinal clays ar

Therapeutic treatment of soaking in warm mud

water-soluble, usually inorganic, solid products designed to be added to water during bathing

thumb|Family of African Bush Elephants taking a mud bath in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

body of water

estuary in Ukraine

Czech gynaecologist (1841–1918)

marine lagoon in Ukraine

Czech doctor and university educator (1809-1888)

physician (1816-1886)

German physiologist

German pharmacist (1781-1840)

Romanian surgeon, anatomist, folklorist (1882 - 1960)

hot spring in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater in Taiwan

Hot spring village in Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan

bath prepared of peat pulp from wetlands