The Effect of Herbal Steam Bath in Cloth Tents on Vital Sings and Body Weight in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Herbal steam bath is a treatment that has been used in Thai traditional medicine for a long time. At present, it is widely used for health promotion both in rooms like sauna or in cloth tents. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of herbal steam bath in cloth tents on vital signs and body weight in healthy volunteers using the one group pretest-posttest design. The results of this study can be used to set guidelines for the safe method of herbal steam bath. Participants in the study were 130 healthy volunteers who visited the Ayurved Clinic of Applied Thai Traditional Medicine, Siriraj Hospital. All participants took two 15-minute herbal steam baths. The vital signs were recorded before and after each round of herbal steam bath, and the body weight was recorded before and after the treatment.

There was a statistically and clinically significant increase in body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate after treatment (p < 0.001). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and body weight decreased with statistical significance (p < 0.001), but not clinical significance. All subjects did not have any complications. However, the procedure should be closely observed by the practitioners due to the decrease in blood pressure. Moreover, the effect of herbal steam bath on blood pressure of hypertensive patients should be further investigated.