The sulphurous thermal water exerts an anti-inflammatory and sebum-regulating effect on the skin. It is therefore particularly suitable for dermatological pathologies such as psoriasis (better if associated with phototherapy), acne, seborrheic dermatitis, skin allergies and mycosis.
Of particular note is the specific benefit that patients with pityriasis versicolor, sometimes called tinea versicolor, can gain.
Balneotherapy consists of full or partial immersion in hot thermal water for a duration and at a temperature determined by the doctor on a case-by-case basis. The temperature of the water is usually about 36°-37° degrees, and the patient must present himself for treatment on an empty stomach or have fasted for 3-4 hours. After about 15-20 minutes immersed in the hot thermal water, the patient is covered well and left to relax on a lounger for a further 20 minutes, thereby undergoing a period of "reaction time" in which the positive effects induced by the bath, particularly vascular, are completed. A treatment cycle consists of 12 baths performed once a day. The most noteworthy actions of balneotherapy are local, resulting from contact of the thermal water with the skin. These actions can be summarised as keratoplastic, keratolytic, anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antiparasitic, antimicrobial and sebum reducing.
The keratoplastic action stimulates the epithelium, promoting regeneration and keratinisation of the skin where lesions are present, and thereby healing the skin. The keratolytic effect is determined by the exfoliating properties of sulphur and skin renewal and/or the elimination or reduction of desquamated skin where present will occur. The thermal water has an anti-inflammatory action on contact with the skin resulting from oxygen subtraction, thus reducing itching. The thermal water’s anti-parasitic and antimicrobial properties are also related to this reduction activity. The thermal water also performs an anti-seborrheic and sebum-reducing action on the skin, once again thanks to the substantial presence of sulphur.
It should also be noted that the absorption of minerals that takes place during balneotherapy, above all through inhalation, has a positive influence in treating metabolic disorders, alterations of an allergic type, states of intoxication and liver and digestive tract disorders, conditions which often lie at the base of some cutaneous pathologies, as in the pathogenesis of eczema for instance. Balneotherapy is also beneficial in the treatment of diseases of the arteries and veins. Among the peripheral arterial diseases which balneotherapy can benefit are atherosclerosis and diabetic peripheral arterial disease. Among venous diseases there are positive indications for postphlebitic syndrome secondary circulatory disorders, responsible for oedema and dystrophies.
