Balneotherapy refers to the treatment with medicinal waters.
Medicinal water is a type of mineral water that has healing properties.
Mineral water is a type of water that contains at least 1 gram of minerals per liter.
Thermal water is a mineral water that reaches at least 20°C in spontaneous eruptions and 25°C with artificial drilling.
Medicinal water is actually a legal term. A committee of experts can classify thermal and mineral waters as medicinal waters.
The Sóstó thermal water in Nyíregyháza was clinically tested in 1988 under the supervision of Dr. Varju Tibor, head physician at the time, along with rheumatologists Dr. Bartha Attila and Dr. Berecz Ilona. The result of this experiment was that the Sóstó thermal water in Nyíregyháza can be recommended for the treatment of degenerative musculoskeletal diseases.
Sóstógyógyfürdő received national medicinal bath certification in 2012, and was registered as the 16th healing site in the country in August 2013. In addition to its natural medicinal water, its microclimate is free from harmful health conditions - air and water pollution, noise level.
The wells in Sóstó provide sodium-chloride, thus salty, hydrogen-carbonate, iodine, and bromine water.
Why can water be used for therapeutic purposes?
Firstly, it derives from the physical properties of water.
State of matter: a body immersed in water is completely surrounded due to its liquid nature. The flow of water stimulates the skin.
Hydrostatic pressure: A body submerged in water is subjected to pressure from the water, known as hydrostatic pressure.
Due to the water pressure on the body, the veins in the skin, the tissues below the skin, and the superficial muscles are emptied. The blood that gets into the larger veins increases the circulating blood volume, thus the amount of blood pumped by the heart increases over a given time. This occurs without an increase in heart rate or blood pressure - a desirable phenomenon! (valid for water at 34-36 degrees Celsius) - which is also exploited in the rehabilitation of heart patients. Urine excretion is increased, having a diuretic effect.
The resistance of the water follows from the hydrostatic pressure - movements against the buoyancy of water can be used to strengthen weak muscles and muscle groups.
Buoyancy: as a result, the body reaches a certain degree of weightlessness – certain movements become easier.
Temperature: Water with a temperature of 36-40 degrees Celsius feels warm, increasing the blood supply to the skin and muscles, increasing heart rate, reducing blood pressure, relaxing muscles, and having a pain-relieving effect (can positively influence chronic inflammation, increases gastric acid production and bowel movements).
General composition of the water in medicinal thermal wells
| Potassium | K+ | 14.5 mg |
| Sodium | Na+ | 1360 mg |
| Ammonium | NH4+ | 2.5 mg |
| Calcium | Ca2+ | 29.6 mg |
| Magnesium | Mg2+ | 4.5 mg |
| Iron | Fe2+ | 0.19 mg |
| Manganese | Mn2+ | 0.07 mg |
| Lithium | Li+ | 0.17 mg |
| Sum of cations: | 1412 mg | |
| Nitrate | NO3- | Not detectable |
| Nitrite | NO2- | Not detectable |
| Chloride | Cl- | 1840 mg |
| Bromide | Br- | 5.3 mg |
| Iodide | J- | 1.10 mg |
| Fluoride | F- | 0.77 mg |
| Sulfate | SO42- | Not detectable |
| Hydrogen carbonate | HCO3- | 659 mg |
| Sulfide | S2- | - |
| Total phosphate | PO43- | 0.40 mg |
| Sum of anions: | 2507 mg | |
| Metaboric acid | HBO2 | 66 mg |
| Metasilicic acid | H2SiO3 | 42 mg |
| Free carbon dioxide | CO2 | Not detectable |
The most important components of the water: sodium chloride, iodine, bromine, iron-rich water.
The deep-drilled wells providing water supply for the baths were developed by Pávai Vajna Ferenc, who also made Hajdúszoboszló famous. The iodine and bromine, as well as the medicinal water containing many dissolved salts with a temperature of 49-52 degrees Celsius, is recommended for musculoskeletal, rheumatic gynecological, joint diseases, spinal diseases, follow-up treatment, rehabilitation.
The iodine, bromine, saline medicinal water is primarily suitable for treating rheumatic, chronic musculoskeletal diseases. These include degenerative spinal and joint diseases, chronic conditions of inflammatory rheumatological diseases, soft tissue rheumatism. Its beneficial effects are also noticeable in post-traumatic conditions following injuries and in post-surgical orthopedic treatments.
The beneficial effects of iodine and bromine baths can also be observed in some chronic gynecological and dermatological conditions (eczema, psoriasis).