If conventional medicine provided the cure, thousands of psoriasis and eczema sufferers would visit their doctors, receive a regimen of treatment or a prescription drug, and be on their way to a life free of flaking, scaling and red skin.

But conventional medicine often fails to offer relief to those who suffer these two major chronic skin diseases. And that’s why thousands of psoriasis and eczema sufferers turn instead to alternative treatments and products to help manage their condition.

Among those treatments is hydrotherapy, or water therapy, which provides heat, moisture and minute amounts of key minerals to the skin. A warm bath won’t cure these skin maladies, but it can lessen the pain, reduce the lesions and helps to slow the growth of skin cells.

As you might imagine, hydrotherapy is hardly a new therapeutic treatment, instead dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome. Royalty in Egypt bathed in pools liberally sprinkled with costly and exotic oils, while the Romans produced communal baths near hot springs in every nation they conquered.

The goal of modern-day hydrotherapy treatment is to improve the circulation of blood, which in turn improves the chances for a partial recovery for skin diseases. Just saying the words “warm bath” induces a feeling of relaxation in most of us. But adding essential minerals, oils and organic herbs to the bath only enhances the therapeutic value of such soakings.

Thalassotherapy and Balneotherapy are two water-based treatments that we endorse here atThe Seaweed Bath Co., both of which provide beneficial effects with the use of nutrient-embellished water as a therapy. Thalassotherapy, from the Greek word thalassa, which means “sea,” concentrates its efforts on using the properties of seawater in treating skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema.

Balneotherapy, on the other hand, harnesses the qualities of water to promote healing and restoration of the skin. Derived from the Latin word balneum, meaning “bath,” this form of hydrotherapy utilizes minerals and nutrients in a spa experience in order to find relief from pain and to promote well-being.

With Thalassotherapy, the minerals found in seaweed, seawater and ocean mud sooth the skin and promote good health. These minerals include magnesium, potassium, calcium, iodine and, of course, sodium.

Balneotherapy is another holistic therapy that begins with the edict: Just add water. It offers substantial pain relief in the form of long baths or soaks in pools or natural bodies of water — all chock full of minerals and nutrients. The therapy can take the form of a hot soak or a brisk cold dip, with treatments that mandate external conditions such as time, temperature, motion and perhaps a few drops of essential oils.

Here at The Seaweed Bath Co., we offer a full line of natural skin and hair care products that go hand in hand with many hydrotherapy treatments. These products contain natural ingredients such as Argan oil from Morocco, Dead Sea salt from Israel, aloe vera, Neem oil, beeswax and Vitamin E.