Alternating shower

The Alternating shower is a special form of therapeutic water application, hydrotherapy. The application is typically done in the morning after getting up in the form of alternating pourings with cold and warm water, the whole body or only individual extremities, i.e. arms or legs, can be wetted alternately.

What is a change shower?

Alternating baths, to which the alternating shower belongs, already have a long balneological tradition, not only in western culture. The use of hydrotherapy from the thermal baths of the Roman Empire, as well as from Japan and China, has been handed down historically. In our culture, this form of water application for therapy is better known under the term of the Kneipp alternating shower. Because the treatment process experienced a renaissance in the 19th century by the priest and naturopath Sebastian Kneipp from Bad Wörishofen.

Even today, the alternate showers according to Pastor Kneipp are an integral part of the therapy offer in the Kneipp cure associations, which are available all over Germany. The water application of the alternating shower according to Kneipp is a slightly modified form in combination with movement. Kneipp sees hydrotherapy, which also includes the alternating shower, embedded in a superordinate therapy concept, which he called order therapy during his lifetime.

According to Pastor Kneipp's statements, which are still valid today, alternating showers have a hardening and vascular training effect. Alternating showers can easily be practiced over a longer period of time or as a spa treatment at home with little effort.

Function, effect & goals

A change shower has an invigorating effect and is therefore particularly suitable as a start into the day. Alternating showers stabilize the circulation, relieve the strain on the heart, stimulate the metabolism, prevent infection and calm nerves. The application should be practiced immediately after getting up. The body or individual extremities are showered one after the other and alternately with warm and cold water.

The procedure should be repeated at least three times, so that at the end there were three cold and three warm showers. It is important to end the cycle with the cold phase. Traditionally, alternate showers do not work with the shower head, but with a jet of water as thick as a thumb. This should bend to the side so that it is not too strong and does not have a massage effect. The alternate shower should always start with the water jet on the legs.

Small, circular movements are made, with the jet of water moving from the lower legs over the thighs to the middle of the body and from there to the upper extremities. The face and head as well as the abdominal region can also be treated. The changing shower sees itself primarily as a prophylaxis. This preventive action against diseases results from the vascular training, hardening effect and from an increase in the unspecific immune defense. Both effects can also be observed, for example, through a sauna bath followed by a cold shower.

In order to achieve a significant effect, however, hydrotherapeutic applications must be used regularly and over a longer period of time. The immune-stimulating effect of alternating showers can be seen, for example, in that significantly fewer colds occur over the course of the year. The skin circulation is increased by regular alternating showers, which makes it tighter, which can also have a positive effect on cosmetic restrictions such as cellulite.

Patients with a blood pressure that is too low benefit particularly from the alternating showers due to the circulatory stimulating effect. If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, you should consult your doctor before using alternating showers. Because during the cold phase when showering, the blood pressure can reach systolic peaks of 200 or more. This phenomenon of the temporary steep rise in blood pressure is also known in the sauna when a cold dive takes place after leaving the sauna room.

Alternating showers also help competitive athletes to recover more quickly after training. In addition, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, seem to benefit particularly from the alternating shower as a therapeutic application due to an increase in lymphocytes in the blood. Mood-lightening effects could also be observed with alternating showers in milder forms of depression.

Alternating showers are not assigned to the medical area but to the wellness and prophylaxis area. Balneological applications are timeless as home remedies and always relevant due to the healing properties of water. A direct relative of the alternating shower is ice bathing, an extreme form of balneotherapy which, coming from Scandinavia, is also becoming increasingly popular with us.

Risks, side effects & dangers

Alternating showers, as a wellness method for prophylaxis and general hardening, are not very heavy on side effects. Nevertheless, the extensive circulatory effects, especially in sensitive patients, should not be underestimated. You first have to get used to the alternating cold and warm casting, which is not easy for many patients, especially at the beginning. That is why alternating showers require discipline and perseverance if it is to be helpful, because sporadic alternating showers have been shown to have no effect. In principle, the method is also suitable for children, but because of the cold casting it is not very practical for children.

Circulatory-unstable patients should always seek medical advice before using an alternating shower for the first time. Anyone who suffers from hypotension or low blood pressure should never set the water too hot and should keep the session as short as possible. It is not the duration of an alternating shower, but regular, daily and, above all, correct use that leads to therapeutic success. Uncertainties in the use of alternate showers for personal use can be quickly cleared up by contacting a local Kneipp club.