Our body is capable of healing itself, if we give it the right inputs. The use of water for pain relief, healing, and treatment of diseases is called Hydrotherapy. In this method water’s temperature and pressure are used to stimulate blood circulation and equalization of body heat to promote healing.

Given the fact that 70% of our body is made up of water, water plays a pivotal role in cleansing and healing. Hydrotherapy encompasses a broad range of approaches and therapeutic methods and Wet Packs is one of those.

What is a Wet Pack?

It is a water-soaked cloth that is wrapped around different body parts for healing. 

Why is Wet Pack Used?

As per nature cure, the reason behind all diseases is the accumulation of toxins in our body. Wet packs help in eliminating those toxins from targeted body parts, hence help in relieving diseases and pains.

How do Wet Packs Work?

The application of a wet pack cools the specific body part. It creates a difference in temperature from the other body parts. This temperature difference promotes blood circulation to the affected area. Along with the movement of blood, the accumulated toxins, waste materials, and clots, etc get moving too, and find their way out of the body through urine or stool. 

What are the Benefits of Wet Packs?

Wet packs have different impacts  on different body parts

1. Stomach: When applied to the stomach, it helps to relieve indigestion, cure IBS, GERD, Acidity, Ulcers, Bloating, Constipation, Stomach Pain & Colitis. It also helps tone up the stomach muscles by removing the excess fat! 

2. Neck: It helps balance the thyroid, heal tonsilitis & laryngitis.

3. Forehead: Helps relieve headaches, migraines & some mental disorders.

4. Primary Diseases: Wet packs help cure fever, cold, cough, and diarrhea, etc. 

5. Overall Body: Wet packs are highly effective in detoxing the body.

How To Apply Wet Packs?

General Applications:

1. Take 1 big & broad cotton cloth strip and 2 small, narrower cotton cloth strips

2. Dip the cloth strips in cool water (room temperature, not too cold)

3. Wrap the big cotton cloth around your stomach in a way that half of it covers the area above your navel & the other half covers the area below your navel and tuck it

4. Wrap 1 small strip around your forehead and tie it

5. Wrap the other small strip around your neck

6. Keep the wet  packs for 30 to 40 minutes

Special Applications:

1. Stimulating abdominal wet packs: if the weather is cold or the patient is weak, you can wrap a warm cloth (scarf, etc.) above the cold wet cloth

2. Local cooling pack: In order to relieve the pain of sores, burns, wounds, stings, boils, ulcers, fractures, sprains, etc. a cold wet pack to the particular body part should be applied. For better results, put a wet strip on the stomach as well (as explained above)

3. Alternate Hot & Cold Packs: If there is severe pain in any body part, the application of hot and cold packs alternately helps relieve the pain quickly and remove toxins. 

• Take a bowl of cold water and another bowl with hot water

• Dip & squeeze a strip of cotton cloth in hot water first and apply it on the affected body part for 1 minute

• Remove the strip and replace it with the strip dipped in  & squeezed with cold water. 

• Keep the cold strip for a minute and remove

• Repeat this process for 15 minutes

• Now keep the cold pack only on the affected region for 20-30 minutes. It expedites blood circulation and toxin removal

Do’s & Don’t of Applying Wet Packs

1. Do not eat or drink anything while the wet pack is being applied. Apply them after or before meals

2. The water of wet packs should not be very cold

3. You can move around & wear regular clothes while applying wet packs

4. To increase the effectiveness of wet packs, an enema can be given after 1 hour of wet pack application, to remove the circulating toxins from the body

5. Apply all three strips for best results

6. Apply them once (morning) or twice a day for 21 days & then once or twice every week

7. If the patient is suffering from acute pain, fever, cold, diarrhea, or other similar conditions, wet packs can be applied 3-4 times a day for quick relief

8. Wet packs are safe to apply on kids, pregnant women, and during periods

9. Do not apply wet packs while doing pranayama because lungs can not expand to their full capacity while a wet pack is being applied

Buy Wet Packs for Healing & Pain Relief

Further reading: Delve deeper into the various types of wet packs and other hydrotherapy applications in this article