Konstantinos Kouskoukis

Professor of Dermatology – Lawyer – President of the Hellenic Academy of Thermal Medicine – President of the World Academy of Chinese and Complementary Medicine

The contribution of positherapy to spa tourism.

Spa medicine is a complementary therapeutic method of classical medicine and therefore they are combined and complement each other to achieve the best possible therapeutic effect. Complementary and not disparaging are the scientific results of the research of thermal medicine for the benefit of patients always without side effects.

Positherapy which is the use of thermal water with a drink for therapeutic purposes as all the minerals dissolved in water are introduced into the body, ie salts, colloids and ions which are transported to all organs and tissues where they exert pharmacodynamic and biological action. The usefulness of water for the proper functioning of the body is known.
In positherapy, the beneficial effect of thermo-mineral waters is due to the presence of trace elements, which act at the enzyme or cellular level but also in
balance of sympathetic-parasympathetic system as carbon dioxide is absorbed by the body and causes vasodilation and consequently improved blood circulation in the vessels and a drop in blood pressure.
Mineral water during positherapy initially acts on the mucosa of the digestive system and on the numerous nerve receptors of the mechanical, chemical and thermal type found in it as well as on the receptors of local endocrine cells scattered in the digestive system.
With the drinking of mineral waters, there is a regulation of the digestive function in diseases
of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and bile ducts, which is achieved with the carbonate roots contained in many thermal waters as they stimulate the function of the stomach, increase the peristalsis of the intestine and increase its secretory function.
The thermal mineral waters also have a mechanical action, as their passage through the digestive tract removes mucus and irritants and helps to remove them from the intestine and their final elimination. In irritable bowel syndrome, calcareous sulfate water restores its normal function, while in cases of colon atony, the amount of sodium chloride helps.