As the cold and flu season approaches some patients may be seeking "natural" methods of treatment.

While the use of nutritional and botanical supplements has been relatively well studied and popularized, the traditional use of water treatments for viral conditions, though cheap and effective, is under-utilized.

One reason may be that many of the techniques that make use of hydrotherapy are time consuming or use specialized equipment. However, there is ample evidence that the many very simple procedures used traditionally in naturopathic medicine are effective in the treatment of acute viral conditions.

One such procedure is steam inhalation which is probably the most commonly used method of local hyperthermia for upper respiratory infections.

This procedure involves the use of a container of hot water, a source of heat for the water, and a towel. The water is heated to 100 C. The towel is draped over the patients' head in such a way that the rising steam is trapped and inhaled as the patient breathes. The optimal treatment time is 30 minutes.

A clinical trial published in the BMJ showed that this method of "nasal hyperthermia" not only gave immediate relief of symptoms, but mitigated the course of the cold as determined by signs and symptoms, weight of nasal secretions, isolation of virus, and antibody response1 .

It has been known for sometime that induction of an artificial fevers stimulates leukocytosis2 .

Hyperthermia has received attention in the studies of the immune response related to HIV virus3 and virally related cancers4. Recently Conte C, et al, studied the effect of local hyperthermia, in vitro, on the replication of rhinovirus, the main etiologic agent in the common cold. The conclusion was that the beneficial effect of hyperthermia resulted from a cytoprotective heat-shock response in the rhinovirus infected cells5.

Thus the evidence is mounting that local as well as systemic hyperthermia treatments stimulates an immune response and decreases viability or replication of selected viruses.

Steam inhalation appears to be effective in treating the etiology and providing symptomatic relief for the common cold. It must be noted that while the majority of scientific studies focus on a single mode of treatment, holistic practitioners generally rely on a combination of modalities to capitalize on synergistic effects.

For instance modalities used in naturopathic medicine for colds and flu typically include nutritional recommendations or supplementation, botanical medicines, as well as various forms of hydrotherapy.

While somewhat effective in and of itself, hydrotherapy can be an important adjunct to other therapies in treatment of the common cold.

1- Tyrrell D, Barrow I, Arthur J. Local hyperthermia benefits natural and experimental common colds.BMJ 1989 Sep 2;299(6699):600 .
2- Krusen,FH. The Blood Picture Before and after Fever Therapy by Physical Means.Am J.MedSci. 193:470 (April) 1937 .
3- Spire B, dormont D, Barre-Sinoussi F, et al. Inactivation of Lymphadenopathy-associated virus by heat, gamma rays, and ultraviolet light. Lancet 1985 Jan 26:188-9 .
4- Ostberg JR,Gellin C, Patel R, Repasky EA. Regulatory Potential of Fever-Range Whole Body Hyperthermia on Langerhans Cells and Lymphocytes in an Antigen-Dependent Cellular Immune Response. J Immunol 2001 Sep 1;167(5):2666-70.
5- Conti C, De Marco A, Mastromarino P, Tomao P, Santoro MG. Antiviral effect of hyperthermic treatment in rhinovirus infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1999 Apr;43(4):822-9 .