Sitz Bath?

[treehugginhippie]

I have some Wishgarden herbs to make a sitz bath after the birth. Do I have to get a sitz bath to go inside the toliet or can I pour it into the bath tub? I wanted to try filling the tub with a few inches of water and pour it into there. Also, how to I prepare the herbs?

[nashvillemidwife]

Seep the herbs (like you would a tea) for about 20 minutes. I do this in a pot and strain out the herbs then pour the liquid into the basin, but some people put them directly in the bath water. As far as the basin, you can do it either way. The smaller the amount of water the more concentrated you can keep the mix so I prefer the basin that sits in the toilet.

[SiobhanAoife]

OK, here's a REALLY stupid question -

How does a sitz bath work? I mean, I know it's a shallow basin that fits into your toilet seat, and that you put water in which you've steeped herbs or dissolved minerals, but then... how does the solution get from the basin to your lady parts? Is there like a spray thingie, or what? Because my bottom is larger than the toilet seat (obviously!) so it's not going to land in the solution in the sitz bath, and I'm having trouble envisioning how the solution bathes the relevent body parts. Sorry for asking such a dense question!

[nashvillemidwife]

You just sit in it. The "lady parts" in the middle will indeed land in the water.

[treehugginhippie]

Thanks! Where can you buy a sitz basin? Wal-Mart?

[SiobhanAoife]

I got one at Walgreen's drugstore. It's FSA eligible if you have a flexible spending account (it's also really cheap).

[Kidzaplenty]

I always wondered about this too (how to get the stuff to the lady parts). I just do mine in the tub. I will have to check out the bath thingy.

[Eresh]

I did mine in the tub after seeping the herbs and straining them out. I also used a Wishgarden sitz bath. With the tub, I just used a bit more of the herbs since it's diluted with a lot more water.

[mwherbs]

we make a big soup pot of herbal decoction and put it into a filled up bath tub we use a collander lined with a dish towel or an old tee shirt to strain it out, the herbs usually can be used for a second time.
Mom and baby can get in - it can help relieve over all body aches and pains as well as help to speed healing

if you want to do a sitz bath you can usually find a plastic tub at the dollar store that will work ,

[stacyann21]

I had a pretty severe natural tear after my son's birth. I used to fill the tub about half way with the hottest water I could stand (don't burn yourself, obviously) and a little witch hazel. I sat in it until it went cold. Nothing worked better. I did it several times a day.