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Bath House :: A
bath house is a place where people bathe. The term
is most commonly used for public bath houses,
where people bathe publicly. Public bath houses
offer varying degrees of privacy; some are
segregated by sex and/or age, while others offer
private baths, and are only public in the sense
that anyone may use the facilities. Bath houses
are relatively rare in Western societies; most
people in such cultures utilize private bathing
facilities. However, other cultures have a long
tradition of public bath house use; for example,
see the sentos of Japan. The sweat lodges of
various Native American cultures may be considered
bath houses, although they do not involve
immersion in water.
The Finnish
sauna (generally
70-90 degrees Celsius, but can vary from 60 to 120
degrees) is the most widely known, but many
cultures have close equivalents, such as the North
American First Nations sweat lodge, the Turkish
hammam, Roman thermae, Aztec or Maya temazcal and
Russian banya. Public bathhouses that often
contained a steam room were common in the 1700s,
1800s and early 1900s and were inexpensive places
to go to wash when private facilities were not
generally available. Most North American
college/university physical education complexes
and many public sports centers include sauna
facilities. They may also be present in a public
swimming pool. This may be a separate area where
swimming wear is taken off or a smaller facility
in the swimming pool area where one should keep
the swimming wear on.
Under many circumstances, temperatures approaching
and exceeding 100 °C would be completely
intolerable. Saunas overcome this problem by
controlling the humidity. The hottest Finnish and
Swedish saunas have very low humidity levels,
which allows temperatures that could boil water to
be tolerated and even enjoyed for short periods of
time. Other types of sauna, such as the hammam
where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to
a much lower temperature of around 40 °C to
compensate. The "wet heat" would cause scalding if
the temperature were set much higher. Finer
control over the temperature experienced can be
achieved by choosing a higher level bench for
those wishing a hotter experience or a lower level
bench for a more moderate temperature. Good
manners requires that the door to a sauna not be
kept open so long that it cools the sauna for
those that are already in it. A draft, even if at
100 °C, may still be unwelcome.
Infrared saunas are growing in popularity, using
far infrared rays emitted by infrared heaters to
create warmth.
The sauna can be so soothing that heat prostration
or the even more serious hyperthermia (heat
stroke) can result. The cool shower or plunge
afterwards always results in a great increase in
blood pressure, so careful moderation is advised
for those with a history of stroke or hypertension
(high blood pressure). In Finland sauna is thought
as a healing refreshment and has been used to cure
people from many diseases through the times. There
is even a saying: "Jos ei viina, terva tai sauna
auta, tauti on kuolemaksi." (If a disease can't be
cured by booze, tar, or the sauna, it is fatal.)
Alcoholic drinks are usually not used in the
sauna, as the effects of heat and alcohol are
cumulative, although in the Finnish sauna culture
a beer afterwards is thought to be refreshing and
relaxing. Pouring a few centiliters of beer into
the water that is poured on the hot stones
releases the odor of the grain used to brew the
beer, and can bring a wonderful smell of freshly
baked bread into the air.
Social and mixed gender nudity with adults and
children is quite common in the conventional
sauna, with a strict prohibition of any form of
sexual activity. In fact the sauna is considered
not only a sex-free, but also almost a gender-free
zone. It may also be noted that practicing sex in
an environment where the temperature approaches
100 °C would be impractical at the least. In the
dry sauna and on chairs one sometimes sits on a
towel for hygiene and comfort; in the steam bath
the towel is left outside. Sometimes draping the
towel around the waist is required in the
restaurant area.
As an additional facility a sauna may have one or
more jacuzzis. |
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