The oldest written record regarding the springs at Sliač can be traced back to 1244, the reign of King Belo IV. Starting in mid-15th century, the Sliač springs are referred to by a number of distinguished scholars and authors such as Aeneas Sylvius, nuncio to the court of king Matheus Corvinus (1458 – 1490) at Buda, the German Georgius Agricola, chief alderman and municipal physician of the city of Banská Štiavnica, Juraj Wernher, “founding father of balneography in the Hungarian Empire”, and many others.
As a spa, Sliač was in operation as early as in the 16th century. Historically it ranked among the Empire’s most popular spas. Its popularity and attraction were attributed to the healing qualities of its mineral waters as well as visits by prominent figures of politics, business and arts (e.g. the Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth, Austrian playwright Franz Grillparzer, Czech woman author Božena Němcová, Czechoslovakia’s first president Thomas G. Masaryk, Soviet president Khrushchev etc.). The list of famous guests is long and includes, among others, the Cambodian prince Norodom Sihanouk.
By the middle of the 19th century, a two-storey bath-house had been erected, with four baths: Panský (Herrnbad), the one with the highest temperature, Meštiacky (Bűrgernbad), Sedliacky (Bauernbad), and a cold pool, referred to as Ľudový (“folk bath”), with the lowest temperature. All of the baths used natural springs. In addition, two hotels had also been built: Detva and what is today Bratislava. Two privately owned houses that had been adapted to provide accommodation also proved popular. They were Thőkőličkin dom (Madame Thőkőly’s; it was later replaced by the Amalia bathhouse) and Szeréničkin dom (Madame Szereny’s).
The Sliač spa has been known for over 750 years for the healing qualities of its mineral waters. The oldest reference to the spa at Sliač dates back to 1244, i.e. the reign of king Belo IV. On the spots where from time immemorial there had been a spring of warm thermal water, in the old days there was a plain hole used by women to soak linen. After a serendipitous discovery, whereby a woman suffering from hydrops had her swollen legs cured, the local people started to use the water for baths. Their numbers grew from year to year, spreading the news of the Sliač springs‘ healing nature. The spa‘s most characteristic natural phenomenon are travertine minerals, whose presence has to do with local eruptions of mineral waters. Successful therapy at Sliač is centred around these mineral springs, with the Kúpeľný prameň being the most important and powerful in therapeutic terms. The remaining four springs are less rich, and are used for general consumption of mineral water. There are just three other locations in the world with a composition of healing mineral water similar to that of Kúpeľný prameň (Argentina, Australia, Spain).
The main springs at Sliač include:
Kúpeľný prameň - (Spa Spring) erupts directly underneath the Kúpeľný dom (Spa House), and is, without any additional artificial treatment of the water, used for all sorts of medical purposes. Its water contains sulphates, carbohydrates, magnesium and calcium, as well as a high level of carbon dioxide, with an isothermic temperature of 33.3 centigrades. The spring‘s output is about 5 litres of water and 10 litres of spring gas per second.
Štefánik - is the coldest spring (12 centigrades). It has a high content of carbon dioxide and pharmacologically active iron. It is suitable for stimulating digestion and treating anaemia. As early as the second half of the 19th century, its water was bottled and sold all across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is the most popular of the springs, its water being mildly mineralized, hypotonic, carbonic, containing carbohydrates, calcium and iron.
Bystrica - has a temperature of 23 centigrades and is recommended for treating stomach disorders. Its original name is Dorotha, after the wife of palatine Joseph of Habsburg.
Lenkey - with a temperature of 22.5 centigrades and a high content of iodine, is recommended for treatment of eyes and the thyroid gland. In the past its fumes caused sudden deaths of birds and animals in the vicinity. Before surface modifications were carried out, the fumes were highly toxic and hazardous, as the spring was gushing out in the enclosed space of a small cave, producing a strong concentration of carbon dioxide. The spring was eventually altered in 1834 by Acacius Lenkey, a natural scientist and admirer of the Sliač nature.
Adam - has a temperature of 23 centigrades. Its water is used for treating dysfunctions of the bladder and for enteritis. It is the only spring whose water does not flow out continuously but rather erupts in regular intervals. It is named after a chancellor of the imperial court, Adam Revický, who had it refurbished in 1831 using money from the government. In the direct vicinity of the spring there is St. Hildegarde‘s Chapel, built in a Classicist style in 1855.
CARBONIC BATH:
In the carbonic bath, the skin resorbs about 30ml of carbon dioxide per minute. This occurs through a simple diffusion from an environment with a higher concentration of carbon dioxide (i.e., the carbonic bath) to an environment possessing a lower concentration (i.e., the patient‘s body). The indifferent temperature of a carbonic bath is 33-34 centigrades.
WATER TREATMENT PROCEDURES:
Under-water massage:
is used as medical massage. It is applied to the entire body or its part, using a stream of water directed through jets, or a massage hose with a jet ending. This type of massage utilises both mechanical and thermal impacts. Water temperature of both the bath and the stream produces reactive diathermy in the muscles. Neural and metabolic influences occur. It is used to treat difficult blood circulation in extremities (caused by ischialgy), spastic and atonic paralyses, and obesity.
Floatation baths:
are used mainly to bring more blood to upper and lower extremities (for ischaemia). The bath‘s floating effect is suitable for treating post-traumatic states, inflammation, disorders of neural supply. It can also be used during recuperation following excessive strain on the body. Water temperature is 37 centigrades.
Scottish“ streams:
are an application of streams of water directed appropriately onto the patient‘s body. The medical effect of the stream has to do with mechanical massage but also with the possibility to switch intermittently between the effects of cold and hot water on body surface, producing irritation as well as increasing blood circulation. It also impacts the muscles and, reflectorily, the central nervous system, thus rejuvenating the body.
Tread-bath:
is about alternating warm and cold water on lower limbs. It is used to treat ischaemic disorders of the lower limbs, migraines, and tired feet.
GAS INJECTIONS:
Application of subdermal injections with spring gas represent another type of carbonic therapy. These injections are applied on a daily basis. The effect of carbon dioxide is used, as well as the reflective impact on organs of the skin and subcutis. They are applied to the subclavian and suprascapular areas, and also to the deltoid of the left shoulder. Their therapeutic use is possible in treating ischaemic disorders of lower limbs, ischaemic cardiac disorders and vertebrogenic difficulties.
VACUUM PRESS:
Vacuum press is an instrument for treating peripheral dysfunctions of blood circulation in upper and lower limbs. Its design allows not only for air and oxygen treatment but also for treatment using spring gas. Thanks to this it is capable to treat the following:
Circulation dysfunctions
Frostbites
Other circulation dysfunctions
Pressure lesions on extremities
Vacuum press is made up of a hollow cylinder that utilises vacuum/excessive pressure of oxygen, air, or spring gas for therapeutic purposes
ELECTROTHERAPY PROCEDURES:
Electrotherapy procedures are an important factor in affecting tissue metabolism and supporting the remedy of the body organs‘ affected function. Electrotherapy utilises three kinds of current: galvanic current, impulse current, and high-frequency current. The medical effect of light also comes into play. Medical practices include: hydrogalvanism, iontophoresis, diadynamic currents, ultrasound, short-wave diathermy, pamatrone, ionomodulator, diatron, and sunlamps.
OTHER MEDICAL PROCEDURES:
Other medical procedures include inhalations, paraffin baths, and traditional massage. Individual rehabilitation may also include reflective massage.Inhalation treatment is an important part not only of the treatment but also of prevention. It has a medical effect on the respiratory tract that may be suffering from toxic substances, allergens and microorganisms that are present in the air.
Paraffin baths:
are applied to patients suffering from disorders of the motorial system which are of an inflammatory, degenerative, or traumatic origin. The temperature of paraffin is about 60-70 centigrades. Local application of heat is used for painkilling. The heat also temporarily reduces abnormal states of muscular activity. The relaxing effect of heat on striated muscles is used to treat neurogenically induced muscular contractions and contractures caused by a joint blockade or algic stimuli.
Traditional massage:
aims to improve the overall state of health, alleviate difficulties and changes produced by a disorder, trauma, or exhaustion. It helps strengthen health and improve overall resistance. Locally the massage impacts the skin, the circulatory and lymphatic systems, joint capsules, tendons and peripheral nerves. Supply of nutrients is also improved, and so is blood circulation in muscles and their performance.
REMEDIAL GYMNASTICS:
Comprehensive balneotherapy also includes remedial gymnastics aimed at boosting the treatment of specific cardiovascular disorders.
Congenital heart disease
post rheumatic valvular heart disease
condition ater surgery or after replacement of heart valves
Coronary artery disease
angina prectoris I , II , III of NYHA clasification
myocardical infarction at least six weeks old
postinfarction conditions
postoperative rehabilitation after coronary by-pass surgery or coronary angioplasty
Hypertension I , II , III of WHO clasification, rehabilitation after TIA or stroke (self sufficiency is required. Peripheral arterial disease I , II a, IIIb , of Fontain classification
including reconstruction surgery
Raynaud’s syndrome
Buerger’s disease
Varices and – or chronic venous insufficiency
except fron serious triphic defects
at least 3 months after acute thrombophlevitis
chronic lymphatic oedema
So-caled civilization conditioned and “manager” diseases
prevention and rehabilitation
keeping physical and physic abilities
THERAPEUTIC METHODS AND MEDICAL PROCEDURES CARBONIC BATH WATER TREATMENT PROCEDURES GAS INJECTIONS
VACUUM PRESS ELECTROTHERAPY PROCEDURES
OTHER MEDICAL PROCEDURES REMEDIAL GYMNASTICS BIO - PLUS (dry carbonic bath)
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