Sodium sulfate·sodium bicarbonate bathing is known to exert stimulatory effect upon an increase in cutaneous circulation after bathing due to its skin-coating and vasodilating action. In the study, authors investigate the change in cutaneous blood flow after artificial sodium sulfate·sodium bicarbonate bathing in the healthy man, and clarify its antihypertensive effect upon diurnal variations in blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.
The results obtained are as follows.
1) Changes in cutaneous blood flow after bathing were studied in five healthy volunteers. Sodium sulfate·sodium bicarbonate bathing (40°C, 10 min) resulted in a significant increase in cutaneous blood flow 30 min after the beginning of bathing, comparing with plain water bathing. Thermographic study on body surface revealed the findings corresponding to the change in cutaneous blood flow.
2) Diurnal changes in blood pressure after bathing were studied in ten patients with essential hypertension, who had been treated with hypotensive drugs. No significant difference of hyperbaric indici in systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure (MBP) was observed between sodium sulfate and plain water as a whole. However, six cases out of ten showed the significant decrease in MBP after sodim sulfate·sodium bicarbonate bathing, comparing with the plain water bathing.
From these findings it is expected that artificial sodium sulfate·sodium bicarbonate bathing is available as a supportive therapy for refractory hypertension to medicaments.