Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

A proposal for a glossary of peloids and
pelotherapy
Gomes CSF (1)
(1) GeoBioTec, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
cgomes@ua.pt
It has been recognized, in what health promotion, prevention, therapy, rehabilitation
and skin care is concerned, that water, mud and peloid are commonly applied for
healing purposes. However, it has been recognized too, due to the existence of
serious inconsistencies related with cultural differences from country to country, the
increasing demand for internationally accepted terms, such as: health resort, health
resort medicine, balneology, crenobalneology, crenotherapy, balneotherapy, thalassotherapy,
hydrotherapy, natural mineral water, thermal water, climatology,
climatotherapy, medical hydrology and climatology, fangotherapy, mud, mud
therapy, peloid, pelotherapy, spa, spa therapy, cosmetology, cosmetics, spa, skin
care, wellness, natural sediment (such as, clay, mud, mire, slime, ooze, loam, silt,
sapropel, turf, moor, peat, biofilm or bioglea, sulfuretum and gyttja, and eventual
equivalent terms used in other idioms, such as argila, barro, ton, lodo, limo, boue,
schlamm, schlick, fango, glaise, barégine, muffe, torf, biogeleia, sulfuraria), naturally
matured mud, modified natural mud, mud varieties, peloid varieties (such as,
primary peloid, secondary peloid, natural peloid, matured peloid, peloid s.s or
peloid sensu strictu, medical peloid, cosmetic peloid, parapeloid and extemporaneous
peloid), peloid properties (such as, adhesiveness, heat capacity, specific heat,
thermal conductivity, thermal diffusiveness and centesimal composition).
The meaning of many of these terms is different in different countries. For instance
the meaning of the term spa is different in USA, Canada, as well as in U.K, from
the European countries where the term spa is equivalent to Spa Therapy or Health
Resort Medicine. Even the international general acceptance of these methods and
terms referred to is not fully recognized, in spite of the efforts of several researchers.
Also, for instance, does the terms mud and mud therapy are synonymous of the
terms peloid and pelotherapy?
Unlike the term mud the term peloid has no geological meaning, but just medical or
cosmetic meaning. The terms mud and mud therapy are currently used in the English
idiom. On the other hand, the terms peloid and pelotherapy are currently used
in Latin derived idioms. However, the term mud has not a precise geologic meaning,
because it does not expresses the specificity in terms of origin and composition of
the water bearing and plastic natural sediment. Mud solid phase can be soil, weathered
rock, sediment or clay, all of diverse origin and composition. Mud liquid
Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 167-168
167
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4