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SPAGAZERS.com

Water for Health

NATURALLY HEALING WATER - NO SPA
SHOULD BE WITHOUT IT

On The Spas Directory at
spagazers.com the WATER FOR HEALTH symbol indicates that a water
with special qualities is available for therapies or drinking. This
can include a variety of natural waters, such as thermal springs or
naturally carbonated source waters or waters with special
properties. To discover what applies to particular resorts see their
entry on SPAGAZERS.com

The concept of a spa originated from
the use of natural waters for therapeutic purposes. The Water for
Health scheme provides a means whereby spa resorts can enhance their
tariff through the development and application of specialist water
programs.

WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER INFORMATION AND ADVICE ON WATER FOR HEALTH
FOR SPAS INCLUDING:

Groundwater availability and
exploitation, from hydro geological survey through to well
boring or spring containment on or off site.

Geochemical analysis and water treatment
technologies for the application of natural waters in the spa
environment, both for drinking and external use such as hydro spa
pools.

Therapies that can be introduced that
incorporate the use of natural waters, possibly based on distinct
mineralisation or purity.

Long term technical support programmes
to ensure that water quality is maintained at the highest
standards.

Marketing initiatives promoting special
waters to spa users.

Customised bottling and allied
activities providing a broad base of natural source water
use.

To find out more about everything
contact in the first instance:-

Dr Bruce Osborne

Spas Research Fellowship, Tower House, Tadworth, Surrey.
KT20 5QY

[email-masked] 01737 213 169

THE HISTORY OF THE WORD SPA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
WATER

Why we call a spa a spa and its
relationship with natural waters is something that has been debated
extensively. There are two aspects, firstly the evolution of common
usage of the word “spa” and secondly, where did the word “spa”
originate?

Today we see a spa being defined as a
buzzword for health, beauty and relaxation. in Sophie Benge’s
book The Tropical Spa (1999). No messing about with 19th
century notions of the water cure. In fact the spa is elevated to
religious status with worshippers to the altar of self-preservation.
This is a 21st century idea of a spa that is revolutionary to the
traditionalists, however such a break with tradition does not suit
all. In a modern context there remains the belief, based on at least
2500 years of experience, that spas necessarily include water-based
therapies. A good description comes from the Harrogate Medical
Society in Spa Treatment – for the medical Profession only
(c.1920) p.5, which states that "it’s essential feature, and that
which distinguishes it from other health regimes, is the
administration internally or externally of fresh natural waters at
or near their source."

Although spas and their
application have developed regional characteristics over the
centuries from country to country, the German modern day use of the
term gives a useful insight into the broad band of activities that a
spa resort can encompass. The following is taken from What is a
Spa (2001).

This specific Spa Doctor discipline has
arisen from the centuries-old German tradition of Spa and the 20th
century establishment of what is known as the German Cure System.
This system provides a third leg to the National Health System, that
of preventative health care - alongside doctors in general practise
and the hospital system. The Cure System, or "The Kur" in German, is
based on the widespread acceptance and use of natural therapies and
spa therapies and the scientific research that has proven the
efficacy of these treatments/cures. This system is used by doctors
when their means to treat an individual is exhausted and/or a
hospital stay is not yet required for them. In Germany, there are
nearly 300 of these beautifully located spa villages and resorts
scattered nationwide. Stringent government standards and conditions
mean that all are of high quality and the village infrastructure is
also of a high standard.

Here we see the German usage
and concept of “spa” being used to describe a multifunctional
resort. On a world wide basis there is emerging a clear distinction
between resorts that offer natural water based therapies and those
that offer a more general regime of holistic health care. This
distinction is significant for the consumer and the Water for Health
scheme and logo enables users of The Spas Directory, the premier
search facility for world spas, to determine whether spa waters are
available.

Origins

In Britain the
expression “spa” did not come into common usage until the 16th
century. Great changes came about in medicine and health care as a
result of the policies of Henry VIII. This paved the way for the
reintroduction into England of medicinal bathing along classical
principals as part of the Renaissance revival of ancient knowledge.
As the new industry evolved, an innovation at the end of the 16th
century was the drinking of chalybeate springs. This required a new
terminology, as the description “bath” was no longer appropriate.
Timothy Bright M.D. is attributed with the first use of the name
“Spa”, which was coined from the town in the Ardennes where water
drinking was a regular practice. We can conclude that at the time
there were two types of resort, baths for bathing and spas for
drinking. This distinction later became blurred. The first town in
England to be called a spa was Harrogate and others like Tunbridge
Wells quickly followed. Mary Kershaw of Harrogate Museum takes up
the story:

In 1571, one Mr William Slingsby
discovered a spring in the then wild moorlands that were Harrogate.
He recognised the medicinal properties of these waters from his
experience of the wells in Spa(w) in the Ardennes. Mr Slingsby
enclosed and paved the well, and recommended its waters to any
medical practitioners in the Yorkshire area. These appear to have
been the first waters to be taken internally for their medicinal
purposes in England, as opposed to the use of springs for bathing.
In 1596, Harrogate was dubbed 'The English Spaw' by Dr Timothy
Bright, (sometime rector of both Methley and Barwick in Elmet, near
Leeds), based on the similarity of the waters to the Continental
Spa(w). This appears to be the beginning of the use of the word
'Spa' as a generic description, rather than the place name of the
town on the Continent. In 1626, Edmund Deane MD, a physician from
York, published 'Spadacrene Anglica', which is the earliest
published source for the history of Harrogate's waters, and which
promoted their beneficial qualities for medicinal
purposes.

For several centuries in England a spa
promoted both internal and external therapies demonstrating the
subsequent evolution of the use of the term. Spa type treatments
however date back to Greek and Roman times if not before. The Romans
built many bathhouses, both public and private and used them for
therapeutic purposes. Most Roman settlements had baths and so
arguably these were the first spas albeit not known as such. The
outstanding ones included Buxton, Bath, Ewell, Castell Collen
(Wales) etc. etc. It can also be argued that Celtic Holy Wells
performed a spa type function with physical and spiritual healing.
Any of the principal ancient Holy Well sites would therefore fall
within the broad description of a spa today.

Another body
of opinion proposes that the word “spa” itself had even more ancient
origins than 16th century Harrogate, when Emperor Nero applied it to
the Baths of the ancient Romans. The word SPA it is argued, is an
acronym for one or more Latin expressions. The Spas Research
Fellowship use “Sanitas Per Aquas” (health through water) on their
logo, which comes from Croutier A L Taking the Waters (1992)
page 136. The British Spas Federation, on their web site, say spa
came from “Senare Per Aqua” but give no source for this view. Dr
Jeffrey Rosenberg has come up with a third option of “Salus Per
Aquam”. This version came from a newspaper article some years ago. A
fourth variant comes from the paper published by Thornton and
Brutscher What is a Spa? (2001). They state that the root is
“Sanus Per Aquam” meaning “health through water”. Judith Lazarus in
her book The Spa Source Book (2000) page 165, adds a fifth
version to the list with “Solus Per Aqua” meaning “water in itself”.
Another suggestion is that it comes from the Latin “spagere” (to
scatter, sprinkle or moisten).

Bea Hopkinson, well known for her
researches into Droitwich Brine Spa Water, has added some further
information on the expressions above, as follows:

”Sanitas Per Aquas” means "health through waters”
(plural) “Senare Per Aqua” means much the same "health through
water"(singular) “Salus Per Aquam” may be a scribal error and was
meant to read “Sanare Per Aquam”, which is "to heal through
water”.

Conclusion

Modern day spas
are well-established world wide as places of regeneration and rest,
with a holistic approach to mind, body and soul harmony. Places
where a person can achieve some form of personal metamorphism.
Underlying this approach however spas are also addressing serious
medical problems as well as providing leisure and relaxation. The
combinations of therapies and experiences are therefore endless and
it is apparent that the debate will continue about the subjective
issue of what is a spa and where the term originated. It is the 21st
century definition quoted earlier that perhaps gives insights into
how spas will be considered in the future, albeit as a two tier
market, those with and those without natural waters. For those who
insist that natural water is a vital component of any spa, The
British International Spa Association, in their newsletter of Spring
2002, defined a spa as “a place where therapeutic treatments are
given using healing waters”. At the time this was a workable, broad
definition. However since then we have seen a substantial reduction
in the application of water in spa therapies and this gives rise to
a reconsideration as to whether water should be included in the
definition. A suggested modern day definition is proposed as "A Spa
is a place that you resort to in order to alleviate lifestyle
problems and ailments in a convivial atmosphere."

The
author is grateful to the various contributors and hope that this
paper will in turn elicit further scholarship into this matter. The
information used in this paper was collated as a result of a number
of enquiries on the Internet as well as personal research. The
resulting contributions are gratefully acknowledged.

Dr Bruce
E Osborne
Spas Research Fellowship June 2002 with subsequent
updates.

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