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Objective. To analyze the thermogenic effects of footbaths with medicinal powders in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) in comparison to healthy controls (HCs). Intervention and Outcomes. Forty-one female participants (21 AN, 20 HCs; 14.22 ± 1.54 years) received three footbaths—warm water and mustard (MU, Sinapis nigra), warm water and ginger (GI, Zingiber officinale), or warm water only (WA), in random order within a crossover design. Data were collected before (t1), immediately after foot immersion (maximum 20 minutes) (t2), and after 10 minutes subsequently (t3). Actual skin temperature (high resolution thermography) and perceived warmth (HeWEF questionnaire) were assessed at each time point for various body parts. The primary outcome measure was self-perceived warmth at the feet at t3. Secondary outcome measures were objective skin temperature and subjective warmth at the face, hands, and feet. Results. Perceived warmth at the feet at t3 was significantly higher after GI compared to WA (mean difference −1.02) and MU (−1.07), with no differences between those with AN and HC (−0.29). For the secondary outcome measures, a craniocaudal temperature gradient for the skin temperature (thermography) was noted at t1 for patients with AN and HC (AN with colder feet). The craniocaudal gradient for subjective warmth was only seen for patients with AN. Conclusion. Footbaths with ginger increased warmth perception at the feet longer than with mustard or warm water only for adolescents with AN as well as for HC. The impact of ginger footbaths on recovery of thermoregulatory disturbances in patients with AN repeated over extended periods merits further investigation.

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Objectives. To examine the effects of warm footbaths with thermogenic medicinal powders on vitality and heart rate variability in healthy adults. Intervention and Outcome. Seventeen healthy young adults (22.1 ± 2.4 years, 11 females) received three footbaths (WA: warm water only; GI: warm water and ginger; MU: warm water and mustard) in randomized order with a crossover design. We assessed vitality with the Basler Befindlichkeit questionnaire (BBS) and heart rate variability (HRV) before (t0), immediately after (t1), and 10 minutes following footbaths (t2). The primary outcome measure was self-reported vitality, measured via the BBS, at t1. Results. The primary outcome measure, self-reported vitality, was higher after GI and tended to be higher after MU compared to WA with medium effect sizes (GI vs. WA, mean difference −2.47 (95% CI −5.28 to 0.34), p adj = 0.048 , dadj = 0.74), MU vs. WA, −2.35 (−5.32 to 0.61), p adj = 0.30 , dadj = 0.50). At t2, the standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals (SDNN) of HRV increased, and the stress index tended to decrease after all three footbath conditions with small to medium effect sizes (0.42–0.66). Conclusion. There is preliminary evidence that footbaths with thermogenic agents GI and MU may increase self-reported vitality during a short-time period with a more pronounced effect with GI. After a short follow-up, all three conditions tended to shift the autonomic balance towards relaxation. Future research should investigate these effects in clinical samples with a larger, more diverse sample size.

Objective: To analyze the thermogenic effects of footbaths with medicinal powders in oncological patients (ON) and healthy controls (HC). Intervention and Outcomes: Thirty-six participants (23 ON, 13 HC; 24 females; 49.9 ± 13.3 years) received 3 footbaths in a random order with cross-over design: warm water only (WA), warm water plus mustard (MU, Sinapis nigra), and warm water plus ginger (GI, Zingiber officinale). Warmth perception of the feet (Herdecke Warmth Perception Questionnaire, HeWEF) at the follow-up (10 minutes after completion of footbaths, t2) was assessed as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included overall warmth as well as self-reported warmth (HeWEF) and measured skin temperature (high resolution thermography) of the face, hands and feet at baseline (t0), post immersion (t1), and follow-up (t2). Results: With respect to the warmth perception of the feet, GI and MU differed significantly from WA ( P’s < .05) with the highest effect sizes at t1 (WA vs GI, d = 0.92, WA vs MU, d = 0.73). At t2, perceived warmth tended to be higher with GI compared to WA ( d = 0.46). No differences were detected between ON and HC for self-reported warmth. With respect to skin temperatures, face and feet skin temperatures of ON were colder (at t0 and t1, 0.42 ≥  d ≥ 0.68) and tended to have diametrical response patterns than HC (ON vs HC: colder vs warmer after MU). Conclusion: Among adult oncological patients and healthy controls, footbaths with mustard and ginger increased warmth perception of the feet longer than with warm water only. The potential impact of regularly administered thermogenic footbaths over extended periods merits further investigation for the recovery of cancer-related sense of cold.

Background: An effective and well tolerated topical treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon is needed. The aim of this pilot study was to determine change in skin temperature and self-reported warmth perception from topical rosemary essential oil in patients with systemic sclerosis and secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Patients and Methods: Twelve patients with progressive systemic sclerosis and Raynaud’s phenomenon were consecutively enrolled in an open-label pilot study at a university outpatient rheumatology clinic. Each patient received an application of olive oil to both hands as a control and 3 hours later an application of a 10% essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Clinical severity and subjective warmth perception were assessed; skin temperature was measured by infrared thermography. Results: Skin temperature increased significantly after both olive oil and rosemary oil but differences between oils did not reach significance. Self-reported warmth perception increased after rosemary oil but not after olive oil. No adverse effects were observed. Conclusion: Topical rosemary essential oil increased warmth perception in patients with systemic sclerosis-related Raynaud’s phenomenon but did not increase finger skin temperature more than the olive oil control.

Nowadays the importance of the peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation is continuously increasing. It is therefore crucial to determine all side effects for donors. This clinical trial deals with the preventative therapy using Allopurinol (300 mg/d) in order to prohibit the increase in serum uric acid as a result of rhG-CSF injections (10 g/kg Lenograstim over 5d). It comprises 72 donors (m/f: 57/15) passing through 3 examinations. The initial measurement of uric acid serves as clue to categorize the donors into groups. Donors with high uric acid are summarized as group 1 (30: m/f: 27/3), which obtained Allopurinol, whereas donors with normal uric acid are part of group 4 (42: m/f: 30/12). This group is additionally divided into groups 2 and 3 (dependent on the way of G-CSF administration). The mean serum uric acid of group 1 decreased from 7.01 to 5.03 mg/dl. In contrast, the value of group 4 increased from 5.16 to 6.15 mg/dl.