A mud bath is a bath of mud, commonly from areas where hot spring water can combine with volcanic ash. Mud baths have existed for thousands of years, and can be found now in high-end spa

Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

s in many countries of the world.

Mud baths can be found at the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

 in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Mud baths in the United States are mostly found at the resorts in Calistoga

Calistoga, California

Calistoga is a city in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 5,155 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.30% of it land and 0.70% of it water.-Climate:...

, Napa Valley, California, and in Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...

. The mud is a combination of local volcanic ash, imported Canadian peat and naturally heated mineral waters. Historically, the mud bath treatment has been used for centuries in Eastern and Western European spas as a way to relieve arthritis.

See also

• Ahava Dead Sea cosmetics
  Ahava (company)
  Ahava is an Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures skin care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea. The company's administrative headquarters are located in Holon but the main manufacturing plant and showroom are in Mitzpe Shalem, an Israeli settlement located on...
  
  
• Balneotherapy
  Balneotherapy
  Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing, usually practiced at spas. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy, there are some overlaps in practice and in underlying principles. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation or stimulation...
  
  
• Bath salts
  Bath salts
  The term bath salts refers to a range of water-soluble, usually inorganic solid products designed to be added to a bath. They are said to improve cleaning, improve the experience of bathing, and serve as a vehicle for cosmetic agents...
  
  
• Heubad
  Heubad
  Heubad is an Austrian traditional haybath with more than 200 years of history. Bathers immersethemselves in hay which releases heat from biodecomposition. Coumarincompounds from the hay are said to have beneficial effects on thebathers' blood flow....
  
  
• Medical tourism in Israel
  Medical tourism in Israel
  Medical tourism in Israel is a subset of the medical tourism industry in which patients travel to other countries to have procedures performed at a lower cost. Israel is emerging as a popular destination for medical tourists...
  
  
• Mud wrap
  Mud wrap
  Mud wraps are spa treatments designed to slim and tone the body, hydrate or firm the skin, or relax and soothe the muscles. Some mud wraps are also thought to relieve tired and aching joints, ease inflammation, and help to flush out toxins through sweating....
  
  
• Peloid
  Peloid
  thumb|Family of African Bush Elephants taking a mud bath in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya.Peloid is mud, or clay used therapeutically, as part of balneotherapy, or therapeutic bathing...