Restorative heat therapies, notably hot herbal treatments, are an important aspect of Thai Yu Fai postnatal treatments. Being part of Yu Fai, Thai traditional Kao Krachome steaming is a herbal remedy used after childbirth in the thirty day Yu Duan confinement period.
The overall goal of the treatment is to expel (sweat out) so-called “poisonous” water from the body in order for the body to absorb “good” water, which is believed to have a healing and restorative effect.
It’s said that doing Kao Krachome steaming promotes a healthy skin, dries the perineum, expels bad smells of lochia (vaginal discharge after delivery), and furthermore protects against blurred vision, dizziness, headaches and general fatigue later in life.
Kao Krachome is prepared by boiling several types of herbs in a pot. The mother subsequently sits on a bed and covers herself and the pot with a blanket to induce intense sweating.