Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of short-term application of a hot towel to the skin during bed bathing on skin surface temperature, stratum corneum water content, adenosine triphosphate （ATP） levels and subjective evaluations. The subjects comprised 45 healthy student volunteers. The subjects were 9 males （20.0%） and 36 females （80.0%）, with an average age of 21.6±1.1 years old. A crossover design was used in which 21 subjects were assigned to groups based on the amount of time that hot towels were applied to the skin （0, 3, 5 or 7 seconds） before bed bathing. In the remaining 24 subjects, no hot towel was applied during bed bathing. Skin surface temperatures, stratum corneum water content, and ATP levels were then compared between groups, and subjective evaluations were recorded. The highest mean skin surface temperature and rate of stratum corneum water content was detected in the group in which the hot towel was applied for 7 seconds. Furthermore, subjective evaluations from this group revealed that application of the hot towel also provided feelings of warmth and comfort. A decrease in ATP levels was evident in all groups after bed bathing；however, none of these decreases were significantly different between any of the groups. Based on these findings, we recommend applying a hot towel to the skin for 7 seconds during bed bathing to effectively increase both skin surface temperature and stratum corneum water content, and to provide patients with feelings of warmth and comfort.
