SPA DOCTOR: A Turkish bath warmed my Dracula hands
I frequently get cold hands and feet – even in warm weather.
It usually strikes after periods of being static, when I’m working on my computer, sitting on the Tube or even just watching TV.
It’s particularly unnerving to my partner, who has rather unsympathetically nicknamed me Dracula for my icy-cold limbs.
I was worried I might suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome, in which poor circulation leads to fingers and toes turning blue. This can be triggered by cold but also stress, and is linked to hormone levels.
But my doctor suggested I simply need to make sure I stay moving and keep warm. So on a recent trip to Istanbul I was keen to experience a traditional Turkish hammam, an ancient practice renowned for its circulatory health benefits.
My partner can be unsympathetic to my icy cold hands and feet (stock image above of the feet of a couple in bed)
THE SOLUTION
The Four Seasons Hotel At The Bosphorus, Istanbul, is the best place in town to try this ancient Ottoman practice. Its luxury spa is fully equipped with a range of private rooms to receive the full hammam works.
THE TREATMENT
The Turkish Indulgence treatment (120 minutes, £227) comprises a 60-minute hammam experience followed by an invigorating 60-minute massage. I choose the Swedish massage to target my poor circulation and hopefully invigorate my body’s blood flow.
The Four Seasons Hotel At The Bosphorus, Istanbul (left), is the best place in town to try this ancient Ottoman practice (pool area right)
I’m guided into my own private hammam suite – a steaming chamber with a heated marble slab for me to lie on. My therapist conducts a full-body scrub using a rough mitt called a kese, which is invigorating almost to the point of pain, though the therapist assures me this is important to activate blood flow and boost circulation.
She then rubs soap suds into my body. After this, buckets of warm water are poured over me.
They get increasingly cold until a final douse of freezing cold water over my head completes this part of the treatment.
I feel incredible. I’m then ushered into another suite where a different therapist conducts an intensive Swedish massage.
After all this my circulation is thoroughly boosted – and it feels so nice to be warmed through from my fingertips to my toes.