How to Take a Sitz Bath

A sitz bath is a warm water bath that may be used to care for your rectum, genital area, or the area between your rectum and genitals (perineum). For a sitz bath, the water only comes up to your hips and covers your buttocks.

A sitz bath may done at home in a bathtub or with a portable sitz bath that fits over the toilet.

Your health care provider may recommend a sitz bath to help:

• Relieve pain and discomfort after delivering a baby.
• Relieve pain and itching from hemorrhoids or anal fissures.
• Relieve pain after certain surgeries.
• Relax muscles that are sore or tight.

How to take a sitz bath

Take 3–4 sitz baths a day, or as many as told by your health care provider.

Bathtub sitz bath

To take a sitz bath in a bathtub:

1. Partially fill a bathtub with warm water. The water should be deep enough to cover your hips and buttocks when you are sitting in the tub.
2. If your health care provider told you to put medicine in the water, follow his or her instructions.
3. Sit in the water.
4. Open the tub drain a little, and leave it open during your bath.
5. Turn on the warm water again, enough to replace the water that is draining out. Keep the water running throughout your bath. This helps keep the water at the right level and the right temperature.
6. Soak in the water for 15–20 minutes, or as long as told by your health care provider.
7. When you are done, be careful when you stand up. You may feel dizzy.
8. After the sitz bath, pat yourself dry. Do not rub your skin to dry it.

Over-the-toilet sitz bath

To take a sitz bath with an over-the-toilet basin:

1. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Fill the basin with warm water.
3. If your health care provider told you to put medicine in the water, follow his or her instructions.
4. Sit on the seat. Make sure the water covers your buttocks and perineum.
5. Soak in the water for 15–20 minutes, or as long as told by your health care provider.
6. After the sitz bath, pat yourself dry. Do not rub your skin to dry it.
7. Clean and dry the basin between uses.
8. Discard the basin if it cracks, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Contact a health care provider if:

• Your symptoms get worse. Do not continue with sitz baths if your symptoms get worse.
• You have new symptoms. If this happens, do not continue with sitz baths until you talk with your health care provider.

Summary

• A sitz bath is a warm water bath in which the water only comes up to your hips and covers your buttocks.
• A sitz bath may help relieve itching, relieve pain, and relax muscles that are sore or tight in the lower part of your body, including your genital area.
• Take 3–4 sitz baths a day, or as many as told by your health care provider. Soak in the water for 15–20 minutes.
• Do not continue with sitz baths if your symptoms get worse.