Sanitariums

 By Walter Kish

For many Ukrainians, a trip to the sanitarium is a regular and welcome event on their annual calendars.  To us Canadians, the term sanitarium has a much different connotation, invoking visions of being quarantined in some remote medical institution for the treatment of some serious affliction like tuberculosis or polio.

For Ukrainians, however, a visit to the sanitarium is basically a vacation, the equivalent of the European spa.  You go there to relax, take in the “waters,” partake of various forms of treatment, and de-stress yourself.  The Ukrainian sanitarium is like your European spa, though typically less elitist and more basic in terms of amenities.

They are usually located in some of the more scenic parts of Ukraine, and are, in effect, a type of vacation resort with therapeutic overtones.  The Carpathian mountains and Crimea are the most popular venues, with hundreds of sanitariums offering their services to overworked, ailing or stressed-out Ukrainians.

Towns such as Truskavets or Morshyn in Lviv oblast, Yaremche or Verkhovyna in the Karpaty, Mirhorod in Poltava oblast, Koncha Zaspa near Kyiv, or Alushta, Alupta and Yalta in Crimea, basically owe their existence to the dozens of spas that dot their respective landscapes.

In the olden days of the Soviet Union, most sanitariums were owned and operated by either the Communist party, the various artificial trade unions, large factories or state conglomerates.  An 18- or 24-day visit (“putivka”) to a sanitarium was typically a reward for being a good citizen, exceeding your work quota, doing some service for the party or simply being well connected.

Nowadays, many sanitariums have converted to private enterprises, yet their popularity continues unabated.  Ukrainians have a strong belief in their ameliorating and health-restoring powers.

Many are situated around natural springs whose waters are touted for their curative abilities. The mineral, chemical and radioactive composition of different springs are said to be able to cure a wide range of chronic and debilitating conditions.  Each sanitarium has a permanent medical staff of doctors, nurses and homeopathic specialists who prescribe treatment regimens based on the properties of the various springs that surround that particular institution.

Digestive problems are the most common ailment for most sanitarium-goers seeking treatment.  Many of the causes are ascribed to acid-base imbalances in the digestive tract.  Hence, if your problem is caused by over-acidity, your doctor will likely prescribe a course of water treatment in Truskavets with its unique chemical and mineral water composition.  If, on the other hand, your problem is low acidity levels, you will be prescribed the waters to be found in Morshyn or Mirhorod.

Drinking the local “waters” is supplemented by special diets, herbal, mud and salt baths, special yogurt or kefir-based concoctions, herbal infusions, walks in the fresh mountain or sea air and various homeopathic treatments.  Muscular or rheumatic afflictions are treated with hydrotherapy and various forms of massage.  Respiratory ailments call for breathing sessions in special salt chambers.

Most Ukrainians swear by the effectiveness of these treatments and prefer them to the more conventional type of medical treatment that we are accustomed to in the West.  Considering the significant decline in the level of medical services in Ukraine over the past decade, they may be resorting to the best treatment available under the circumstances.