Agusan del Sur frontliners get some pampering

PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur, Philippines — His promise of a just reward for this province’s frontliners for their role in containing the spread of COVID-19 may be a lot of “hot air,” but Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. said even Interior Secretary Eduardo Año swears by it.

Año, the first Cabinet member to be infected with the virus in April, used traditional steam therapy and gargled with salt to help him recover from the severe respiratory disease, Cane said.

“With fingers crossed, we hope this can help,” Cane said of the provincial government’s offer of aromatic steam baths to its front-liners—a way to thank them for their hard work in implementing strict quarantine protocols.

The steam bath facility at the Emergency Operation Center started operations in early June. | CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN

According to the Department of Health’s Center for Health Development-Caraga, Agusan del Sur has only five confirmed cases as of June 19, with two in Prosperidad town. There were 25 new cases in Caraga region as of June 19, bringing the total to 56 positive cases, said Dr. Jose R. Llacuna Jr., DOH regional director for Caraga.

Cane said two steam bath chambers—one near the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the provincial capitol and another at the Provincial Learning Center—started operations in early June. Each chamber can accommodate about eight persons.

The steam bath service is mainly reserved for the health workers from D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital, the EOC staff, and the personnel manning quarantine control checkpoints in Agusan del Sur’s boundaries.

The steam bath offer was made possible by the award-winning invention of Cane’s younger sibling, Roderico Cane, whose innovative pneumatic boiler produces steam for the disinfectant chambers.

The pneumatic boiler won first place in the Mindanao Inventors Conference and Exhibits in 2009. It originally used rice hull as fuel, but the use of liquified petroleum gas for the two chambers meant steam could be generated in just two minutes.

The boiler’s inventor has recommended using a few drops of lemongrass essential oil in the conical steam chimney of the steam rooms to produce an aromatic smell that will relax the body and help remove toxins.

FULL STEAM AHEAD A provincial government employee (top) checks the LPG burner, boiling tank and air compressor behind the steam bath being enjoyed by a front-liner in Agusan del Sur. | CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN

The façade of the steam bath facility at at the Emergency Operation Center of Agusan del Sur COVID-19 Task Force. CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN

Satisfied bathers

Those who have used the steam bath have only good words for it.

Loida Antonio, head of the Camp Management Cluster of the province’s Anti-COVID-19 task force, said the steam bath session rid her body of spasms, as well as back and joint pains.

Antonio, 50, was among the 16 front-liners quarantined due to their exposure to the first virus case confirmed in the province.

Aside from relieving her hypertension, Antonio said, the steam bath vapor also “burned body fats” and produced heavy sweating. Her pants, she added, have now become looser at the waist.

Charry Armodia, a member of the task force’s logistics support staff, said a 25-minute steam bath session relieved her carpal tunnel syndrome and the numbness in her hands and arms. “I feel so good and I am amazed,” Armodia said.

Security guard Cecilia Noja of the Provincial Correctional Security Management Office and Sunshine Mae Sarmiento, who is in charge of the task force’s accounting, also noted relief from body pains after the steam bath.

According to Healthline.com, moist heat can significantly improve cardiovascular health by improving circulation, especially in the extremities. Improved circulation in turn can lower blood pressure and lead to a healthier heart. It can also promote the healing of broken skin tissue.

Being in a steam room can also decrease the body’s production of cortisol, the hormone that regulates one’s stress level. A drop in cortisol level makes one feel more relaxed.