What decides the length, what a short course gives you, when a long one is needed and how soon a course can be repeated.
"How many days should I stay?" is among the questions asked most before booking. The short answer: the length follows from your complaint and from the first examination. The long answer helps you understand the choice.
Why a course and not a single session
Naftalan treatment works cumulatively — the effect builds over repeated sessions. One or two baths are an introduction to the procedure, not a course. That is why sanatorium programmes are measured in nights and have a minimum.
What decides the length
- the nature of the complaint: acute, flared or chronic;
- how many years it has been going on;
- other conditions alongside it, and contraindications;
- how you take the procedures — some guests need rest days;
- how many different procedures go into the course.
7 nights
The short programme. For first-time guests, for anyone who wants to see how they react to the procedure, and for those short of time. It fits the examination, a daily bath and one or two supporting treatments. If you are travelling a long way, count the share of that week the journey takes.
10 nights
The option most guests choose. More procedures fit, there is room for the physiotherapy and massage blocks, and a rest day can go into the schedule. For most people it is the balanced choice.
14 nights
The classic sanatorium course. Every block runs at full volume, the schedule is freer, and the doctor has room to adjust it as the course goes on. For chronic complaints this is usually the length advised.
21 nights
The long programme. Chosen on a doctor's recommendation for long-standing chronic complaints and for recovery after surgery or injury. It is always an individual decision — "the more the better" is not a principle that works here.
The protocol: what is confirmed
The naftalan bath has rules of its own and they bear directly on how long a course runs: a session lasts no more than ten minutes, the oil is at 37–38 °C, at least forty minutes of rest follow the procedure, and for the full effect a course should hold at least ten sessions. Which shows that a seven-night stay sits at the edge of the minimum — once rest days are counted, gathering ten sessions usually takes ten nights.
One further rule: a course should not be repeated sooner than six months. Sea trips and hot baths are not advised while a course is running.
When a course can be repeated
The timing of a repeat course is for the doctor to set: it depends on how the first one went and on how the complaint has behaved since. Do not decide for yourself and come back after a short gap — agree the interval with the doctor treating you.
When you plan
A doctor sees you on the day you arrive and the procedures usually begin the next day — count that day when you pick your dates. If you are unsure about the length, send us your complaint and your recent results: our doctors will write back with a likely figure before you travel.
