Six Mile Water

The Six Mile Water is a river in southern County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was historically called the (river) Ollar and is known in Irish as Abhainn na bhFiodh. The Six Mile Water is an indirect tributary of the River Bann, via Lough Neagh. It rises in the hills west of Larne and north of Carrickfergus and descends gently westward, flowing through or close to the communities of Ballynure, Ballyclare, Doagh, Parkgate, Templepatrick, Dunadry and Antrim into Lough Neagh. A weir exists at Ballyclare where water was diverted to the paper mill. The Six Mile Water Park was constructed around the river in Ballyclare, in order that the river's frequent floods would not affect houses in the area. It has a catchment of 117 square miles.

Name

While short, it is closer to 26 miles (42 km) long than six; accounts vary as to the origins of the name. The most widely accepted story is that Norman soldiers marching from Carrickfergus Castle calculated that they had marched six miles (10 km) when they forded the river at Ballyclare. When the Normans built the castle at Carrickfergus they placed a line of outposts along the river which was then called the Ollar (River of the Rushes). In time the soldiers making the journey from Carrickfergus to Antrim reached the river at this spot when they had travelled six miles (10 km) so began to call the Ollar the Six Mile Water. The banks of the river will soon be home to Lough Neagh Rescue Sixmilewater.

Water cure (therapy)

A water cure in the therapeutic sense is a course of medical treatment by hydrotherapy.

Uses

One form of water therapy, advocated by some alternative medicine proponents, is the consumption of a gutful of water upon waking in order to "cleanse the bowel". A litre to a litre-and-a-half is the common amount ingested. This water therapy, also known as Indian, Chinese, or Japanese Water Therapy, is claimed to have a wide range of health benefits, or at least no adverse effects. Advocates of water therapy claim that application of water therapy at first will cause multiple bowel movements until the body adjusts to the increased amount of fluid. While ingesting about a litre-and-a-half of water is generally considered harmless, excessive consumption of water can lead to water intoxication, an urgent and dangerous medical condition.

History

In the mid-19th century there was a popular revival of the water cure in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. During this time the term water cure was used synonymously with hydropathy, the term by which hydrotherapy was known in the 19th century and early 20th century. However, the therapeutic use of water precedes this popular revival. Its use has been recorded in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations.