Azerbaijan offers crude oil bathing treatments to treat illness

Baku - Oil rich Azerbaijan has so much black gold floating around that petroleum spas offer expensive treatments where the wealthy immerse themselves in baths of crude oil.

The Daily Mail reported wealthy Azerbaijan "ladies who lunch lie naked in baths of crude oil" believing the treatment offers relief from a number of ailments including skin diseases and arthritis. It isn't only the local ladies who frequent such spas. According to World Oil people flock from the Emirates, the former Soviet Union and Europe, to soak in "35 gallons of crude oil, at a temperature of 40 degrees." Those that indulge would prefer to stay in the oil for longer than the allotted 10 minutes, but longer sessions may prove hazardous to health. The oil contains the potentially carcinogenic hydrocarbon naphthalene. Oddity Central reported people who avail themselves of the treatment continue to ooze oil from their skin for several days.