People with weak hearts, and full-blooded persons with any tendency to apoplexy, should avoid Turkish baths, as they are not suitable in either of these conditions.
The proper way to take them is to devote plenty of time to the process. On entering, stay in the first room, the moderately hot one, until all feeling of oppression has passed off. Then move on into the second, the hot room as it is called. The third one, called the oven, should never be used, as the heat is too intense to be safe.
It is best to be content with a mild perspiration at first, and to stay in too short a time rather than too long. People are apt to think that the more they perspire the better they will be. But that is not the case, and, what is more, there is an element of danger in prolonging the process. So much liquid may be abstracted from the system that the impure matter circulating in the blood becomes too concentrated, and instead of being thrown off may be deposited in some muscle or joint, giving rise to an attack of rheumatism. In this way the very mischief is precipitated that we are anxious to avoid. Taken quietly and with discrimination, Turkish baths are one of the greatest boons to suffering humanity.
One of the most important details is the rest afterwards. This should never be less than half an hour, and an hour or more is preferable when it can be managed. The whole system needs this period of rest in order to get back to its ordinary routine, and without it much of the benefit of the bath is lost.
Once a week is quite enough, and in many cases once every two or three weeks is sufficient to keep the system active and healthy.
One other point should be kept in mind. Seeing that so much liquid is lost in the form of perspiration during the process, it is advisable to sip water freely, both during the process and after it.
If these precautions are observed these baths will prove beneficial to mind and body alike, eliminating the impurities, improving appetite and digestion, and restoring the sense of vigour and well-being.
In these ways both Turkish and plain hot water baths are of the greatest service in preventing the onset of neurasthenia and its successor, breakdowns. The time spent in taking them will be repaid a hundred times in an increased enjoyment of life and powers of work.