The uses of water in health and disease

by John Harvey Kellogg

The Warm Bath.—In this connection we apply the term warm to baths of a temperature between 85° and 98° F., though baths of a temperature between 85° and 92° would be more accurately termed tepid, which term is applied to baths of that temperature elsewhere than in this immediate connection.

The warm bath never exceeds the temperature of the body, and is usually below it. Its effect is uniformly to diminish the frequency of the pulse and of respiration, and to decrease animal heat. Its effects are the same as those of the cool or cold bath, in this respect, but they differ in several other particulars. Unlike the cold bath, the warm bath is not accompanied by an unpleasant shock, or chill, and, hence, is not followed by reaction. It promotes the action of the skin in a very marked degree, increasing both perspiration and absorption. When continued for an hour or two, the weight is appreciably increased by the absorption of water. Its general effects are very mild and soothing, often inclining the patient to sleep.

This bath seems to produce its effects not so much by exciting the vital energies to abnormal action or resistance, as by supplying the most favorable conditions for the performance of the natural and usual functions. This is doubtless on account of its close approximation to the temperature of the body. In this respect, if this supposition be true, it differs from baths of a temperature either much above or greatly below the normal temperature of the body.

The warm vapor bath produces effects quite analogous to those of the warm water bath. Its effect upon the processes of perspiration and absorption is a little more marked, even with the same degree of temperature. The results differ somewhat, according as the whole body is enveloped, so that the warm vapor is taken into the lungs, or the head excluded. A more equable effect is produced by including the whole body in the bath, and no harm can result if the temperature is not raised above that of the body, as it should not be, in the warm bath.

Sympathetic Effects.—There is scarcely room for doubt that many of the effects of the various kinds of water applications are wholly of a sympathetic character. All portions of the body are intimately associated together by a system of nerves called the sympathetic system, from their peculiar function. Certain portions, as the skin and mucous membrane, are particularly related. The large number of sensitive nerves which connect the skin with the brain, bring it in peculiarly close relations to that organ, and give additional potency to any agent applied to so extensive a surface. The well-known fact that burns of the skin are often the occasion of fatal ulceration of the mucous membrane of the intestines sufficiently attests the intimate relation between these two tissues; while the effects upon the skin of mental emotions, as of shame and of fear, are conclusive evidence of the peculiar closeness of relation between the cerebral and cutaneous organs. The condition of the mind has much to do with the effect of a bath.

Modes of Administration.—There are numerous modes of administering baths of all temperatures, each of which produces some modification of the general effect of the given temperature. For example, such baths as the douche, the spray, and the shower bath, are much more cooling in their effects than a full bath at the same temperature; since, in the latter case, nearly the whole body would be submerged in a medium of equable temperature, while in the case of the spray, etc., the body would be additionally cooled by the rapid evaporation taking place upon its surface. Many other peculiar effects are obtained by particular modes of administration, which will be described in their proper place.

HISTORY OF WATER CURE.

The utility of water as an agent in the treatment of disease is not a modern discovery, as the pretensions of some aspirants for notoriety have led many to believe. A very cursory glance at the history of various ancient nations furnishes sufficient evidence that the use of the bath as a curative agent was of very remote origin. The works of the oldest medical authors contain numerous references to the bath, recommendations of its use in cases of disease, and testimonials of its good effects when properly employed. As this is a matter of some interest to many of those who employ and advocate the use of water as a remedial agent, as well as to those who are investigating its merits, we shall devote a little space to a sketch of the use and estimation of the bath by various nations and tribes—civilized and barbarous—and regular and irregular physicians, from the remote ages of antiquity down to modern times. For several of the facts presented we are indebted to a valuable work by Dr. Bell, long out of print and now somewhat rare.

The Bath in Egypt.—That bathing was practiced to a considerable extent by the Egyptians at a very early period, is evinced by both sacred and profane history. It was through obedience to this custom that Moses was discovered among the rushes by Pharaoh’s daughter as she went down to the river side to bathe. Pictures discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs represent persons preparing for the bath. We have no expression of the estimate which was placed upon the bath as a remedial agent; but it is hardly possible to believe that an agent held in such high esteem as a preventive of disease should not be valued as a useful remedy.

Bathing among the Jews.—The code of laws prepared by Moses, under divine instruction, for the government of the Hebrew nation after its departure from Egypt, made bathing a prominent feature. The connection of the bath with the treatment of leprosy would naturally lead to the conclusion that it was employed for its curative effects.