The Cold Bath, used at a temperature of from 40° to 60° Fahr., is powerfully sedative, and is employed for its tonic effects. If the vital powers are low, or the individual remains in it too long (two or three minutes should be the limit), the reaction is slow and its effects injurious. While it is highly invigorating to robust persons, those who have a low standard of vitality should be cautions in its employment. A local bath may be followed by beneficial results, when a general bath would be inadmissible. For these reasons we advise the general use of the
Cool Bath, at a temperature of from 60° to 75° Fahr. If, in any instance, the reaction is slow, we recommend the
Temperate Bath, at a temperature of from 75° to 80° Fahr. The time of remaining in the bath should be regulated by the strength of the invalid. As a rule, it should not exceed three minutes, and the colder the water the less time should the patient be immersed. Immediately after emerging from any bath, the body should be thoroughly dried and rubbed with a moderately coarse towel until a glow is experienced and reaction is fully established. The attempt to toughen children by exposing them to low temperatures of either air or water, cannot be too emphatically condemned. This caution, however, does not apply to the employment of moderately cool water for ablutions. The cold or cool bath should be taken in the early part of the day, but never during digestion. Whenever reaction does not follow bathing, artificial means must be resorted to, as stimulating drinks, dry warmth, or exercise.
The Tepid Bath, the temperature of which is from 85° to 92° Fahr., is generally used for cleansing the body. It is prescribed in fevers and inflammatory affections for its cooling effects. It is usually medicated with some acid or alkali. The latter unites with the oily secretion of the skin and forms a soapy compound easily removed by the water. The temperature should be regulated according to the vitality of the patient; and the bath may be repeated two or three times a day. It removes superfluous heat, and keeps the skin in a condition favorable for excretion.
The Warm Bath, at a temperature varying from 92° to 98° Fahr., is always agreeable and refreshing. It equalizes the circulation and softens the skin, by removing all impurities. It moderates pain and soothes the whole system. It does not weaken or debilitate the person, but is in every way beneficial. It is an efficient, remedial agent in many chronic diseases, convulsions, spasmodic affections of the bowels, rupture, rheumatism, and derangement of the urino-genital organs. It should be employed immediately before going to bed unless urgent symptoms demand it at other times. It may be medicated or not, as circumstances require, but should always be taken in a warm room.
The Hot Bath at a temperature of from 98° to 110° Fahr. is a powerful stimulant. It excites the nerves, and through them the entire system. It causes a sense of heat and a constriction of the secretory organs; but perspiration, languor, and torpor soon follow. In the sudden retrocession of cutaneous diseases, it restores the eruptions to the surface and gives speedy relief. The hot bath may be applied locally when circumstances require.
The Russian Bath consists in the application of hot vapor, at a temperature varying from 112° to 200° Fahr. The patient is first subjected to a moderately warm temperature, which is gradually increased as he becomes inured to it, the head being surrounded with cloths wet in cold water. Upon emerging from it, the bather is plunged into cold water or receives a cool, shower bath. In rheumatic and cutaneous diseases, chronic inflammations, and nervous affections, the Russian bath is an effective remedy.
The Turkish Bath is a, dry, hot-air bath. The bather passes from one apartment to another, each one being of a higher temperature than the preceding. He undergoes a thorough shampooing, and, although the person may be scrupulously clean, he will be astonished at the amount of effete matter removed by this process. The bather then returns through the various apartments, and, upon emerging from that of the lowest temperature, he experiences a delightful sensation of vigor and elasticity.
As a hygienic agent, the hot-air bath has been' constantly growing in favor. Its value is now recognized by all physicians throughout the world. The judicious use of the Turkish bath serves to secure perfect equalization of the circulation. Glandular activity is increased, elasticity and power given to the muscles, and a permanent, stimulating and tonic influence imparted to the system, a condition at once conducive to the enjoyment and prolongation of life. Dr. Erasmus Wilson, of England, says, in a paper read before the London Medical Association: "The inhabitant of a large city would live as healthy, immured within city walls, as amid the fields and meadows of the country. His bath would be to him in the place of a country house or horse—it would give him air, exercise, freshness, health, and life."
"The bath that cleanses the inward as well as the outward man; that is applicable to every age; that is adapted to make health healthier, and alleviate disease, whatever its stage or severity, deserves to be adopted as a national institution, and merits the advocacy of all medical men; of those whose especial duty it is to teach how health may be preserved, and how disease may be averted."