Thermal bath

“ The Thermal Bath is specially useful in the treatment of all diseases arising from impurity of the blood, inactivity of the skin, local inflammations, or unbalanced nervous action. It is invaluable for Drug Poisoning, Scrofula, Consumption, Diseases of the Skin, Dropsy, Remittent and Intermittent Fevers, Coughs, Colds, Catarrh, Croup, Gout, Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Diseases of the Liver and Kidneys, Bronchitis, Chronic Diarrhea, etc. ”

“ The body is never so well calculated to withstand the effects of cold as when it is heated; and the only danger to be apprehended from cold bathing is that arising from entering the water in a chilled condition, when, from the low vitality of the body, the subsequent reaction becomes imperfect. Let these maxims be remembered:—that without subsequent reaction, no bath is beneficial—therefore, water should be always used of a proper temperature to secure reaction, and exercise to warmth, taken immediately before and after a cold bath, when practicable ”

“ The cooling and drying process, which is the special use of the Frigidarium, is regarded by experts as not the least important part of the curriculum of the bath. It is here that the moisture is dissipated from the skin by the heat of the body, that the bather recovers from any little physical exhaustion that the processes of the Lava [111] torium may have occasioned, that the skin is brought into contact with the open air, and imbibes its oxygen; that the man becomes sensible of a delicious repose of the nervous system, and an equally agreeable restoration of his powers. ”

“ Hot Baths,— by which are meant those of a temperature of from 85° to 105° F., are chiefly used in the treatment of ailments and diseases as powerful stimulants. Every parent should remember that a hot bath, causing free perspiration, followed by wrapping up warm in bed with blankets, will often save children and adults from severe attacks of illness, if promptly resorted to after exposure to cold or wet. ”

“ In comparing the general effects of cold and hot baths, it may be said that while the former tend to check perspiration, the latter favour it.
The warm bath causes swelling and congestion of the capillaries of the surface in the first instance; when the stimulus of heat is withdrawn their contraction ensues. A cold bath, again, first causes a contraction of the capillaries of the surface, which is followed by their expansion when reaction sets in. A warm bath elevates the temperature of the body, both by bringing a supply of heat to it and by preventing the radiation of heat from it. ”

“ Till modern invention, however, has provided us with this desideratum in the heating of the bath, we must be satisfied with existing methods. And unless something really practical is perfected, it is far wiser to rely upon the system of heating by convection through the air—the principle, generally adopted, of continuously passing large quantities of freshly-heated air through the sudatory chambers; exposing, however, the heating apparatus, so that a maximum of radiant heat may be obtained; and carefully guarding against injuring the air whilst raising its temperature. ”

“ Others prefer a box or small room large enough to admit the whole person, the whole body being subjected to the warm vapor. An opening guarded by a curtain is made in one side to allow the bather to inhale cool air if he should wish to do so, and to give the attendant access to the patient without chilling him by the admission of a large quantity of cold air. As in the simpler form of vapor bath, the head should be kept constantly cool by a cool wet compress often re-applied. ”

“ Between the entrance of the heated air and its point of furthest travel in the shampooing rooms, the bather should be able to select any temperature that may be most agreeable to him, and as many find by experience that a certain degree of heat is best suited to themselves, it shows attention to the habitués of the bath, if the hot rooms are carefully maintained at the same uniform temperatures throughout the year. ”

“ The hygienic points to be attended to are, that there be an abundant supply of fresh cool air and an effective withdrawal of vitiated air; for the cold-air bath in the cooling room is, in its way, as all-important as the bath of hot air. The freshness of the air is of equally vital importance, as much of the invigorating effect of the bath—that effect which to the minds of the uninformed is weakening—results from submitting the heated skin to volumes of cold air. ”

“ Tepid, warm, and hot baths are employed, not only for cleansing the body, but to diminish blood pressure and to reduce nervous excitability. The hot bath is used in restoring warmth to the body in certain cases of shock, and to remove the effects of exposure to a low temperature. ”

“ At a temperature of 94° to 98°, the bather, at the moment of immersion, experiences an agreeable sense of warmth—the vital powers are exalted, and all the functions of the organs are put into a state of increased activity. The pulse expands and quickens, but is still soft—and all the secretions and excretions are augmented after leaving the bath. ”

“ I will turn to the more agreeable subject—the operation of the bath, which is quite luxurious. The sensation experienced on first entering the hottest chamber is almost overpowering—the heat is extremely oppressive; and at first I believed that I could not long support such a temperature; but after the first minute, I was relieved by a gentle, and afterwards by a profuse perspiration, and no longer felt in any degree oppressed. It is always necessary for each lady to send her own bathing-linen, a pair of high clogs, a large copper vessel for hot water, two copper bowls, and towels. ”

“ Drying and dressing may be comfortably gone through in front of a fire, the use of which for this purpose is a positive advantage, and will by no means, as might perhaps be imagined, tend to enervate or enfeeble, or in any way lessen the pleasure and benefits to be derived from the 17bath; a good fire on the contrary, will act as a help in laying in an agreeable and valuable supply of warmth, the advantage of which will be felt during the whole day.
Only a very weakly person should take the bath in the bed-room, as the air of the sleeping chamber must necessarily be more or less vitiated. ”

“ As a general rule, mineral and salt-water warm baths are less relaxing than those of pure water. The vapor bath, when the vapor is not breathed, acts more powerfully, though much in the same manner as the warm bath, but it is more useful in common cold and rheumatism. The warm-air bath, at from 100° to 120°, is highly convenient and useful, where it is desirable to excite perspiration, as in rheumatism, scaly eruptions, and certain stages of fever and cholera. ”

“ In badly-ventilated rooms, where the air stagnates, there will be a considerable difference. And here we may note a serious objection to the heating of a bath by convection; for while the head may be in a high degree of heat the feet are in comparatively cool air, whereas, if possible, it should be just the reverse. In convected heat, this of course applies in its entirety, as where so-called radiant heat is employed the evil is not quite so marked. ”

“ The effects of the vapor bath are essentially the same as those described, though a somewhat higher degree of heat is tolerated without injury. In the hot-air bath, a still higher heat is borne with impunity. ”

“ As regards the amount of air that should flow through the hot rooms, an allowance of 40 cubic feet per head per minute should be the minimum, if purity of atmosphere is to be maintained. In a bath, the importance of perfect ventilation cannot possibly be over estimated, as not only has the respired air from the lungs to be removed, but also the deleterious exhalations from the skin which are produced by perspiration. ”

“ Very hot baths have a distinct relaxing effect; they favor the onset of sleep and can be taken to best advantage just before retiring. There is nothing in the common idea that a hot bath opens the pores of the skin; the only pores the skin has are the openings of the sweat glands, and these do not vary in size. What a hot bath does do, is to cause a marked flushing of the skin as the result of which the body loses heat rapidly. It is necessary, therefore, after a hot bath to wrap oneself warmly so that excessive loss of heat shall not occur. ”

“ The temperature of the room during a bath should be 70° to 85°. Invalids require a warmer room than persons in health. Thorough ventilation is an important matter; but draughts must be carefully prevented, by screens of netting placed before openings into the room when necessary.
5. Never apply either very cold or excessively hot treatment to aged or feeble patients. Cold is especially dangerous.
6. Hot baths are rarely useful in health. The warm bath answers all the requirements of cleanliness.
7. Never take a cold bath when exhausted or chilly. ”

“ XI. Plenty of time is to be devoted to this important department of the bath; the skin is to be exposed, as much as possible, to the vivifying action of the sun and air, and opportunity thus afforded to the newly-opened pores to absorb oxygen from the atmosphere. Where the cooling-room opens into a retired court, or garden, the open air is preferable.
XII. Before dressing, the whole surface of the body must be dry to the touch. If the cooling stage be hurried over, a secondary perspiration may break out ”

“ 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. ”

“ The effect of many bathers being necessarily to curtail space, infuse moisture into the atmosphere, and deteriorate the ventilating medium. The temperature of a bath must therefore be specially adapted to the particular bath; it must rise or fall with its proportions or with its means of ventilation; it must rise or fall with its number of bathers; it must rise in the morning and fall in the evening. We may fix the temperature of a hot bath, but we cannot determine that of a Turkish bath. ”

“ The full bath is one of the most refreshing of all baths, being also one of the most pleasant. Employed at a low temperature, it is a powerful means of reducing excessive heat in fevers. The 109hot full bath very promptly relieves the pains of acute rheumatism, and is almost a specific for colds, if taken just before retiring. Very hot and very cold temperatures are quite hazardous with this bath, since it involves so large a portion of the body. Such extremes are rarely useful in any case, and should not be used except under the eye of a physician. ”

“ In reality, however, it is only from door to door that the currents exist exactly as shown at the diagram, Fig. 11, there being a secondary circulating process in each room.
This circulation of air will exist in any bath heated on the modern system—that is to say, where freshly-heated air is passed in in sufficient quantity. It is a natural result, and tends to distribute the heat more equally. The back-flow is only objectionable when a door is opened direct from the heated shampooing rooms to a cooler apartment, as the plunge bath chamber. ”

“ Theoretically, radiant heat in a bath is vastly superior to that which is transmitted to the body through the [Pg 60] medium of the air. Its virtues have been extolled by David Urquhart and other eminent authorities on the bath. "There is a difference," says Mr. Urquhart, "between radiating and transmitted caloric.... I cannot pretend to treat of this great secret of nature; to work out this problem a Liebig is required. This I can say, that such heat is more endurable than common heat. There is a liveliness about it which transmitted heat lacks. You are conscious of an electrical action. ”

“ The purity or foulness of the air in the hot rooms forms all the difference between a good bath and a bad one, which latter is infinitely worse than no bath at all. There exist, at the present time, scores of baths where the odours of the sudatory chambers are nauseating. Such foulness arises from stagnation of the air. There is no continuous flow, and the respirations and exhalations of the bathers are not removed. A system of ventilation may be pointed out, but it is on the wrong principle, and does not act. There is no change of air. The atmosphere of such places becomes pestilential. ”

“ Everybody can take a cold bath, if properly managed, every day of the year; but, during the cold weather, it takes a strong constitution to bear a hot bath; for although the first, or momentary effect, is to make the skin warm and comfortable, the secondary effect, or reaction, which comes on very soon and lasts a long time, is to make the surface very cold.
During the warm weather, the hot bath is a great luxury. For the moment it makes you warm, but the secondary effect, or reaction, which will continue for a long time, leaves you in a cool, comfortable state. ”

“ A great deal has been written about the value of a cold bath, particularly in the morning, and many people, from a sense of duty, suffer what is almost torture taking a shower bath or a cold plunge bath on rising. When a cold bath (which should not last more than a few seconds) is followed by a good reaction, that is, when after drying, a distinct glow is felt, there is no objection to its use, and undoubtedly it has a tonic effect for those whose vitality is able to endure the shock. ”