DOMESTIC ECONOMY, HYGIENE, DIETETICS. 



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creases its efficiency. The temperature of the 

 water is a highly important circumstance, and 

 medical writers usually classify baths, as cold, 

 warm, and hot. 



Cold Bath. The cold bath is taken in 

 water which is cold as compared with the 

 normal heat of the body, or at a temperature 

 of 33 to 65. The effect of such a bath on 

 a person in good health is, on first plunging 

 in, a sensation of extreme cold (the duration 

 of which depends on the temperature of the 

 water and the condition of the bather), and is 

 followed by a reaction which brings on a sensa- 

 tion of warmth and a feeling of lightness and 

 vigor. By degrees, if the body continue to be 

 immersed, the bather again begins to feel cold, 

 chilliness, accompanied by shivering, comes 

 on, the pulse grows feebler and slower, and the 

 whole body becomes languid and powerless. 

 The time to leave the bath is during the period 

 of warmth, before the second chilliness be- 

 gins ; and immediately on stepping out the 

 bather should rub himself dry with a coarse 

 towel, and continue rubbing till the skin is in 

 a glow. The ultimate effect of the cold bath 

 has been differently described by different phy- 

 sicians, and some are strongly opposed to its 

 use at all ; but, where it agrees, it is tonic and 

 bracing, it improves the digestion, stimulates 

 the skin, and renders the circulation more 

 active and vigorous. It also hardens the sys- 

 tem and causes it to be much less sensitive to 

 changes of temperature, being on this account 

 an excellent protection against taking cold on 

 exposure. Its beneficial effect depends much 

 on the strength of the reaction ; if, therefore, 

 on coming out of the cold bath, the person 

 feels dull and chilly, or complains of headache, 

 or a sensation of tightness across the chest, the 

 cold bath disagrees, and should be discontinued 

 or modified. 



But many persons experiencing these symp- 

 toms seem to need just the sort of stimulus the 

 cold bath gives. This they can get by apply- 

 ing cold water with a wash rag to a square 

 foot or two of the skin at a time, rubbing the 

 space into a glow with a towel, and repeating 

 the process until the whole body has been 

 bathed. The writer knows instances where 

 this method has cured people too sensitive to 

 cold. 



The diseases for which cold baths are valu- 

 able as a remedy are morbid irritability and 

 sensibility, accompanied by general debility ; 

 also for asthma, in the intervals between the 

 paroxysms, when the system is in other re- 

 spects in a proper condition for it. When 

 there is a tendency to colds and rheumatism, 

 the cold bath is an excellent preventive j for 

 this purpose it should be used continuously 



throughout the year. It is improper in the 

 case of those who have a tendency to consump- 

 tion, or who are constitutionally liable to 

 bowel complaints ; and it should never be ven- 

 tured on by anyone suffering from chronic 

 inflammation of the mucous membranes of 

 the bronchia and intestinal canal. The best 

 time for taking a cold bath is in the early 

 morning just after rising. But persons of 

 feeble circulation in whom reaction does not 

 readily follow, had better not take a cold bath 

 before their breakfast is digested. 



Warm Bath. This includes all baths 

 ranging in temperature from 66 to 95. Its 

 effect is very different from that of the cold 

 bath. There is no shock, but the temperature 

 is grateful to the bather ; the blood circulates 

 more rapidly, and a gentle glow pervades the 

 body ; the skin absorbs water, is softened, and 

 throws off the scales of decomposed matter 

 which may have accumulated on it ; pain is 

 allayed, and nervous irritation is soothed. 

 The warm bath is especially grateful and ben- 

 eficial after excessive muscular exertion, or 

 after the fatigue and excitement of traveling. 

 It refreshes and tranquilizes the system ; but, 

 on the other hand, it has none of the tonic in- 

 fluence of the cold bath, and its frequent use 

 tends to relax and debilitate, while rendering 

 the system more sensible to changes of temper- 

 ature. The best temperature for the bath of 

 a healthy person is what is called tepid, and it 

 is also the most agreeable. A distinctly warm 

 bath taken just before going to bed will prob- 

 ably cure any tendency to wakefulness, espe- 

 cially if the wakefulness come from overuse 

 of the brain. No bath whatever should be 

 taken while digestion is going on say in less 

 than two hours after a meal. 



Hot Bath. This has a temperature rang- 

 ing from 98 (blood-heat) to 112. It is a 

 very powerful stimulant, and should never be 

 used by persons in a good state of health. 

 Even in cases of disease, it should only be 

 taken under a physician's advice. As the ob- 

 ject is to stimulate the vital actions, the bather 

 should never remain long enough in the bath 

 to produce exhaustion, the average time is 

 from ten to fifteen minutes. The best way to 

 obtain the full beneficial effect of the hot bath 

 is to commence with tepid water and gradually 

 increase the temperature. The hot bath is 

 chiefly used where it is desirable to produce 

 abundant perspiration, when it should be fol- 

 lowed by rolling the patient in blankets. 



Shower Bath. When cold water is used, 

 the effect of this bath is similar to that of the 

 ordinary cold bath, but the shock from the 

 shower bath is greater than that from simple 

 immersion, especially if the quantity of water 



