Popular Science Monthly 



403 



pipes forming a square; these curve over 

 and meet at the top to form an ordinary 

 shower. The pipes at the corner are perfor- 

 ated so that the patient gets the water 

 from the sides and top at once. The Scotch 

 douche is regu- 

 lated by an 

 operator at a 

 table about fif- 

 teen feet away, 

 by means of 

 levers. A ther- 

 mometer near 

 him indicates 

 the exact tem- 

 perature of the 

 water the pa- 

 tient isgetting. 

 When the pa- 

 tient steps in 

 the bath, for 

 instance, the 

 water is made 

 about 1 06 de- 

 grees, it is kept 

 at this for 

 about ten sec- 

 onds, then the 

 temperature is 

 gradually re- 

 duced until it 

 reaches 60 de- 

 grees or even 

 lower, if the 

 patient is able to stand cold water, the test 

 being whether he gets a warm, healthy reac- 

 tion afterwards. It is kept at this low tem- 

 perature about ten seconds and then turned 

 off.* Then follows the unique feature of 

 the Scotch douche. The operator controls 

 at his table a short hose with a nozzle and 

 through this he 

 plays a stream 

 of cold water 

 up and down 



The Scotch douche is a special kind of shower bath. 

 The temperature of the water is gradually reduced un- 

 til the patient can stand a cold stream along the spine 



the patient's body, making it a spray against 

 the more sensitive parts and a hard stream 

 upon the less sensitive ones. Chiefly 

 attention is directed to the spinal column 

 and the cold stream is run up and down the 



back-bone sev- 

 er al times. 

 The patient 

 then steps out 

 of the bath 

 and is given a 

 brisk rub- 

 down. 



Curing Raving 

 Maniacs in 

 Bath-Tubs 



The con- 

 tinuous bath is 

 just what its 

 name implies 

 and is chiefly 

 used for very 

 excited pa- 

 tients, the 

 "raving mani- 

 acs" referred 

 to before. An 

 ordinar>^ bath- 

 tub is fitted 

 with a mixing 

 chamberabove 

 so that the 

 water is kept 

 at an even temperature, this being body 

 temperature or a degree higher. Many of 

 these are equipped with a safety-valve so 

 that if any accident happens the supply is 

 automatically shut off. Thus, if the valve 

 is set at 105 degrees and the cold water 

 stops running for some reason, the tempera- 

 ture of the water in the bath rises rapidly, 

 but at 105 degrees the water is shut off. 

 Of course patients in a continuous 

 bath are always attended by a 

 nurse who is supposed to watch 



A patient in a "pack." This consists of sheets out of which water of the desired temperature 

 has been wrung. These arc wrapped tightly about the body and over them blankets are pinned 



