WATER ANjD OERMS. . 1W> 



apply the heat; repeat this process three or four times, and let 

 the patient lie down and keep quiet lor an hour or more there- 

 after. The above will be found excellent for nervous people. The 

 use of the hot-water bag * for the spine will act equally well applied 

 for one hour or more daily ; it beats all other nervines known. 



As a Sedative. 

 The powerful sedative effect of water is unquestionable. In 

 cases of inflamed joints or bruises, it should be applied cold for 

 an hour at a time, alternating for a few minutes each hour with a 

 hot fomentation ; or hot fomentations may be used instead of the 

 cold, with equal or better results. This should be repeated several 

 times a day. 



As an Antispasmodic. . 



When the patient is in a cramp or convulsion, cold water may 

 be used to relieve the immediate difficulty, after which hot fomenta- 

 tions may be applied to the affected parts. Afterward such parts 

 should receive fomentations three times a week, and fomentations 

 should also be given to the spine three times a week. 



AS A DISSOLVENT OR ABSORBENT. 

 In cases of swelling or enlargement of joints, liver, spleen, etc. 

 fomentations should be kept up from three times a week to several 

 times a day, according to the severity of the case. In using fomen- 

 tations for jaundice, or in cases of enlarged liver, apply the heat 

 ,over the stomach and right side, keeping the cloth well up, as the 

 lower edge of the liver, in the normal condition, only reaches Xo the 

 lower border of the ribs. In many of the above affections, heat and 

 cold will greatly reduce nearly all the difficulties. In jaundice, bile 

 is absorbed into the system, giving the yellow hue to the whites of 

 the eyes and the skin ; hence, to eliminate, drink large quantities of 

 hot water or hot lemonade at the same time the fomentations, are 

 given, which will cause perspiration, and thus remove the poison 

 from the system. Packs are' also good. 



Other enlarged glands may be treated in a similar way. 



As a Diuretic, 

 that is, to increase the flow of urine by acting on the kidneys, 

 WATER is the best KNOWN remedy, and is harmless; Many 

 people have pain in the small of the back, and a burning sensa- 



• There are rubber water-bags now made specially for this purpose ; they are about 20 

 inches long by 5 or 6 inches wide. 



