The Cold Bath.— The first effect of the cold bath (at a temperature say from 50° to 70°) is to produce a shock to the nerves of the skin. In the case of the cold bath as ordi narily used, the application is short, and the more near to the temperature of F. the water is the shorter it should be. Following the first action is reaction, during which the blood returns to the skin, the blood-vessels of which relax, and a pleasant sensation of glow, spread ing rapidly over the surface, is experienced, This reaction is aided by rapid friction of the skin, as by towels, and if, after drying, the body is quickly clothed and exercise engaged in, the total effect of the bath is stimulating, inducing a feeling not only of warmth but also of vigor. The length of time the cold may be applied without interfering with the setting in of a proper reaction depends on the individual. A mere instant's immersion is sufficient for some, others can bear several minutes, while some could not bear complete immersion of the body at all, a feeling of coldness and shivering lasting for hours after it. Obviously for such persons the full cold bath is not suitable, and the cold wet towel, cold wet sponge, wet sheet, etc., may be used instead, and may gradually lead up to the full cold plunge, which may thus be made tolerable and enjoyable. The cold bath is not usually suitable for the old and the deli cate. The action of the cold water may be intensified by showering it or spraying it on the body by means of various arrangements of pipes, etc. The morning or early part of the day is the suitable time for all such kinds of baths. Persons who are thus habituated to the use of cold water are less susceptible to the influence of cold and can stand longer exposure than others.
Tepid Baths (temperature 85° to pro duce neither depression nor excitement, and are therefore suited for all. They are the best when prolonged immersion is desired, as in the treatment of chronic skin and nervous diseases.
The' Warm Bath (temperature 96° to 104°) is particularly serviceable in removing feelings of fatigue. It should quicken only slightly the circulation, and bring an additional quan tity of blood to the skin. It is by this means that it removes the tired feeling from ex hausted muscles, for it promotes the removal from the tissues of the waste products, which have accumulated during the period of activity, and whose presence in the muscles is the cause of the f eeling of weariness. After prolonged labor, or a long fatiguing walk, or prolonged exposure to damp and cold, or after, for ex ample, the exertion of much dancing, nothing is so restorative and refreshing as a warm bath. When employed for such purposes, the person should end with a spray or douche, or simple sponge of tepid water (70°) if he is about to go to bed, or with a warm spray, quickly re duced to cold, before dressing to go out. Warm baths are largely employed in feverish affec tions of children for promoting the action of the skin; and they are a safe resort in the convulsions of children, cold being at the same time applied to the head.
The Hot Bath (temperature 102° to 110°) acts in a more pronounced way upon the heart and nervous system than the merely warm bath. If very hot it powerfully excites the heart, whose action, indeed, it may stimulate to vio lence. The brain is also influenced by the more copious flow of blood through it, due to the vigorous action of the heart These effects, however, are largely counterbalanced by the increased flow of blood to the skin. But the
prolonged use of hot baths is weakening, and the temporary strain thrown upon the heart and blood-vessels and brain would be hurtful to many. The bather should be immersed to the chin; the hair is damped with cold water and a thin cold cloth is wrapped about the head. Cold water may be drunk if desired. The bath should last 20 minutes, or less if oppression is felt It should conclude, as di rected for warm bath, with tepid douche or sponging, or with warm spray quickly reduced to cold. The hot bath should not be used in the morning or early part of the day, or at any time except before going to bed, unless the person is properly cooled down before dressing and going out.
The Bath is one of the most powerful ways of stimulating the activity of the skin. The person, unclothed, is placed in an apartment which is heated by means of fur naces, the air being dry. In a longer or shorter time, according to the heat of the air and the condition of the bather, the perspiration bursts out upon the skin, becoming very copious, so that the whole body is bathed in sweat A very high temperature may be borne so long as the air is quite dry, for the sweat passes rapidly off from the body in the fonn of vapor, removing a large quantity of heat, and thus the tempera ture of the body does not rise, unless the air is very hot, when the heat of the body usually increases by two or three degrees. The same high temperature could not be borne if the air were moist, as in the case of a vapor bath, for then the air is saturated or nearly so with moisture and cannot take up more, or can take up very little. Marked oppression, difficulty of breathing, fullness in the head, faintness, etc., would then speedily arise. When the air is quite dry, however, a high temperature, for ex ample that of 180' F., can usually be endured with ease, and even above 212°. Not only the activity of the slcin but the action of the heart and of breathing are greatly increased. It is thus not suited for everyone, certainly not in its full form for anyone with weak heart or vessels and for very full-blooded persons.
The Turkish Bath.— The hot-air bath is usually obtained with other accessories in the form of the Turkish bath. This bath was adopted by the Turks from the Romans, who derived it from the Greeks. The bather enters the dressing-room (Rom. vestiarium), which is heated to an ordinarily comfortable tempera ture. Beyond this room there are, in the fully equipped Turlcish baths, three rooms, separated from the dressing-room by well-padded doors. The first of these corresponds to the Roman tepidarium, the warm room, in which the tem perature is from 115° to 120° ; beyond this and separated from it by heavy curtains is the hot room, or calidarium, in which the temperature ranges from 120° to 140° ; and still beyond is the hottest room, called also the flue room, cor responding to the Roman laconicum. Here the temperature is not below 150°, usually 175° to 180', but may be 200° and upward. Every Turkish bath has at least two rooms beyond the dressing-room, one in which the tempera ture may readily be raised to 140° or thereabout, and one beyond it in which the highest tem peratures may be obtained.