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ELEMENTS OF MATEBIA MEDICA.

insanity. So also, in any cases where we wish to increase the tone andvigour of the body, and where the before-mentioned objections do notexist, the cold bath may be used advantageously. It is a commonopinion that immersion in cold water is dangerous when the body isheated by exercise, or other exertion ; and hence it is customary withbathers to wait until they become cool. Dr. Currie has strongly com-bated both the opinion and the practice : the first, he says, is erroneous,the second injurious.

(2.) The Cool Bath (whose temperature is from 60 6 to about 75°) isanalogous in its operation to the cold bath, but less powerful. It iscommonly employed for the purposes of pleasure and cleanliness ; but itmay be resorted to, therapeutically, in the same diseases as the cold bath,where we are in doubt as to the power of the patient’s constitution toestablish full re-action. It is frequently used as a preparatory measureto the cold bath.

(3.) The Temperate Bath ranges from 75° F. to 85° F. Its effects anduses are similar to the cool bath.

(4.) The Tepid Bath gives rise to a sensation of either heat or cold,according to the heat of the body at the time of immersion. The tem-perature of this bath ranges between 85° and 92°. It cleanses the skin,promotes perspiration, and is used as preparatory to either of the before-mentioned baths. It is said to allay thirst. Where there is a tendencyto apoplexy, it has been recommended to immerse the body in the tepidbath, and at the same time to pour cold water over the head.

(5.) The Warm Bath varies in its effects on different individuals. Itstemperature is about that of the body, or a little below it: we may sayfrom 92° to 98°. In general it causes a sensation of warmth, which ismore obvious w hen the body has been previously cooled. It renders thepulse fuller and more frequent, accelerates the respiration, and augmentsthe perspiration. It gives rise to languor, loss of muscular power, faint-ness, and disposition to sleep. The uses of it are various. Sometimesit is employed to cause relaxation of the muscular system; as in disloca-tion of the larger joints : and also in hernia, to assist the operation of thetaxis. In the passage of calculi, either urinary or biliary, it is appliedwith the greatest advantage: it relaxes the ducts, and thereby facilitatesthe passage of the foreign body. As a powerful antiphlogistic, it isemployed in inflammation of the stomach, bowels, kidneys, bladder, &c.With the view of increasing the cutaneous circulation, it is used in theexanthemata, when the eruption has receded,—and to promote perspira-tion, in chronic rheumatism, and various chronic skin diseases.

(6.) The Hot Bath (the temperature of which is somewhat above thatof the body, as from 98° to 112°) gives rise to a sensation of heat, rendersthe pulse fuller and stronger, accelerates the respiration, occasionsintense redness of the skin, and copious perspiration,—causes the vesselsof the head to throb violently—brings on a sensation of fulness about thehead, with a feeling of suffocation and anxiety,—and, if the immersionbe continued, may even induce apoplexy. Being a powerful ex-citant, it must be used very cautiously. Paralysis, rheumatism,and some chronic diseases, are the principal cases in which it isemployed.

(A) The Vapour Bath .—The vapour bath differs somewhat in its effects