functions of the secretory organs.
Cleanliness, while it preserves health and promotes recovery, has
reference only to the hygienic influences of water and not to its
curative effects. There are several kinds of baths, the names of which
indicate their character, manner of application, or the part of the body
to which they are applied. Among others, we have Cold, Cool, Temperate,
Tepid, Warm, Hot, Hot Air, Russian, Turkish, Vapor, Electric, Sea,
Shower, Sponge, Douche, Foot, Sitz, Head, Medicated, Alkaline, Acid,
Iodine, and Sulphur Baths. Temperature influences the properties of any
bath; thus the sponge, sitz, and alkaline baths may be employed warm or
cold, according to the effect desired.

THE COLD BATH, used at a temperature of from 40 deg. to 60 deg. Fahr., is
powerfully sedative, and is employed for its tonic effects. If the vital
powers are low, or the individual remains in it too long (two or three
minutes should be the limit), the reaction is slow and its effects
injurious. While it is highly invigorating to robust persons, those who
have a low standard of vitality should be cautions in its employment. A
local bath may be followed by beneficial results, when a general bath
would be inadmissible. For these reasons we advise the general use of
the

COOL BATH, at a temperature of from 60 deg. to 75 deg. Fahr. If, in any
instance, the _reaction_ is _slow_, we recommend the

TEMPERATE BATH, at a temperature of from 75 deg. to 80 deg. Fahr. The time of
remaining in the bath should be regulated by the strength of the
invalid. As a rule, it should not exceed three _minutes_, and the colder
the water the less time should the patient be immersed. Immediately
after emerging from any bath, the body should be thoroughly dried and
rubbed with a moderately coarse towel until a glow is experienced and
reaction is fully established. The attempt to toughen children by
exposing them to low temperatures of either air or water, cannot be too
emphatically condemned. This caution, however, does not apply to the
employment of moderately cool water for ablutions. The cold or cool bath
should be taken in the early part of the day, but _never during
digestion_. Whenever reaction does not follow bathing, artificial means
must be resorted to, as stimulating drinks, dry warmth, or exercise.

THE TEPID BATH, the temperature of which is from 85 deg. to 92 deg. Fahr., is
generally used for cleansing the body. It is prescribed in fevers an