be secured
by means of a hot-water bath. Hot water has a profound influence upon
the elimination of wastes and impurities through the skin. In cases
of kidney disease, where the kidneys are unable to perform their work,
it is often possible to keep one alive by making the skin do the
work of the kidneys through frequent hot baths. The tub should be
filled with hot water at a temperature of from 105 up to 112 or 115
degrees Fahrenheit, that is to say, as hot as it can be endured, and
one should remain in this bath from ten to twenty minutes, or as long as
one's condition will permit. It may be a good plan to get into the
water at a lower temperature, for instance, starting with water at
102 to 104 degrees, then afterwards adding hot water so as to raise
the temperature to 108 or 112 degrees, or even higher. It is really
necessary to use a bath thermometer (they can be obtained at a cost
of ten or fifteen cents in any drug store) to regulate the temperature
of the water. Sufferers from any derangement of the heart or those
handicapped by serious vital depletion should not use the water too hot.
In such cases it may be well to limit the temperature to 103 to 105
degrees and to limit the duration of the bath to five or ten minutes. In
such cases it will be necessary to take the bath more frequently,
perhaps each evening, in order to secure results in the way of active
elimination. If one is strong enough, however, and merely wishes to
purify the blood one may be able to stay in the water from twenty to
thirty minutes and to raise the temperature of the bath to 115 degrees
or more. The hot bath is much used in Japan and the natives there
almost parboil themselves, using water at a temperature as high as
120 degrees. But it is not necessary to go to such extremes. It is
most important that one should leave the bath immediately upon
feeling any sense of weakness, dizziness or discomfort of any sort. If
you feel oppressed by a sense of overheating, do not linger in the
water but get out of it immediately. You will usually find that your
face will perspire freely within a few minutes after being in the bath.
This indicates its rapid eliminative effect. Such a bath will not
accomplish exactly the same work as a cabinet or Turkish bath, but
good results can be secured therefrom. The hot bath when used for
perspiration purposes should be followed by a quick sponging with