Every Man His Own Doctor: The Cold Water, Tepid Water, and Friction-Cure, as Applicable to Every Disease to Which the Human Frame Is Subject, and Also to the Cure of Disease in Horses and CattleClaridge, R. T. (Richard Tappin)
Science
Every Man His Own Doctor: The Cold Water, Tepid Water, and Friction-Cure, as Applicable to Every Disease to Which the Human Frame Is Subject, and Also to the Cure of Disease in Horses and Cattle
Claridge, R. T. (Richard Tappin)
Hydrotherapy; Veterinary medicine
A third case, where after being some time under the treatment a
practitioner was embarrassed by his patient having fixed pain in his
bowels, Priessnitz said, the bath applied with vigour for a considerable
time would have been sure of removing it.
If a patient is ever lost in these cases, it is through the want of
knowledge and the timidity of the practitioner.
XL.--INFLAMMATIONS.
_Inflammation of the Lungs._--This complaint originates in some
obstruction, and is occasioned by an effort of nature to remove it. By
bleeding the symptoms are reduced, but the cause remains, and
consequently it frequently happens that under Hydropathic treatment
inflammation returns, which then, by producing irritation on the
surface, is extracted.
Mr. Priessnitz' married daughter, this year, returned to Gräfenberg,
with her husband, to be cured of an epidemic which raged in Hungary. The
husband was cured. The lady, with an eruption, went for two days into
the country; on return the eruption had nearly subsided; it had gone to
the lungs and inflammation resulted. She was put into tepid and cold
baths thirty or forty times during the day. These positive means put an
end to the inflammation in one day, and the next she was about as usual,
quite well.
This apparently dangerous complaint, without any apparent cause, when
taken quite in its infancy, is generally cured by the following simple
means.
Place a cold packing-sheet several times doubled over the shoulders,
chest, and back of the patient, whilst he takes a cold sitz-bath, for
from half an hour to an hour, during the time use great friction to the
feet and legs with hands dipped in water. All medical reasoning will be
to the effect that this treatment must cause congestion to the lungs;
but every day's practice at Gräfenberg proves the contrary.
Between the application of the above treatment, use a rubbing sheet.
If the head is affected, let the patient lay quiet in bed, with his head
in a basin once or twice a day, from fifteen to thirty minutes, or much
longer if necessary each time.
If fever, then resort to the tepid bath, until heat disappears under the
arm-pits; this may require a long time, but must be persevered in.
The water of the bath must be continually renewed or it will become too
warm.
I have known the sitz-bath, applied two or three times a day, completely
cure an attack of this nature.
A lady, aged forty, attacked with inflammation of the lungs, was put
into a tepid bath 62°, and kept there three hours and ten minutes, cold
water being constantly poured over the shoulders, to bring down the
temperature. Priessnitz frequently felt the chest and arm-pits; and in
answer to patient's request to discontinue, he said if she did so until
all parts were cool alike, her life would pay the forfeit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account