Nature Cure: Philosophy & Practice Based on the Unity of Disease & CureLindlahr, Henry
Philosophy
Nature Cure: Philosophy & Practice Based on the Unity of Disease & Cure
Lindlahr, Henry
Naturopathy
The cold packs and compresses, on the other hand, have a directly
cooling effect upon the seat of inflammation and in accordance with
the Law of Action and Reaction their secondary, lasting effect
consists in drawing the blood from the congested and heated interior
to the surface, thus relaxing the pores of the skin and promoting
the radiation of heat and the elimination of impurities.
Both the hot-water applications and the use of ice are, therefore,
to be absolutely condemned. The only rational and natural treatment
of inflammatory conditions is that by compresses, packs and
ablutions, using water of ordinary temperature, as it comes from the
cold water tap.
By means of the simple cold-water treatment and fasting all fevers
and inflammations can be reduced in a perfectly natural way within a
short time without undue strain on the organism.
The Whole-Body Pack
The whole-body pack is most effective if by means of it the patient
can be brought into a state of copious perspiration. The pack is
then removed and the patient is given a cold sponge bath.
It will be found that this treatment often produces a second profuse
sweat which is very beneficial. This aftersweat should also be
followed by a cold sponge bath.
Such a course of treatment will frequently be sufficient to
eliminate the morbid matter which has gathered in the system, and
thus prevent in a perfectly natural manner a threatening disease
which otherwise might become dangerous to life.
How to Apply the Whole-Body Pack
On a bed or cot spread two or more blankets, according to their
weight. Over the top blanket spread a linen or cotton sheet which
has been dipped into cold water and wrung out fairly dry. Let the
blankets extend about one foot beyond the wet sheet at the head of
the bed.
Place the patient on the wet sheet so that it comes well up to the
neck, and wrap the sheet snugly around the body so that it covers
every part, tucking it in between the arms and sides and between the
legs. It will be found that the sheet can be adjusted more snugly
and smoothly if separate strips of wet linen are placed between the
legs and between the arms and the sides of the body.
The blankets are now folded, one by one, upward over the feet and
around the body, turned in at the neck and brought across the chest,
the outer layers being held in place with safety pins.
The patient should stay in this whole-body pack from one-half hour
to two hours, according to the object to be attained and the
reaction of the body to the pack. If the pack has been correctly
applied, the patient will become warm in a few minutes.
The Bed-Sweat Bath
If the patient does not react to the pack, that is, if he remains
cold, or if, as is sometimes the case in malaria, the fever is
accompanied by chills or if profuse perspiration is desired, bottles
filled with hot water or bricks heated in the oven and wrapped in
flannel should be placed along the sides and to the feet, under the
outside covering.
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