Bath, Hot

Syn. Bal′neum cal′idum , Calda′′rium , L.; Bain chaud , Fr. Usual temperature, 98° to 106° Fahr. The hot bath has a remarkably tranquillising effect upon the nervous system, producing a strong tendency to quietude and sleep. It also acts as a powerful antispasmodic, and by determining the blood to the surface of the body tends to relieve visceral inflammation and congestion. In chronic affections arising from the action of cold and damp and from exhausted energy, in stiff joints, rheumatism, neuralgia, diarrhœa, and numerous other affections, its effects are often rapid and remarkable. At high temperatures it strongly stimulates the arterial system, and arouses nervous energy and vital action, producing exce ive excitement and turgescence, followed by copious perspiration, which has been often found succe ful in cholera, paralysis, . If the immersion be too long continued, or the bath be injudiciously employed, la itude, debility, and somnolency ensue, and the good effect of the bath is more or le lost. In these cases violent throbbing and painful distension of the ve els of the head, with a distre ing feeling of suffocation and anxiety, are premonitory symptoms of impending apoplexy, an accident which sometimes, though seldom, follows its improper use.