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| Bath Information Bath Temperatures Very Cold.................................................................32 to 55 degrees F Cold.........................................................................55 to 65 degrees F Cool.........................................................................65 to 80 degrees F Tepid.......................................................................80 to 92 degrees F Warm......................................................................92 to 98 degrees F Hot.........................................................................98 to 104 dgrees F Very Hot.......................................................104 degrees F and above |
| Rules for Bathing - Never take a full bath within two hours after meals. - When preparing baths for the sick or otherwise weaken always use a thermometer when possible. If a thermometer is not avaliable the method for testing babies water by placing one's elbow in the water can be used. - The room temperature should be between 70 and 85 degrees F, but the very sick and invalids require more warmth. Be sure there is good ventilation, but no drafts. - When treating the very old, feeble, or nervous patients do not use extremely hot or cold baths. Also, never take a cold bath when very exhausted or fatigued; it is much better to start at a tepid temperature and increase gradually to the cold water. - Never go more than four days at he most without bathing. A cold bath in the morning is good for stimulating the body system along with preserving bodily cleanliness. - Avoid giving shocks to nervous people and those affect with apoplexy and heart disease. - The best time for water treatments is around three hours after breakfast. - During the menses, cold baths should not be taken. - Always use the softest and purest water you can. - Baths should always be given at an agreeable temperature to sick persons, unless you are giving a specific treatment. - Should symptoms of faintess appear, qucikly apply cold water to the head and face, lower the temperature of the bath by adding cold water, or give a drink of cold water. - Always decrease the temperature of the bath before finishing if the person is not strong enough for a sponge bath or a shower to prevent taking cold. - Unless given for a specifice purpose to a portion of the body cold baths should be brief. - It is important that the patient is carefully dried, never leave a patient chilly; rub until warm. - It is good to have patient excerise a little before and after bathing. - Resting after bathing is also a good idea, this is best when one can lie down and keep covered. - Sponge baths for weak patients, or for the very weak sponge baths in bed. |
| Types of Baths and How to Give Them Turkish Baths: The purpose of a turkish bath is to produce much perspiration. Water should be taken before, during, and after a turkish bath to make up for the water lost in perisperation. The temperature of a turkish bath varies but usually is around 104 or 105 degrees F. In most cases unpleasant sensations appear but as soon as the patient beings to perspire these dissappear. After much presperation the patient should be taken to a room between 90 and 100 degrees F and be rubbed throughly to remove all the dead skin. Then the whole body needs to be lathered and rubbed with either brush or hand. Next the patient is given a shower and then is immersed in a tub of cool water; but a spary is all that's truly needed. After all of that warp the patient in a sheet, or in some cases a blanket is needed, and let them lie down in a room that is between 70 and 80 degrees F. Turkish baths stimulate elimination as well as perspiration. It is a good remedy for rheumatic gout, chronic rheumatism, jaundice, malaria, obesity, syphilitic diseases, dropsy, eczema, skin diseases, and hydrophobia. Very similiar to the Turkish bath is the Roman bath, the difference being after the patient is dried, he/she is rubbed throughly with sweet oils. Roman baths are very good for people susceptible to colds. Sitz Bath: The hip-bath is very useful. The water should cover the abdomen and the temperature should be sutibable for the patient's condition. Then, rub the abdomen and hips well. During the bath the patient should be covered with a sheet or blanket should you desire sweating. A good temperature to being this bath is at 90 to 95 degrees F. This bath is good for uterine and women's troubles along with men's diseases, genitalia and urinary diseases and disorders, piles, constipation, diarrhea, dysentary, and abdominal and pelvic congestion. It's also effective in treatment of neverous afflictions and diseases that involve the brain like cerebral congestion. Foot Bath: Cover the feet and legs in water up to the knees. The feet should awalys be rubbed while in the bath. This treatement is used usually for headache, catarrh, colds, cold feet, congestion of the abdomen and pelvic reagions, neuralgia, and toothache. Leg Bath: This is done by sitting in a bathtub and is usefull for swollen knees and ankles, varicose veins, ulcers of the leg, and is also effective for treating heart palpitations and headache. Tub Baths for Cleanliness: A full tub bath is the most beneficial sort of bath and they can be very pleasant. You should take a full tub bath at least three times a week and throughly scrub the body with soap. The soap opens the pores and makes the skin glands active and allows the body to eliminate poisons from the body. A hot bath is good in treating colds if taken as they are contracted and taking care the person isn't exposed to a draft afterwards. In cases of gout, colic, sciatica, gall-stones, and rheumatism a very hot bath is helpful; do not start out very hot but increase the heat withtime. If the person has heart troublt keep a icebag over the heart and a cold compress on the head or around the neck will be helpful in avoiding faintness. Again, in the case of persons with heart trouble hot baths are to be avoided, but warm baths are helpful however be sure to not have the bath too hot in the beginning or leave the patient in the tub too long. Eye Bath: You can give applications of water to eye in many different ways. An easy method is to place the solution in a small cup and hold it over the eye and blink letting the eye come in direct contact with the liquid. There are eyewashes on the market but a bath of pure hot or cold water will work better. Daily eye baths of tepid water will help those who use their eyes a lot in working or read a lot. You can also make an eyewash by steeping one teaspoonful of golden seal, two heaping teaspoonfuls of boracic acid powder, and a half teaspoonful of myrrh in a pint of boiling water. Ear Bath: You can make applications to the ear by compresses, douches, sprays, poultices, or fomentations. In cases of inflamation of the structures of the ear and abcesses compresses and formentations are helpful and in many cases will restore hearing. DO NOT syring anything into the ear this usually result in irreparable injury!! Douches are good for removing substances and insects from the ear. Warm douches are good at removing hardened ear wax and restoring hearing. When you are taking a douche lean your head over a basin to allow the waters to run freely out of the ear. Nose Bath: When drawing any liquid into the nose or injecting by a foutine syringe close the mouth. Apply the water gently to avoid pain. The temperature of nose baths should be warm or tepid. Never give a nose bath with a piston syringe because often it forces liquid to the Eustachian canal and this results in deafness. Salt Glows: Wet two pounds of common coarse sale with warm water. Have the patient stand ankel deep in warm water and the body should be wet. Begin with the arm and apply the wet salt. With hands on either side of the arm rub vigorously until the skin is aglow. In a similar fashion rub the whole body. The sale is a stimulant and will exfoliate the skin. |