An essay on the Oriental bath : read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, on the 29th August, 1857 / by Edward Haughton.

  • Haughton, E. (Edward)
Date:
1860
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the Oriental bath : read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, on the 29th August, 1857 / by Edward Haughton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    in the Bath, they do not constitute it; but rather form its concluding feature. In principle it may be compared to an oven,—large enough to walk about in, and lighted from the top, that you may see what you are doing. In it the bather is surrounded by a medium of heated air, containing a little moisture— just sufficient to soften the skin, and to prevent any disagreeable effect being produced upon the lungs, (except in case of plethora of the pulmonary system), and not sufficient to interfere with the free exit of the cutaneous excretions ; which are partly gaseous and partly liquid, holding in solution certain organic salts, of which the nitrogenous are those whose expul- sion most benefits the system. In this bath, water is not absorbed by the skin, as in the Russian vapour- bath, or the steam-baths of this country ; but, on the contrary, it is given off, both from the pulmonary and cutaneous surfaces, in surprising quantities. Many persons feel a dislike to the idea of their skins per- forming their natural function ; and would restrict the mention of perspiration to the lower orders of society. But the law of nature is inexorable ! If man will not eat bread in the sweat of his face, it has been ordained that he shall not eat the bread of health. The functions of the skin are absolutely essential,— not merely to the preservation of health, but even to the existence of the individual, as has been proved by direct experiment. Dr. Berard, (Professor of Physiology in the Parisian School of Medicine,) thus expresses himself on this point, Lorsqu'on encluit d'un vernis impermeable la peau dun mam mifere, on voit l'animal succomber au bout d'un certain mombre d'heures.(8) And every surgeon knows that the danger to be apprehended from