Page:The American improved family physician, or home doctor.djvu/15

Rh skin or mucus membranes. The time for remaining in the pack varies greatly in different cases — from fifteen minutes to two or three hours; in fever or acute diseases they ought but to remain in a short time, and in chronic complains longer; if the feet remain cold in pack, apply a warm brick or a bottle full of warm water.

—The sheet may be used cold, tepid or warm. In more delicate constitutions rather warm or tepid, especially in diseases where there are chills and fevers; but in chronic complaints cold or tepid must be used. Prepare the bed in the following manner:— Fix your chaff-bag as at other times, with a pillow; then spread two good woolen blankets on the bed, with one corner on the pillow, and at the foot end, and the other two corners down at the sides of the bed; now take your linen sheet and dip it in the water cold or warm as you want it and wring it out pretty hard, spread on the sheet in the same manner; now let the patient strip himself and lay himself on his back on the sheet, with his hands on his abdomen; the attendant must immediately envelope him, being cautious to get him tight all over and particularly tight at his feet and neck, first take the one corner of the sheet and throw it over the body of the patient, and on the other side stuff it under him nice and tight; then get the other corner in the same manner, turning it up nice at the feet and down at the neck, fix the blankets in the same manner; then get several comfortables and put them on the patient, and stuff them down under the patient very tight; if you have not enough comfortables you can use a feather-bed, at any rate be sure to have him thick and tightly covered or else he won't get warm. If he then should complain of Headache, apply cold cloth to his head, so let him remain (commonly speaking) in as long as he feels comfortable; if the patient is packed in the above manner he will soon get warm, and almost always fall asleep, and if he sleeps never disturb him out of his sleep. In a great many cases I prefer the Alcoholic Vapor Bath to the Hydropathic Wet Sheet, but then again in some cases it may be better than the Alcoholic Vapor-Bath.

DOUCHE, or Stream of falling Water.—This is used in Chronic Complaints, to arouse the absorbent vessels or that system of vessels which carry up all morbid matters into the blood, and in so doing with the other means, wet sheet pack, &c, will sweat and steam it out of the body. In these cases the Douche is a very excellent agent,—say, for instance in Chronic Swellings, Stiffness, White Swellings, Tumors, Gout, Rheumatism, &c. The force of the stream and time of application should be carefully adapted to the strength of the patient.—Very nervous persons, and those subject to a determination to