The hot immersion bath is a valuable treatment in chronic rheumatism and obesity

It gives immediate relief when there is pain due to stones in the gall bladder and the kidneys. This bath also relieves capillary bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia in children. It relieves congestion of the lungs and activates the blood vessels of the skin muscles. This bath can be taken from two to 15 minutes at a temperature from 36.6º C to 40º C. Generally this bath is started at 37ºC and the temperature is then gradually raised to the required level by adding hot water. Before entering the bath, the patient should drink cold water and also wet the head, neck and shoulders with cold water. A cold compress should be applied throughout the treatment. This bath can be advantageously employed in dropsy when there is excessive loss of tone of the heart and blood. The bath should be terminated as soon as the skin becomes red. In pneumonia and suppressed menstruation, the bath should be administered at 37.7º C to 40º C for about 30 to 45 minutes. This bath should be given when the menstruation is due and may be repeated for two to three days in succession. In dysmenorrhoea, this bath should be given at 38º C to 44.4º C for 15 minutes. In chronic bronchitis a very hot bath taken for 5 to 7 minutes should be accompanied with rubbing and friction. This relieves congestion of the mucous membrane and provides immediate relief. After the bath, oil should be applied to the skin if necessary. The hot bath should not be taken in cases of organic diseases of the brain or spinal cord, nor in cases of cardiac weakness or cardiac hypertrophy.