God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; that thy ways may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Psalm 67:1, 2
“It was needful for the followers of Christ to have an intelligent faith; not only in their own behalf, but that they might carry the knowledge of Christ to the world”. Christ in His Sanctuary, 73. Does not this statement bear true to our knowledge of health and its principles as it does to our spiritual understanding?
We will continue our topic by learning the meaning of the various terms mentioned in our previous article. It is important for us to thoroughly study and memorize these terms as they help us to understand the therapeutic or physiologic effects of water.
- TONIC- A tonic effect is one in which vital activities are increased so as to restore the body to a normal tone or condition. The nutrition, circulation, and other body functions are promoted.
- PURE STIMULANT- A stimulant arouses the body to unusual activities. It may be compared to a whip, and is used chiefly in emergencies. Like a tonic it increases vital activities, but to a much greater degree. Between a pure stimulant and a tonic there might be various graduations which might be designated as mild, extreme tonic, etc.
- SEDATIVE- A sedative or calmative agent is one which lessens vital activity and is conducive to relaxation and rest.
- ANTISPAMODIC- The relaxing of spasm or relieving of convulsions.
- DEPRESSANT-A depressant effect is one in which heightened or normal body activities are decreased to a mark degree. Such an effect is desirable only in case in which a function is greatly overactive.
- ANODYNE-An anodyne effect refers to the relief of pain.
- SPOLIATIVE-A spoliative treatment is one which increases the oxidation and breaking down (catabolism) of tissue, which tends to reduce weight.
- DIAPHORESIS- The production of sweating. An agent that produces sweating is said to have a diaphoretic or sudorific effect.
- DIURESIS- Increases the excretion of urine.
- ELIMINATIVE- An eliminative effect consists in promoting and hastening excretion from the kidneys (diuresis), the skin, (diaphoresis), and the lungs.
- DEPLETION-Depletion is the lessening of the amount of blood in a given part. Practically, it is the reduction of congestion.
- DRIVATIVE- Derivative is the drawing of blood or lymph from one part of the body by increasing the amount in another part. The term “depletion” is also applied to this process, but refers particularly to the result produced. (The blood was pulled away by derivation; the result was depletion, or less blood in the congested part)
- FLUXION-Fluxion consists greatly increasing the rapidity of the blood current in a particular part. It is the production of active or arterial hyperemia.
- ANTIPYRETIC- the lowering of temperature in fever.
- REFRIGERANT- Relieving of thirst and restoring the alkalinity of the blood by such means as free water drinking and the use of fruit juices.
- REVULSIVE- A term used to designate a treatment consisting of a single prolonged application of heat followed by a single very brief application of cold. This meaning is not strictly adhered to, as the term is also used where three applications of such proportionate duration are made.
- ALTERNATE- The expression “alternate hot and cold” is used in this text to describe treatments in which the duration of the cold is from one-fourth to one half that of the heat(in a few cases equal to it), and in which three or more changes from heat to cold are made.
In Proverbs 13:23 we find the ensuing words: Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for the want of judgment. Hydrotherapy has been proven to be very beneficial to the human whether in health or in sick. Like the marriage relationship hydrotherapy has precautions to be followed in order to have the best of one’s health; below I have named two:
- Always keep the feet warm. In case of any kind of heart problem, keep cold over the heart. It is often necessary to keep cold the forehead and back of the neck. Too lengthy a treatment may cause “hydrotherapy headache” for a while afterward. Dry quickly and well when the process has been completed.
Few things that can be the cause of the headache:
· Applications that are too long, an incomplete or an excessive reaction, or insufficient time in bed afterward to obtain the needed reaction.
·Failure to place a cold compress on the head or the neck, when giving a heating treatment. Any time the body temperature goes over 100F a cool washcloth should be laid on the forehead, with the face and neck sponged occasionally. Do this for all kinds of elevated temperatures: fevers as well as fevers induced by water treatments.
- The lower the temperature, the shorter should be the application: only 1-5 seconds for very cold applications. Neutral and warm applications can be continued for quite some time. Very hot applications should rarely be more than a minute in length. When used to reduce fevers, cool applications without percussions or friction can be prolonged to 15-20 minutes. The neutral bath can continue for any length of time. It has been used for people afflicted by insanity. But in such instances, the temperature was carefully watched, so that there could be no negative reactions or chilling. Normally, for 30 minutes to 1-2 hours is the usual time for a neutral bath.We will continue the above thoughts in our next session; but until then, make a healthful use of water.
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