in her task.
This, then, is the snow-walk for healthy people. I will mention two cases to show with what success it can be practiced in many complaints.
A person was suffering for many years from chilblains, which opened, formed ulcers and gave her great pain, According to my advice she began her snow-walks with the first snow-fall in autumn, repeated them frequently, and the troublesome tumors ceased to torment her.
Not long ago a girl of seventeen came to me complaining of dreadful tooth-ache. "If you would go through the newly-fallen snow for .". minutes," I said to her, "your tooth-ache would soon vanish." She followed my advice instantly, went to the garden, and 10 minutes afterwards she came back, joyfully exclaiming that her toothache was gone.
The snow-walk ought never to take place, unless the whole body be perfectly warm. When feeling cold or shivering, it is necessary to procure normal warmth, by working or exercise. Persons who are suffering from perspiring feet, wounded feet, open or suppurating chilblains, are, of course never allowed to walk in the snow until the feet have first been healed. (See foot-baths or foot-vapors.)
5. Walking in water. As simple as it may appear to walk in water reaching as far as the calf of the leg, yet even this application serves as a means of hardening: la) it has influence on the whole body, and strengthens the whole system; (b) it operates on the kidneys; by this many complaints, originating in the kidneys, the bladder and the bowels, are prevented; (c) it operates powerfully on the chest, facilitates breathing and carries gases out of the stomach; (d) it operates especially against headache, congestion, and other sufferings of the head. This means of hardening can be employed by moving the feet in a bath of cold water, reaching over the ankles. It is more effective for hardening, if one goes into the water up to the shins, and most effective of all, if the water reaches the knees.
As to the duration, one can begin with 1 minute, then longer, up to 5 or 6 minutes. The colder the water, the better. After such a practice exercise is necessary, in winter time in a warm room, in summer in the open air, until the body is completely warm. In winter, snow may be mixed with the water. Weaklings may use warm water in the beginning, then by and by, colder, and lastly quite cold water. (See fig. 1.)
6. For the special hardening of the extremities, arms and legs, the following practice is excellent: To stand in cold water up to the knees or over them, for not longer than one minute; then, after the feet have been covered, to put the bare arms up to the shoulders in cold water for the same length of time. It is better still to put arms and legs into the water together; in a larger bath, this is easily done. But one can just as easily stand in the bath and put the bare arms and hands in another vessel, standing on a chair. I like to prescribe this practice after diseases, in order to increase the flow of the blood to the extremities.
To those who are suffering from chilblains and cola hands, this dipping in of the arms is of very good service; but one has to be careful, that the hands (not arms) be directly well dried, as they are exposed to the air.
It is essential that before this practice the body should be in normal warmth ( not shivering). If the feet are cold up to the ankles (but not the shins), the arms up to the elbows, this need not prevent the application.
7. As a last means of hardening I name the knee gush. How it is to be applied, can be seen where the gushes are spoken of. It is of special service to the feet, inducing the blood to come to their bloodless veins.
Here I have only to say that the gush on the knees is to be given in a stronger way, if healthy people use it for hardening. This can be done, e. g. by the water-jet coming from a height; by mixing snow and ice with the water in winter time, etc.
This practice can only be undertaken, if the body in warm ( not shivering); but cold feet up to the ankles arc no impediment. The gush on the knees ought not to be used for more than 3 or 4 days, unless it is taken in connection with other practices. If undertaken for a longer time, it must be used alternately with the upper gush, or the dipping in of the arms (No. 6), the one in the morning, the oilier in the afternoon.
The means of hardening here mentioned, may suffice. They can be practiced at every season, and continued in winter and summer. In winter, it would be well to shorten The application itself a little, but to prolong the exercise after it somewhat. For those who are unaccustomed to them, it would be well not to begin with them in winter, more especially those who are suffering from poverty of blood, interior cold, and who are faddled, effeminated, and .made sensitive by woolen clothing. I do not say this, as if I were afraid of any harm, but only to prevent people from becoming frightened of such an excellent remedy.
Healthy, as well as weak people, may without hesitation make use of all the applications, both of them observing care and following strictly the directions given. If bad consequences ensue, they are never to.be attributed to the applications, but always to some greater or lesser imprudence. Even to consumptive people, with whom the disease had made considerable progress, I have applied No. 1, 2, 3, and 6 with great success. Those people to whom my little book is especially dedicated, need not to be encouraged to hardening. Their state in life, their cases every hour, being of themselves one or other of the means of hardening here mentioned, besides numerous others. They may persevere quietly and not envy others who seem to be more fortunate than they are; for these are illusions, and very often, even mostly, great illusions.
I invite those of my honored readers who perhaps have never yet heard even the name of these things, to give them a small, the very smallest, trial before condemning them. If it turns out in my favor, I shall be glad, not for my own sake, but on account of the importance of the matter. Many storms break out in life upon man's health; happy he who has its (the health's) roots well fastened, deepened and grounded by hardening.
WATER APPLICATIONS.
THE water-applications which I make use of are divided in:
A. Wet sheets.
B. Baths.
C. Vapors.
D. Gushes.
E. Ablutions.
F. Water packages.
G. Drinking of water.
A. WET SHEETS.
1. Covering with wet sheets.
A large, coarse piece of linen (such as used for straw-mattresses does very well) is folded 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10 times lengthwise, wide and long enough to cover the whole body. beginning at the neck. The sheet ought not to end on both sides as if cut off, but hang down a little on the light and left of the body. The so prepared sheet is dipped in cold water (in winter, warm water may be used) well wrung out and then put on the patient lying in bed, in the way described above. A woolen blanket or a piece of linen doubled 2 or 3 times, is laid upon it, in order to close the wet covering tightly, to thoroughly prevent the entering of the air; the whole is covered with a feather-quilt. As a rule I wrap a rather large piece of woolen material round the neck, to prevent the air entering from above. Care must be taken that the covering up is well done, otherwise the patient would easily take cold.
The wet sheet is applied from forty-five minutes to an hour; if longer duration is prescribed, in order to operate by cold, the sheet having become warm, must be wetted again in cold water.
As soon as the prescribed time has expired, the wet sheets are taken away; the patient dresses himself and takes some exercise, or remains in bed for a short time.
This application operates especially on the expelling of gases detained in stomach and bowels.
This practice, like the following ones, demands that the body be warm.