It is on this powerful agency that the steam-doctors rely, when, by
moisture and heat, they stimulate all the innumerable perspiration-tubes
and lymphatics to force out from the body a flood of unnaturally excited
secretions; while it is "kill or cure," just as the chance may meet
or oppose the demands of the case. It is the skin also that is the
chief basis of medical treatment in the Water Cure, whose slow processes
are as much safer as they are slower.
At the same time it is the ill-treatment or neglect of the skin which,
probably, is the cause of disease and decay to an incredible extent.
The various particulars in which this may be seen will now be pointed
out. In the management and care of this wonderful and complex part of
the body, many mistakes have been made.
The most common one is the misuse of the bath, especially since cold
water cures have come into use. This mode of medical treatment
originated with an ignorant peasant, amid a population where outdoor
labor had strengthened nerves and muscles and imparted rugged powers
to every part of the body. It was then introduced into England and
America without due consideration or knowledge of the diseases habits,
or real condition of patients, especially of women.
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