es of acute
sciatica, congestion of the liver, spleen, and kidneys, accompanied by a
general sluggishness and torpidity of the portal circulation, frequently
very painfully indicated by internal or external hemorrhoids, the hot
sitz bath gives very speedy relief.

In a sitz or three-quarters bath the bather should, immediately upon
entering the water, lave it over the face, neck, and chest. After being
in the bath five minutes, two more should be devoted to the application
of the douche, first to the spine and then to the joints and other parts
particularly affected, with the exception of those inflamed and painful,
which should not be douched but gently rubbed with the hands beneath the
surface of the water, in order to promote free cutaneous circulation and
absorption of the nitrogen gas through the skin.

After leaving a full hot bath the body should at once be enveloped in a
warm sheet and friction applied over the whole surface. Dressing should
be accomplished as rapidly as possible in order that a chill may be
avoided, and then the bather, if able to walk (if not, in a bath chair),
should go to the drinking fountain at the west-end of the Crescent, where
either a large or small tumbler of the thermal water (as prescribed)
should be drunk, and then return home, where rest upon a sofa or bed
should be taken for at least an hour, the body being well covered with
rugs, &c., so as to promote, as much as possible, an action upon the skin
and consequent elimination of the gouty and rheumatic poison through its
pores by free perspiration.

Frequently, after taking one of the hot medicinal baths, a feeling of
drowsiness steals over the bather, and it has been thought by some
medical men that sleep should not be indulged in. During a long
experience in prescribing the medicinal baths of Buxton 1 have never
observed any ill effects ensue from giving way to sleep, and therefore
allow my patients to follow their own inclination in the matter. When
the bather has been covered up for a quarter of an hour, and the skin
acts freely, he or she may begin to throw off some of the wraps, thus
permitting the surface of the body to cool by degrees. When a full hour
has been accomplished, the ordinary occupations and duties of the day may
be resumed. It is not advisable, however, to risk exposure in an open
conveyance for at least three hours after taking a hot bath, as might be
done after using a natural one.

The massage bath