The cold bath in fever.-A simple tepid water bath is prepared, at a temperature of about 90°; the patient is carefully placed in it; and cold water is added until the thermometer falls to 80° or even 40°, according to circumstances. Here the patient remains for 10 to 20 minutes, his temperature being taken during immersion, or if any shivering occurs, he is at once removed. He is then wiped dry, placed in bed, and covered •with blankets. A stimulant may be required. The cold bath may be repeated several times a day, if indicated.

In very urgent or desperate cases the cold bath may be increased in activity by lowering the temperature to freezing point by ice, and by prolonged immersion, even to three hours. This treatment requires great care and judgment.

The douche, affusion, and shower bath. - The stimulant action of water may be greatly increased by directing it against the body in a single or divided stream. The size, height, direction, and temperature of the stream, the part and extent of surface to which it is applied, have great influence upon the effect of the douche. The uses of the shower bath are chiefly in hysteria and mania; of the local douche in loss of sensibility of parts, chronic enlargements of joints or bones, and sprains. Affusion is of value in convulsions, sunstroke, mania, hysteria, and as a means of resuscitation.

The Wet Pack. -Prepare a bed by spreading two blankets on the mattress and over the pillow of an ordinary single bedstead. Thoroughly wet a linen sheet with cold water, and spread it smooth over the blankets. Strip the patient, place him flat on his back on the wet sheet with his head on the pillow, and envelop him in the sheet and blankets, by bringing these one side at a time across his body, and tucking them under the opposite side and under the heels. Finally cover him with several more blankets, and again tuck these closely round him. The ordinary duration of packing is a quarter of an hour to an hour. The pack is then removed, and the skin rubbed with a dry towel. The pack may be repeated several times a day if necessary.

The first sense of chilliness produced by the wet sheet is quickly replaced by a delightful glow. The physiological action of the wet pack is chiefly on the refrigerating function of the skin : heat is abstracted so that the temperature quickly falls; the frequency and force of the pulse decline; the central nervous system is soothed both through the nerves and through the circulation, and by the refrigeration; sensibility, pain, irri-tability, and delirium, are dispelled; and sleep often follows immediately.

The use of the wet pack is almost confined to the specific fevers, such as scarlatina and typhoid, when the pyrexia is excessive, delirium high, and the rash ill-developed.