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CURATIVE AGENCIES. 301
them. This contraction or constriction of the capillaries
is also connected with an infusion of nervous power
and quickened circulation, which contributes to a re
turn of healthy action.
Water invigorates in many ways ; by the very pro
cess of purification, obstructions are removed, and the
nervous energy allowed to act freely; by the equaliza
tion of the circulation, the whole system acts in har
mony, and its force is augmented by being well dis
tributed ; by the direct action of cold in quickening the
action of the capillaries ; by the" reaction of the heatforming
power of the nervous system, quickening the
circulation, especially in the capillaries, and developing
vital heat, which seems to be only an expression of
vital energy.
This last is a very curious matter. It seems to be
governed by the general law of exercise. If we give a
weak a person cold bath, or a wet sheet pack, he may
be long in reacting against it, or in warm. getting We
carefully proportion the length of the bath or the quan
tity of the sheet to this reactive power. But, like other
powers, it gains strength by exercise. Every day the
patient reacts better ; and we find that the whole
strength or vital energy increases with this power of
reacting against cold, until we have a restoration to
health. This is the process of invigoration. It is a
kind of vital gymnastics, or education of the organic
powers.
We push the purifying process, and join it with the
invigorating, by exciting the action of the skin by long
packs in the wet sheet, or in dry blankets, followed
by a cold bath. We proloDg the invigorating process
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