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Chapter IX: Pack Treatments.2151
When the treatment is concluded, he should be washed down well
with luke-warm water and soap, followed with cooler water, and a good
rubbing down. He should be given cool water to drink before, and during
the treatment, letting him sip the fluid, however, instead of drinking large
mouthfulls.
If the patient is inclined to be weak before the treatment, you would do
well to substitute a sheet which has been soaked in lukewarm water, instead
of the cold-water sheet as stated above. Use discretion and common sense
in this matter.
You will find that it requires quite a little practice and dexterity in wrapping
the patient up properly, and it would be well to practice on someone, with
dry sheets, etc., before you attempt the regular treatment. Unless the
wrapping be done neatly, the patient will find it uncomfortable, whereas
if the work be done properly he will feel comfortable and at ease, and will
enjoy the treatment. A coarse sheet is better than a fine one, and you would
do well to keep one or more on hand if you intend using this treatment in
your family. The sheets should be well washed after each treatment, as they
become filled with foul, sweaty matter.
This treatment has a peculiar effect on the system. It loosens the dead
skin on the surface, causing it to “peel” off, and it also opens up the pores
of the skin, allowing them to excrete freely and throw off the waste of the
system. The water has a peculiar “drawing” effect, and brings to the surface
the foul matter stored away far below the surface of the skin, very much as
a salve which is applied to a boil “draws” to the surface the foul pus, etc. It is
astonishing how much foul matter is thus drawn to the surface and expelled
from the system in this treatment. If the patient is billious, or his liver has not
been acting properly, or if his kidneys and skin have not been doing their
work, you will find that the sheet will be stained a yellowish hue, and will
give out an unpleasant odor. In some cases the odor is quite perceptible,
and may be noticed by the persons in the room, and at times the sheet
will be stained so yellow that it would seem that actual pus exuded from