1 Comments Posted by RefLib

wrote:
"Another popular "spa treatment" to calm agitation was hydrotherapy, which was more than a nice warm bath. For instance, one practice was to wrap an agitated patient in cold (50 degree), wet sheets. A very disturbed patient could be placed in a continuous bath 18 hours a day for 2-3 weeks"”or whatever it took to change the aberrant behavior. The dangers of hydrotherapy were hypothermia, convulsions, and even drowning. "

Stripling, M. "BIOETHICS AND MEDICAL ISSUES IN LITERATURE." Westport Ct.: Greenwood Press, 2005

http://www.medicalhumanities.net/chapter.html