The Effects of a General Application of Cold Water
WHEN cold water (70° to 50° F.) is applied to the general surface of the body, the action of the perspiratory glands is instantly checked. The blood vessels are contracted, the skin becomes pale, and the blood is diverted to the internal portions of the body. The natural result is a cooling of the surface, and a slight elevation of the temperature of the internal parts. Such a general application would be exceedingly dangerous were it not for the fact that the portal veins are capable of holding all the blood in the body; so that when the blood is prevented from entering the surface vessels, an outlet is found in the large veins of the abdomen. Were it not for this provision, cold applications would be likely to produce rupture of the delicate vessels of the brain, lungs, and other internal parts. Such accidents rarely happen, but there is a possibility that it may happen in certain diseased conditions, as in apoplexy, a state of the body in which the blood vessels have been narrowed and weakened. In such cases the inrush of blood following the application of cold water may be so rapid that a rupture of the blood vessels of the brain may occur before there has been time for compensation through the accumulation of blood in the abdominal veins. If the cold application is relatively short, that is, if the application is interrupted before the subject has become thoroughly chilled and exhausted, the blood vessels of the skin soon become freely dilated, as shown by reddening of the surface. The skin is filled with blood, which, as it flows into the surface vessels, gives rise to a very agreeable sensation of warmth. If the surface is quickly dried, rubbed, and covered, the reddening of the skin continues for a long time. This great movement of blood toward the skin is, of course, accompanied by a great diminution in the amount of blood in the brain, lungs, stomach, kidneys, and other deep-lying portions of the body. There are other important effects which follow a general application of cold water to the surface, which should be noted. The most important of these are fuller and deeper breathing, slower but stronger pulse, greater activity of the brain and nerves, increased strength and activity of the muscles, increased clearness of thought, and ability for mental application. In fact, the activity of every bodily function is increased. Every organ, every cell of the body, works more vigorously and efficiently. The stomach is prepared to make more and better gastric juice, the liver does its work more readily and efficiently, the kidneys secrete more freely, the skin is more active, sensible perspiration sometimes occurring; all the vital machinery runs at a more active and energetic rate. The natural consequences of this are a feeling of buoyancy, exhilaration, energy, and strength, increased appetite, increased power to digest, increased intestinal activity. These effects are truly wonderful, and can not be so fully produced by any drug known to man, nor by any other application than the general cold bath. These effects result, not from harmful stimulation, but through quickened activity of the forces by which the tide of life rises higher, the wheels of life run more smoothly, and all the life processes are facilitated. The effects of the cold bath are well recognized in our every-day experience. When one is exhausted with labor and heat, simple bathing of the face and hands brings great refreshment. An application made to the whole surface of the body operates in precisely the same way, only on a larger scale, since the surface to which application is made is so much greater. The exciting effect of the cold bath is instantaneous. As soon as the cold water comes in contact with the millions of nerves distributed in the skin, invigorating impulses are sent inward to the nerve centers from which these nerves arise, quickening their activity, and setting into more active motion all the machinery of the body. A cold bath influences to a remarkable degree the process of heat production in the body, increasing the amount of heat produced, and hence the rate at which the tissues are consumed to two or three times the normal amount during the application. When, however, a cold bath is continued for so long a time that the temperature of the blood is lowered, the production of heat is diminished through the cooling of the muscular tissues and of the parts which are active in heat production. We may briefly summarize the effects of a general cold bath as follows:— 1. The brain and nerves are excited, and the mind rendered clear and buoyant. 2. The muscular system is energized, the power of the muscles being increased and movement made easier. 3. The heart's action is slowed and strengthened. 4. The breath is deeper and fuller. 5. The circulation of the skin is first lessened, then greatly increased by the return of blood to the surface on reaction. 6. Heat production is increased, and after reaction occurs, heat elimination is also increased, so that the normal balance is quickly regained. 7. A prolonged cold bath (five to fifteen minutes) lowers the temperature of the body by cooling the blood. 8. The general effect of a short cold bath (five seconds to two or three minutes) is tonic and invigorating. 9. The general effect of a very prolonged cool or cold bath (continued from five to thirty minutes) is depressing. 10. The tonic effects of a short, cold bath depend upon the reaction of the body, while the depressing effects of a prolonged cold bath depend upon the abstraction of heat, the lowering of the temperature of the blood, and the exhaustion of the nerve centers upon which reaction depends. The cold bath is one of the most valuable remedies known to man, but it must be administered skillfully, as it may do harm as well as good. The cold bath should always be followed by a complete reaction. An incomplete reaction is indicated by headache, cold hands and feet, nervousness, chilliness, depression.—Good Health.