The suburban citizen., 1901-12-14
COOKS A SICK MAN WELL
PUT INTO A HOT STOVE AND
BAKED UNTIL CURED.

Sulei ny WHICH SICK man is ueSCIlDbQ
as being put into a stove and cooked
until he is well" A hospital devoted
to this treatment has just been estaD-
lished at London, and the idea seems
to be wholly novel over there.
In this city, on the other hand, where
1t is known as thermaerotherapy-
word etymOlogically unimpeachable,
but to be found only in the newest die.
tionaries-also called the treatment by
superheated air, Bellevue has used the
process several years, and a private
hospital on the west side of the city
practices It almost exclusively. An
other such institution exists In Phlla-
delphia, and still others in Cincinnati
and Chicago.
The theory Of the dry-hot-air cure
is to intensity the benefits of Turkish
and similar baths. The patients head
being outside the machine, and in at
mosphere of ordinary temperature, his
body can stand much more heat than
If the exposure thereto was complete
AS the treatment is essentially local.
provided nothing is the matter with his
head, there is no need for a man to
breathe other air than he is used to.
There is nothing startling in the gen
eral conception OF calofific therapeu-
tics. The hot-water bag is one express
sion Of the principle and the homely
mustard plaster another. The ruins
OF Athens, Alexandria, Bagdad, Cairo
Constantinople, Damascus, Hercula-
neum Pompeii, and Rome contain the
remains of hot-air baths unequalled
to-day. Among the famous baths Of
the Eternal City, those of Agrippa,
Caracalla, Diocletian, and Titus, none
was without its caldarium, or hot-air
chamber Hippocrates, CELSIUS and
Galen eXtolled hot air as therapeutic
agent The Turkish bath is really
Roman revival. Constantine intro
duced 1t into Byzantium after his con-
quest.
The introduction Of the thermaero-
therapic apparatus at once raised the
temperature to which it is possible to
subject the human body from 10 to
400 degrees. OF course, neither the
whole body nor any vital organ can be
put to any such heat Between 275
and $50 degrees is the hottest that is
safe for the trunk. To discriminate
among beneficial temperatures, three
machines are used-the body, the leg
and arm and the local styles. The body
and the leg and arm machines differ
only in size, shape and a few minor de-
tails. The walls consist of three con-
centric cylinders, separated by spaces
Of an inch and half. The outermost |
cylinder is Of nickel-plated sheet cop !
per, lined with asbestos to minimize !
the external radiation of heat; the |
middle cylinder, of sheet steel, also
asbestos lined; and the third of brass,
with cork ribs to protect the patient |
from burning.
Bunsen burners, as many as may be |
required, supply the heat to the space |
between the steel and copper cylinders |
and the products of combustion pass !
off through three fues. The steel cyl
inder radiates the heat through many
perfoTations in the brass upon the
body Of the patient. Fresh air is con-
stantly fed into the second space, or
Jacket and escapes into the
hues after it has been vitated.
The patient lies upon a mat of
fbrOus magnesia, covering a layer of
asbestos. The cylinders are mounted
upon massive metal legs, and at either
end Of the body machine are wooden
extensions for the head and lower
limbs to rest upon. The apparatus
looks like a combination of bed and
stove, which indeed it is. 1t weighs
about fifty pounds and the leg and arm
machine 400 The latter has a glass
door through which the attendant may
watch the limb. The local device is a
instrument with various
for the application of a
swift current Of hot air to the ear, all
sorts of common sores, and other pain
full spots. The attendant manipulates
the cOntrivance and regulates the tenn
perature. The air comes from a tank
where it is stored under pressure, and
Is heated as released.
AhO tANaNAuSnl lS tluplOJ Gu " LtuuCH
obesity and relieve writer's cramp, foc
neuralgia, sciatica and
gout, pneumonia, asthma and pleurisy,
boils and ulcers, but not tumors and
The great danger is Of literally roast {
ing the patient to death, although no |
such fatality is on record. In addition /
10 the protection afforded by the mag
lesia mat and the cork ribs of the /
o-ass cylinder each patient wears a !
)athrobe of outing flannel and must s
satisfy his physician in a physical ex- |
not only of the nature of his &
ailments, but of his ability to endure {
he process. His temperature, pulse t
md respiration are taken, and If his 5
leart and lungs are not oil right the '
Usual treatment is modified according '
y. II they are radically wrong, he '
VIII have to seek some other remedy. Il
rhe average stay in the body-machine 4
, from fofty-hve minutes to an hour. I
Nearly every organ is affected In
81. i