Pulse Rate, Blood Pressure and Vision After a Cold Hip Bath

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Abstract
A cold hip bath attributed to Kneipp, applied with a spray to the lower abdomen from umbilicus to groin, produces statistically significant (1) slowing of resting pulse rate, reclining and standing, (2) reduction of the increase in pulse rate that normally occurs when a reclining person assumes the standing position, (3) an increase in the difference between the systolic pressure in reclining and standing with more instances in which the pressure rises on standing. All these changes were observed 45 min. after the bath and some persisted for 2 hrs. The observed circulatory changes shift somewhat the burden of maintaining blood pressure from the heart to other mechanisms. Under conditions of very low illumination (0.00037 ft. c.) visual efficiency was improved for at least 1 hr. following the bath. These findings were made on 10 normal male students subjected to a total of 43 "bath-days" and 39 "bathless" control days.

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