ABSTRACT
In this symposium, author's opinion about the balneotherapeutic practice of the digestive disorders was expressed.<br>1) At the beginning of this speech, author's fundermental studies on this theme hitherto were shortly summerized as premise.<br>2) According to these conclusions, it is very neccesary for the indication of the balneotherapy of digestive disorders to classify thermal springs (not only thermal water, but also hot spring place included) into two groups: one is so-called medicinal or therapeutic spring (“Heilquelle”) and the other is “recreation hot spring” (“Erhohmgsquelle”) (that is hot spring for maintenance and improvement of health).<br>3) The former is the hot spring intend to medical treatment of digestive diseases and the latter is that intend to health preservation, health promotion, normalising or adjusting the digestive dysfunction.<br>4) From this point of view, the author mentioned my own opinion concretely and practically about the indication of both “Heilquelle” and “Evholungsquelle” for the digestive diseases and disorders.
ABSTRACT
It has been widely recognized that the drinking of strongly acid hot spring water often causes gastrointestinal symptoms. However, the research in this subject has been distinctly sporadic.<br>Fundamental and clinical experiments were undertaken to ascertain the effect of the drinking of Tamagawa Spa on the gastrointestinal mucosa. The property of Tamagawa Spa, Akita prefecture, is acid vitriol spring whose pH value is 1.2, and it contains a large amount of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen sulfide.<br>1. Studies in Man<br>The changes of gastric mucosa in 36 subjects after the drinking of hot spring water were observed by gastrocamera or gastrofiberscope.<br>Varying degrees of hyperaemia were found in all subjects administered non-diluted hot spring water, whereas these change were markedly reduced in subjects administered two times and over diluted hot spring water.<br>No instances of erosion or ulceration were seen in any of the subjects.<br>2. Experiments in Animals<br>Twenty three healthy rabbits, orally administered non-diluted or diluted hot spring water for seven days were autopsied.<br>The changes of gastric mucosa were similar to those in man, and no significant influence on the jejunal mucosa was seen. Microscopically the affected mucosa revealed degeneration of the epithelial cells of gastric gland and edema of the submucosa.<br>Based on the critical review of former studies, several important factors were suggested to explain the occurrence of gastric impairment after the drinking of Tamagawa Spa water.
ABSTRACT
The results of our general and medical survey are summarized as follows:<br>(A) About Shinjo Spa<br>1) Most of visitors to this spa are residents of Yamagata Prefecture and engaged in agriculture.<br>2) In age they are 20 to 50.<br>3) Visitors who are few in number came to this spa for the purpose of spa treatment. Most of them visit this spa for recreation.<br>4) Most visitors take bath 2 to 3 times a day.<br>5) The bathing reaction and its effect are obscure, because most visitors do not stay here long enough for observation of the effect. It is, however, verified that this spa is effective in keeping the body father warm for a long time.<br>(B) About Niiyama Spa<br>1) Most visitors are residents of Yamagata Prefecture and those from neighboring prefecture are small in number. Half of visitors are farmers.<br>2) Most visitors are old in age, male and female visitors are almost equal in number.<br>3) The larger number of visitors come here for balneotherapy of or rehabilitation from diseases, especially neuralgia, rheumatism.<br>4) Most visitors are conscious of the good effect of bathing, but those who are conscious of thermal crisis are relatively few in number, being 9.8% of the total number of visitors.<br>The authors are indebted to the Pharmaceutical Section, Sanitation Bureau, Yamagata Prefectural Office and the Sanitation Section, Shinjo City Office for assistance given to the present survey, and to Shinjo and Niiyama Spa Associations for careful cooperation.
ABSTRACT
The results of our general and medical surveys are summarized as follows:<br>1) The visitors to this spa are inhabitants of Yamagata prefecture, farmers being the largest in number.<br>2) Considering the fact that more than half the number of spa visitors come here with therapeutic or convalescing purpose, this spa may be said to be a spa to which visitors come with the sole object of curative treatment.<br>3) Visitors came for the treatment of common cold, hypertension, neuralgia and diseases of the stomach and intestines respetively from the frequency of diseases. The fact that the visitors with cold were largest in number was probably because of the prevalence of common cold at the time of our survey.<br>4) Half the number of spa visitors stayed for about 2 weeks, and most of them took bath four to five times a day for curative treatment.<br>5) 40.1% spa visitors drank hot spring water for curative treatment. Which incidence is higher than that in our previous reports for other Tohoku Area.<br>6) Only 6.1% of the visitors came to the spa under doctor's direction. Those who noted the bathing reaction: anorexia, feeling of weakness etc., were 23.1%<br>7) In the tubeless gastric analysis (Gastrotest) scarcely any change was observable for successive drinking of hot spring water.<br>8) In most cases the oral temperature measured at the time of bathing in this spa never returned to the value before bathing for two hours and the feeling of warmth remained for a long time. This is probably due to the chemical properties of the spring waters and proper treatment after bathing.
ABSTRACT
This paper deals with general survey of hot spring curative treatment at Higashine Spa, Yamagata Prefecture, and the effect of this spa on the capillary resistance and the variation in the blood pressure.<br>The results of the medical survey are summarized as follows:<br>1) Higashine Spa consists of saline weak common salt springs, in each of which chemical components are almost the same.<br>2) The visitors to this spa are inhabitants of Yamagata Prefecture, farmers being the largest in number.<br>3) Most of them (78%) are old men and women over 50 years of age, and the number of women are four times that of men.<br>4) The examination of spa visitors reveals that hypertension stands at the top. However, in most cases, the chief complaints are of rheumatic disorders in natwe and hypertension is found at the time of medical examination.<br>5) Those who bathe five times a day are the largest in number.<br>6) Those who noticed the bathing reaction are small in number. The bathing reaction may be considered as a serious thermal crisis.<br>7) Bathing in this hot spring increases the capillary resistance and lowers the blood pressure.<br>Accordingly, bathing in this spa, under a proper guidance, may be effective in the treatment of hypertension. For balneal treatment of hypertension, physicians' directions as to how and when patiens should bathe, will be necessary: unplanned bathing cannot be approved of.
ABSTRACT
The result of our general and medical survey are summarized as follows:<br>1) More than half the number of visitors to this spa are those who live in Yamagata Prefecture, and the rest are inhabitants of neighboring prefectures. Compared with the reports of our previous surveys, the number of inhabitants of neighboring prefectures is larger. Farmers are the largest in number, and their ages range from 20 to 60.<br>2) Considering the fact that more than half the number of spa visitors come here with therapeutic or convalescing purpose, this spa be said to be a spa where the sole object of visitors should be the hot spring curative treatment.<br>3) Form the viewpoint of classification of diseases, it may be said that patients with rheumatism and neuralgia are more than half the number, followed by those with the diseases of the stomach. This clearly shows the reason why this spa is called “the hot spring for rheumatism and neuralgia”.<br>4) More than half the number of spa visitors stay for about 2 weeks, and most of them take bath 5 to 6 times a day for curative treatment. Generally the spa visitors tend to bathe in excess.<br>5) 37.4% of the spa visitors drink hot spring water for curative treatment and this rate of drinking cure is higher than that in our previous reports.<br>6) Only 5.7% come to the spa under doctors' direction. 31.6% of them are conscious of the bathing reaction, symptoms of which are headache, feeling of weakness, anorexia, constipation, etc.<br>7) Observation of the effect of hot spring bathing on Thorn's test shows that in the larger number of patients with rheumatism and neuralgia the rate of decrease in eosinophilic leucocyte count becomes clearly higher after single bathing, but in healthy persons it is not uniform. And observation of changes in these rate of variations after succesive curative bathing reveals that in the group in whom the rate of decrease is low at the beginning of the bathing the vate tends to become higher after a week of curative bathing, while in the group in whom the rate of decrease is high it tends to become lower.