This consists simply in pouring water over the body of the patient, who
may be sitting or standing in a bath-tub. It is a very efficient bath
for reducing unnatural heat. This mode of treatment was used by
Hippocrates, Galen, and other ancient physicians. In the last century,
Currie, Jackson, and many others used it with great success in
scarlatina. It is a sovereign remedy for delirium tremens, sun-stroke,
hysteria, and sometimes of acute mania, when applied of the proper
temperature.