The influence of sweat baths on the composition of the blood.

Abstract

The present series of observations was carried out to throw some light on the blood changes due to sweat baths (electrical bake) in various patients. The factors determined were the change in hemoglobin (with the initial value arbitrarily put at 100 per cent) the protein concentration of the serum, the osmotic pressure (freezing point depression) and the conductivity of the serum corrected for protein influence. The duration of the sweat bath was thirty minutes and no water was given. The blood was drawn from a cubital vein immediately before and after the bath. The results on eight patients—of which one was examined twice—were in brief as follows:

The conclusion may be drawn that the changes in the different constituents of the blood are not proportionate inasmuch as the protein concentration generally increases more than either the total electrolytes, the total dissolved substances or the hemoglobin. Concerning the relation between the hemoglobin and the serum protein change, it must be remembered that if the water-loss comes from the serum, which is roughly 50 per cent of the blood, then the increase in serum protein should be double the increase in hemoglobin; this is very nearly true in our average figures (6.1 and 2.9). It is also evident that the degree of concentration occurring as a result of the bake, if measured by the change in serum protein content, tends to be larger the lower the initial serum protein content. The fluid lost from the serum in excess of that gained from the tissues appears to be a salt solution of lower concentration than the serum.