TREATMENT OF FEVERS: THE STEAM TENT

The steam tent is a valuable tool in home treatments and in general health conditioning. A home-made variety is not hard to arrange. A light bench is built, usually with a slatted top, over which is placed a two-inch thick foam-rubber mattress.

Along the sides of the bench frame, drill holes about eighteen inches apart and large enough to accommodate a number eight (i.e., % inch) fencing wire. Hoops made from this wire are extended from one side of the bench, up over the area where the patient will lie, then to the other side. Over this framework of hoops the tent-type cover is laid. A double-bed blanket or large, heavy quilt will do nicely for this. The blanket must extend far enough below the sides of the slatted surface to catch the steam and direct it up into the tent.

The kettle may be placed under the bench allowing the steam to rise first to the bottom of the slats, then around and up into the tent. The special value of this set-up is that in addition to allowing application of steam to the body as a whole, it will also allow the steam treatment to be localized and applied to a specific part of the body, such as the legs only, shoulders only, or stomach only. This may be accomplished by putting the wire hoops and covering only over the area to be treated and letting the steam rise into this mini-tent. Better control of the steam may be achieved by adding four partitions reaching from the underside of the bench to the floor. This will divide the area under the bench into three sections, each of which will confine the steam from the kettle placed in it and guide the steam up to the mini-tent over the particular area being treated. If you know that you will only be using this set-up for generalized, whole-body treatments, as in the case of arthritis, asthma, overweight, and other related problems, then you may want to custom-fit your bench with a cover made of fiberglass cloth or canvas. Attach it permanently to a tilt-back framework, leaving an opening at the end where the steam will enter the tent through a downpipe (or down-spouting) such as plumbers use to bring the water from the roof guttering to the ground. If this piping method is used, it Is not necessary to make the bench top slatted.

When using the steam tent for the whole body, the head is left out. It is necessary to keep a cool cloth around the neck. Do not allow the blood going to the head to become overheated. Take note when the patient is showing signs of perspiration on the head. It has been observed that some patients’ heads respond very quickly to the heat while the rest of the body refuses to perspire. If this is the case, it will be necessary to take added precautions to keep the head cool until the rest of the body responds.

In using the steam tent, as with all other natural treatments, it is extremely important to concentrate on watching for the response of the patient. Just knowing and carrying out the proper time duration and order of a treatment is not enough. The treatment will only be successful if it accomplishes the desired result. Your knowledge of how the treatment should be carried out must take second place to the response of the patient. When the response indicates it, you should not hesitate to depart from the “normal” mode of doing things. Work towards developing a sensitivity for the patient’s feelings, and he will consider you a compassionate friend as well as a wise health worker.

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