A study, made in a series of our researches in the relation between hot spring bathing or drinking and the functions of digestive organs, on the effect of hot spring drinking on bacilli in the digestive tract has led to the following conclusion:
1. Effect of various hot spring waters on anaerobes in vitro:
Hot spring waters from Tamagawa Spa and Genzo-yu which are strongly acid are effective in inhibiting the growth of anaerobes in vitro, while that from Unagi-yu, which is alkaline, hot spring water in our hospital which is neutral, and physiological saline solution are almost ineffective in inhibiting their growth.
As to the bacteriocidal effect of hot spring water on anaerobes in the feces in vitro, it may be said that Tamagawa Spa which is strongly acid stands at the top, followed by Genzo-yu, and hardly any bacteriocidal effect can be observed in hot spring water from Unagi-yu, the hot spring water in our hospital, and physiological saline solution. In other words, it is clear that it depends upon pH of a particular hot spring whether it is strong or not in its inhibiting action of the growth and bacteriocidal effect on anaerobes.
It has something to do with pH value as well as the components of the hot spring that Tamagawa Spa and Genzo-yu which are strongly acid are slightly weaker in inhibiting action of growth and slightly stronger in bacteriocidal action than dilute hydrochloric acid solution and dilute sulphuric acid solution which are adjusted to the same pH value.
2. Effect of hot spring drinking on pH in the digestive tract: pH in the stomach is clearly influenced by hot spring water, first by pH of the hot spring water taken in, but it soon settles to a definite pH of the stomah in each individual.
Hot spring water taken in is rapidly diluted mainly by the counter current of the duodenal juice, partially by the mechanism of gastric secretion, and acts merely as a stimulus for the secretion of gastric juice. It may be said that pH in the duodenum is hardly affected by the intake of hot spring water, though it shows a tendency to be affected by strongly acid hot spring. No effect is observed of the hot spring water on pH in the lower intestines. Successive intake of hot spring water can not affect greatly pH in the digestive tract.
3. Effect of hot spring drinking on anaerobes in the digestive tract:
A close relation is seen to exist between the effect of hot spring drinking on anaerobes in the digestive tracts and the variation of pH value in it, and it seems impossible for them to live below pH 2.0. As anaerobes in the stomach are directly susceptible to the action of hot spring water taken in, they tend to decrease at the initial stage of the intake of strongly acid hot spring, but the effect is only temporary, and the decrease is much less than in vitro.
No effect can be observed of the successive drinking of hot spring water on anaerobes in the digestive tracts below the stomach, and it will not disturb the physiological distribution of anaerobes in the digestive tracts.

View full abstract

1) Subcutaneous injections (ACTH 10mg) were given to the 15 healthy visitors at Kusatsu Hot Springs, and the changes in eosinophil counts in blood were examined. Through this examination we have learned that the more the length of one's stay at Kusatsu Hot Springs is prolonged, the more marked balneo-climatological influence is proved in the decrease of eosinophil counts upon ACTH injection.
2) When the length of their stay at Kusatsus Hot Springs was prolonged more than 2 months, the change of their blood-sugar caused by the injection of ACTH was enhanced, and most of their highest values showed higher level than 150mg/dl.
As for the people whose duration of stay at Kusatsu Hot Springs was less than 2 months, the highest values remained under 150mg/dl.

View full abstract

Kusazu Hot Springs are, in general, of acid alum vitriol waters with pH 1.6. There has been (several generations since) a peculiar custom of taking bath called “Jikan-yu” in Japanese, meaning “time-limit bath”—a traditionally well-known method of applying a spa treatment for some chronic diseases. This is the way that patients take a highly hot bath at 47°C., for 3 minutes, four times a day, and keeping it on for weeks, so that at the end of a week or more they may come to have an “acid spring dermatitis” (“Tadare” of spring bath) around the groins and axillae.
Professors Misawa and Oshima with other investigators tried to find their explanation in taking it a stimulant alterative treatment acting effective for some chronic diseases.
We reported, in our preceding papers, on the mucoprotein levels in normal as well as in pathological human sera. Here we have studied the effect of the “time-limit bath” upon the serum mucoprotein level by means of Winzler's method, and at the same time, upon the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the total serum protein content.
The results of the said high-temperature spring-bath applied on 14 male and 2 female patients were as follows:
(1) There was a rise of the serum mucoprotein levels in most of them, keeping with the the progress of the acid spring dermatitis, while falling again as the inflammation turns to recede.
(2) The erythrocyte sedimentation rate also increased as the dermatitis progressed.
(3) Nine out of them showed, however, no remarkable change in the amount of the total serum protein even after the appearance of the dermatitis.

View full abstract

The Kageyu Spa in Nagano Prefecture is a simple thermal hot spring cerebrated from ancient times for so-called “Chubu-no-yu”, that is, spa for the treatment of atherosclerosis and sequelae of cerebral apoplexy. The author investigated the effects of thermal baths at the Kageyu Spa on blood pressure and sequelae of so-called cerebral apoplexy and obtaind the following results.
1) The effects of the single bathing (at 37°C, for 30-50 minutes) on blood pressure were investigated both in 13 cases, whose systolic blood pressure was over 150mmHg (hypertensive group) and in 12 cases, whose systolic blood pressure was under 150mmHg (normal group). In both groups the systolic and diastolic blood pressure reached the minimal value 10 minutes after the bath and returned gradually to the value before the bath within about 40 minutes. The degrees of the fall of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were on an average 16mmHg and 5mmHg in the hypertensive group and 8mmHg and 2mmHg in the normal group respectively.
2) The effects of a series of thermal baths on blood pressure were investigated both in 12 cases with normal systolic blood pressure (normal group) and 52 cases with hypertension (hypertensive group), among which 11 cases showed over 200mmHg in the systolic blood pressure. In the normal group the depressor effect of the bathing was not remarkable on an average. On the contrary, the systolic blood pressure in the hypertensive group decreased on an average 23mmHg at the end of the second week and held the level to the end of the treatment. The fall of the diastolic blood pressure was not so remarkable as that of the systolic one, so the pulse amplitude tended to decrease by the spa treatment. Eleven patients with initial systolic blood pressure over 200mmHg showed on an average a fall of 36mmHg after 2-4 weeks of daily bathings.
3) The author set up a criterion upon which to evaluate the effects of the spa treatment, that is, if the systolic blood pressure showed a fall over 11mmHg, while the diastolic one did not show a rise over 11mmHg during the course of the treatment, the treatment is estimated to have a depressor effect. According to such criterion, a series of thermal baths proved to be effective in 37 of 52 hypertensive cases (71%).
4) Concerning the sequelae of 25 postapoplectic patients, the depressor effects were shown in 51%, the improvement of hemiplegia was obrerved in 60%, the complaints except motoric disturbance were ameliorated in 49% and a feeling of becoming healthy was generated in 80% of the patients after the spa treatment. Judging from thses results, the author concluded that the spa treatment at Kageyu was effective in 18 of 25 patients (72%).

View full abstract