The distribution of air ion at 20 hot springs in Japan was surveyed in 1961, and results obtained were as follows:
1) Each number of air ion-density at twenty hot springs is as follows: Dogo spa (2, 208/cc), Onne-yu (1, 293), Beppu (1, 257), Echigo-yuzawa (1, 197), Misasa (1, 187), Karurusu (1, 179), Ito (1, 094), Naruko (1, 019), Shiobara (947), Arima (931), Jozankei (895), Nasu (848), Kawayu (827), Tokachigawa (781), Toya (761), Yunokawa (720), Kusatsu (719), Tsuchiyu (610), Noboribetsu (563), Akan (469).
2) Each value of radium emanation is as follows: Misasa spa (157, 0ME), Yunokawa Dogo, Tsuchiyu, Karurusu, Tokachigawa, Jozankei, Ito, Onneyu, Noboribetsu, Shiobara, Akan, Echigoyuzawa, Beppu, Toya, Arima, Kawayu, and Kusatsu.
3) The more acid hot spring water is, the higher air ion-density is observed.
4) The more acid hot soring water is, the more the ratio of n⁺/n^- is observed.
5) The more alkaline hot spring water is, the higher the value of radium emanation is found.
6) The higher the value of radium emanation is, the higher air ion-density is found.
7) The lower temperature of spring is, the higher air ion-density is found.
8) In simple thermals, common salt springs, and radioactive springs, high air iondensity is observed.
9) The higher acidity of the rock is, the higher air ion-density and the value of radium emanation are days.
10) Air ion-density in hot spring zone tends to increase most frequently in rainy, and next in cloudy, and rarely in fine days.
11) The ratio of n⁺/n^- is the smallest in rainy and the largest in cloudy weather.
12) Air ion-density is high in the case of north westerlies, and conversely, it is low in the case of south-easterlies
13) Density of n^- increases in the case of north-easterlies, conversely density of n⁺ increses in south-easterlies.
14) Effects of air ion on human body are as follows: n^- acts parasympaticotonically and n⁺ acts sympaticotonically.

View full abstract

The author delivered a lecture of the study concerning the influence of oral administration of hot springs upon the functions of the digestive organs made in his institute.
A survey carried out in various hot spring resorts in Tohoku Region revealed the fact that about 25% of bathers were the patients of the digestive organs and that only 21.6% of them had been treated with oral administration of hot spring.
However, the oral administration of strongly acid spring, concentrated alum vitriol spring, and strong common salt spring, often resulted in the appearance of acute gastroenteritis on administration, and it was necessary to dilute them. In the lecture it was stated that the examination of the cells in gastric juice would be a good indicator for determining the appearance of such symptoms.
Both clinical and experimental studies of pH and bacilli colonies in the digestive tract revealed that oral administration of hot spring had a certain degree of effect on pH and bacilli colonies in the stomach, but little effect on those in the intestines. It was made clear, however, that it had some effect on the settlement and the multiplication of bacilli brought in orally.
It was also stated in the lecture that a comparison was made of the quantity of gastric secretion with 0.07% caffeine solution for ascertaining the effect of oral administration of hot spring on gastric juice and that curative oral administration, if carried moderately, was effective, regardless of properties of the springs, in normalizing acidity of gastric juice, and in bringing about the disappearance or alleviation of symptoms clinically.
As for the effect of oral administration on bile secretion, experiments were performed with dogs. The oral administration of sulfated spring (containing 734mg/l of sodium sulfate) did not necessarily increase bile secretion. This was a natural outcome, because such concentrated sulfated spring as Carlovy in Czechoslovakia and Mergentheim in Germany could not be found in Japan. Therefore, it is rather risky to draw a hasty conclusion that the oral administration of sulfated spring in Japan will directly result in the increase of bile secretion. Attention must be called to the fact that the increase in bile secretion is often brought about by the oral administration of hot springs other than sulfated spring.
What the author wanted to emphasize was the fact that in Japan curative oral administration of hot spring was not so popular with bathers as balneological therapy and that studies on this therapeutic method should be made in detail, for Japan is far inferior to Western countries in this respect.

View full abstract

In this clinic the incidence of improvement of the patients with gastroduodenal ulcer and with bile duct diseases has been 80%. The former took the water from Yunohira spring at Oita, weak salty water, and the latter from Matogahama spring at Beppu, saline salt and bicarbonate containing water.
Drinking was begun at first with 500ml p. die, gradually increasing the amount till 1000ml p. die, and then this was continued. Two to three weeks' period was spent for the treatment.
This period was taken up from the results obtained on the liver function, the fluctuation of autonomous nerve tension, the water content of the blood, and on the extracellular fluid volume, and moreover effectiveness was observed mostly within this period.
As for action-mechanism of Yunohira spring water, it has been explained from normalizing effects upon gastric acidity which were reported by many students at this institute and from pace-making effects upon gastrointestinal motility observed by us.
Kizaki observed healing effects of the water upon ulcer by way of the changes in adrenocortical function. Takahashi sustained the effectiveness of the water from the fluctuation of uropepsin. Watanabe explained the effectiveness from depressive effects upon Arthus phenomenon.
Hirata observed that Yunohira's water had correcting effects upon the unbalanced state of various ferment, seen in the patients with gastrointestinal diseases.
As for liver function promoting effect of Matogahama's water, it was confirmed in respects of dye-secretion, bile secretion, and other seroreactions. But it has not yet been confirmed which component of the water had the effectiveness.
By investigating the correlation between analytical components of the thermal waters in the western Japan districts and the changes of digestive function after drinking them that had been studied by us, it was found that some waters had quite different effects even when their analytical tables were similar. The others had almost similar effects though their chemical components were different. Therefore the decision of indication of a thermal water cannot be made from mere analytical table, until elementary and clinical study on the water is done.
Here in order to study the action of each component analytically, it was tried to see the changes of the action of the water by adding a certain substance to the water, the action of which had already been known, and also to observe the action of single salt. The followings are a part of the results.
Matogahama spring water had promoting effects upon bile secretion and this was confirmed by the observation of bile fistula of the rabbits, and it was found that the quantity of bile, bile dye and cholesterol were increased.
The same observation was done with salts separately prepared from Matogahama spring water, but these single salts had not such actions as the water itself.
The water stored for two to three weeks lost its effectiveness compared with freshly taken water.
Thus it is thought that principal active part of the water might be gas element or trace element, but the organic changes of the component or of the water itself, and/or of the state of the solute should be taken into consideration in the explanation of the action of the water.

View full abstract

Prof. Oshima presented a survey of studies on the drinking of radioactive spring water, in a special lecture at 13th annual meeting of the Japanese Balneo-Climatological Association, in 1948.
In taking charge of a symposium upon “the drinking of hot spring water”, the author carried out experiments on the following aspects of the large subjects:
I. The distribution of uranium in animal tissues after the ingestion of water containing uranium.
II. The effect of the internal use of radioactive hot spring water at Misasa Spa on various functions of the body.
I. It has been established that spring water at Misasa Spa contains up to 20γ/l. of uranium. The author examined the distribution of uranium in animal tissues after the ingestion of water containing uranium. 48 hours after water containing uranium was ingested, uranium was found in the kidney and the bone marrow, and amount of uranium in the kidney was about 0.2% of the ingested uranium. After the uraniumcontaining water had been administered for 45 days, uranium was found in the kidney and its amount was about 0.2% of ingested uranium, as in the above experiment.
II. After the ingestion of radioactive spring water, the distribution of radioactive substances such as radon, radium and others in body tissues and the elimination of those substances from the body were studied by Strasburger, Markl and others; and they concluded that it is necessary to maintain the concentration of radioactivity over 2900×10^-10C./l. calculated as radon in water in order to obtain a favourable effect from the drinking of radioactive spring water. The concentration of radioactive material studied in the Misasa spring water is 1720-2330×10^-10C./l. The followings are the chief mineral constituents of the water(Table 2).
Effect on gastric secretory and motor functions.
The author investigated the influence of the drinking of radioactive spring water upon the secretory and motor functions of the stomach. After the contents of the fasting stomach had been aspirated by the Rehfuss tube, 300ml, of spring water or plain water as a control were poured into the stomach. The contents of the stomach were aspirated at 20 minute intervals, and free and total acidity of the aspirated gastric juice were determined. In general, the ingestion of the spring water had a mildly stimulating effect on secretion of gastric acid, and inhibited the hyperacidity. This may explain the seemingly beneficial effect of naturally radon-containing alkaline saline Misasa spring waters on the gastric function of patients with acid indigestion. By fluoroscopy, 11 human subjects were examined using 200g. of BaSO₄ dissolved in 500ml, of radioactive spring water or plain water at 38°C. in temperature. The incidence of subjects with fishhook stomach increased with spring water (plain water: 64%, spring water: 73%), and that of steerhorn shaped stomach decreased (plain water: 36%, spring water: 72%). Gastric tonus is not altered by spring water. Peristalsis of the stomach was normalised by the drinking of spring water (hyperperistalsis is depressed and hypoperistalsis is exaggerated). Spring water hastens gastric emptying.
Effect on glucose tolerance in diabetic rabbits.
The glucose tolerance curve in alloxan diabetic rabbits were determined initially, at the 2nd and 6th week in the course of this experiment. Thirty ml. of test water per kg, of bodyweight was ingested daily for a period of 6 weeks. The drinking of spring water inhibited the alimentary hyperglycemia slightly: thus radioactive spring water should be used internally for the treatment of diabetes mellitus as adjuvant.
Effect on contraction of the gallbladder.
Six tablets of the telepaque were given in the evening and roentgenography was performed in the following morning, then after 30 minutes the patients ingested 500ml, of spring water, fluoroscopic examinat

View full abstract

Of the effects of gradually warming partial bathing apparatus by SUGIYAMA on the function of the circulation system, the author examined its effects on the blood pressure, digital plethysmography and circulation time and reached the following conclusion:
1) Gradually warming partial bathing apparatus by SUGIYAMA certainly has good effects on the blood pressure, lowering the systolic and the diastolic pressure without showing the individually different balneal reaction observable in hot-spring bathing, such as the initial rise in the blood pressure often observable during and immediately after the whole-body bathing.
2) The abrupt changes in the blood pressure as seen in high-temperature whole-body bathing are not observable in bathing with this apparatus, and the pressure gradually decreases for a long time.
3) The higher the blood pressure is, the greater the extent to which it falls and the longer the duration in which it falls.
4) Partial bathing by means of this apparatus tends to normalize the blood pressure, acting to bring down the pressure in the case of hypertension and to raise it in the case of hypotension.
5) By means of this apparatus the blood pressure tends to decrease comparatively rapidly until two weeks after the initiation of the treatment. It is still effective two and four weeks after it.
6) Complaints due to hypertension and cerebral arteriosclerosis will disappear or be alleviated with the initiation of treatment with this apparatus.
7) An observation of the digital plethysmography reveals that gradually warming partial bathing will increase the circulation of blood in the peripheral blood vessels by expanding them and loosening tension of them. After bathing an increase in catacrotic character of pulse wave is observable, and a change from anacrot observed before bathing into catacrot after bathing was seen in the most of hypertension cases.
8) Gradually warming partial bathing generally shortens the circulation time, but it shortens the circulation time to less degree in the medium and advanced cases of hypertension and in the case of hypotension, showing little effect on the circulation system.
9) Compared with the four-limb gradually warming bathing, the two lower-limb bathing is seen to have more mild effect on the circulation function, showing that it is sufficiently provided with synesthesia blood circulation reaction. Its action being alleviating, its application in the form of siutable partial bathing according to the severity of the circulatory disfunction.
10) Gradually warming partial bathing is considered to have the advantages of insensitive, luke-warm and high temperature bathings such as mild penetrating and selective characters.
In summary, an inference can be made from the above description that the gradually warming partial bathing is most suitable for therapy and prevention of hypertension, arteriosclerosis and impediments in the peripheral blood circulation.

View full abstract