While the "water cure" is now viewed was a medical fad of the mid-19th century, it was, at the time, a respected practice. The premise of water cure was both simple and monomaniacal. Doctors that practiced it advocated patients to bathe regularly, drink only water, and dunk themselves in clean water whenever possible. The thinking behind Water Cure was that if one focused only on how the body used water, everything else would fall into place. Due to conventional medicine not being advanced, as well as Americans trying to better themselves in all walks of life, Water Cure became a respected medical practice during the mid-19th century. As mentioned, the key component of the water cure was immersing both the inside and outside of the body in water in whatever way possible. In "The Water Cure Journal," a variety of treatments are explained for problems ranging from inflammation of the lungs to external blood hemorrhaging. The two most popular remedies seem to be bathing various parts of the body, and wet sheet packing. On page 77 of the journal the various types of prescriptions are explained. The wet sheet packing calls for the patient to be wrapped tightly in water soaked blankets for thirty minutes up to two hours. The various types of baths are also explained, they range from full baths where the body is completely submerged, to just foot baths. Another crucial point in water treatment according to the journal is the temperature of the water used. Some treatments call for cold water, which can be 32 degrees up to 60 degrees, while others call for “tepid water” (80-90 degrees), or hot water (100+ degrees). The ailments that these treatments are used to treat also are explained throughout the journal. For instance, for a deep laceration the journal recommends, “the pouring of cold water, not immediately at the spot, but at some little distance from it, and nearer the heart should be practiced” (7). While for inflammation of the