Water cure (therapy)

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This is an entry about a form of therapy used in the 18th and 19th century. For the form of torture, see water cure.

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The “water cure” was a form of therapy developed in 18th century England by a doctor named Richard Russell. It generally consisted of varieties of water-related treatment — bathing in seawater, the drinking of sea water, and activities reminiscent of modern day spas. It became especially popular during the 19th century where health spas devoted to the “cure” were well-known medical institutions for the upper-class, especially those with malingering or persistent illness.

One of the first water cures was in Brighton. Charles Darwin famously retreated to a water cure in Malvern, where he treated his (possibly psychosomatic) recurring illness and socialized with upper-class English women. Henry Wirz, the only Confederate soldier executed in the aftermath of the American Civil War for war crimes, was a self-taught water-cure specialist.