The following extract is from a historical book from 1881 about the thermal water of Lavey and its therapeutic value. The author is Dr. A. F. Suchard, a spa physician at the time. In his book he describes the thermal water of Lavey as clear, digestible and stimulating the function of various organs in many ways. Here you can read the historical excerpt in a revised translation.
Historical excerpt from 1881: The thermal waters of Lavey and its therapeutic value
“The water of Lavey is clear and transparent. In a water glass you notice two kinds of bubbles: One rises rapidly like nitrogen, the other slower like carbonic acid. The water has a salty taste and smells of sulphur, which is masked by carbonic acid, making the water pleasant to drink.
Lavey’s water has a stimulating effect on the kidneys.
The water is easy to drink. It does not cause nausea or bruising. It passes through the organism very quickly. It is diuretic and stimulates the kidneys.
When the sulphur water passes through the stomach, part of the sulphur is decomposed by the hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice to form sodium chloride and potassium chloride. The hydrogen sulphide that is released begins to circulate and is excreted in three main ways: via the skin, via the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and via the urine, where there is always excretion of sulphate.
Activates and harmonizes
Lavey water stimulates the digestive juices of the stomach and intestines and activates digestion. It causes the skin to function normally as well as the kidneys and mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Blood circulates faster, vital phenomena become more intense and molecular interactions harmonize.
This does not seem to be the effect of all sulphur waters, but the effect of Lavey water. It is a sulphur water based on potassium and sodium carbonate. These are substances that penetrate the inside of the body. There the hydrogen sulphide reaches the skin, kidneys and lungs in sufficient quantities. It works, although the dosage is not higher than for a drink. Sulphate, lithium hydroxide and chloride activate the digestive function, kidney excretion and metabolism.
The water as a whole is a phenomenon
What can you expect from a drinking cure with water from Lavey? You don’t have to ask yourself if the active substances of this spring water are gases, sulphates or other salts. You don’t have to ask yourself which principle is more effective; you have to see this water as a composition, as a whole, which in this complex form exactly can penetrate the body more easily and can be metabolized.
The effect of sulphurous water is physiological, more dynamic than chemical. One should not expect any change in tissue or fluids. The water affects the functionality and the living forces of the organism. What other means can be used to achieve this exaggeration of molecular exchange, to give the body a controlled, whiplash so to speak?
We seek the increase of molecular exchange
The drinking cure with this thermal water is based on the healthy parts of the individual and gives them enough energy to restore normal functions by increasing general vitality.
It is similar to the process nature uses to free our bodies from harmful substances that have penetrated into them. One could call it the expelling process. Does it not make sense to use it first and foremost, especially if you have a choice of means?
We seek the increase of the molecular exchange, the lash, the reaction, the return of the eruptions, not to satisfy a theoretical idea, but because we have noticed that when these physiological phenomena take place, we have the maximum of health and lasting effects.”
Reference: Excerpt from: Les Eaux Thermales de Lavey et leur valeur thérapeutique par le Dr. A.F. Suchard ancien Interne des hôpitaux de Paris, Lauréat de la Faculté, Médecin de l’hôpital des Bains de Lavey, 1881.
(The thermal waters of Lavey and their therapeutic value by Dr. A.F. Suchard, former assistant doctor of the hospitals of Paris, faculty graduate, doctor of the hospital of the bath of Lavey, 1881.)
