Vincent Priessnitz (1799-1851)

He is called as the Father of Hydrotherapy, one of the treatment modality in Naturopathy.
He was born in little village of Grafenberg, Austrian on 4th October 1799.
The system of water cure became famous throughout the world and became more remarkable as it resulted entirely from the observation and experiments of this illiterate person.
One day when he was gazing the cattle’s, he saw wounded deer injured by hunters, come to the spring started washing its wound and drinking water from the spring. The wound got immersed in the water for sometime and the deer limped again. This continued for 2 weeks. At the end it was completely cured.
Priessnitz never forgot this experience. He recognized the importance of water as a means of healing.

Priessnitz soon had opportunity to prove in his on person the healing power of water, on account of an accident in which one of his finger was crushed.
To stop the bleeding and the pain he held his hand in cold water when he had to go about his work he kept it wrapped in wet bandage
In a short time it was completely healed.
At the age of 13, when he sprained his wrist. Instinctively, Priessnitz placed his wrist under the flow of water from the water pump.
“Finding that the water cooled the part, and decrease the pain, but unable to keep it constantly there, it occurred to him to apply an umschlagor wet bandage.
If followed that any of the animals or people of farm suffered any external injury he applied cold water as a smoothening and healing remedy
The result was such that in spite of his youth he soon become the medical advisor of his district.
Priessnitz also met with a serious accident when he was 17 years old. He had fractured his ribs and his chest was crushed and the case was declared incurable by the physicians.
By remembering the healing property of water, he covered the affected parts with cold compress and the pain subsided within few days. He continued to wear a wet girdle protected by a dry covering for one year by the end of which he was completely restored. From that time onwards, he made use of cold water for himself and for others and got best results and he became a well known healer.

The effectiveness of the wet compress led to much experimentation by Priessnitz to expand the therapeutic applications of water. His accidental discovery that cold water could relieve pain encouraged him to apply a wet sheet to the whole body for a multitude of conditions

In 1826 he was invited to Viennato heal the Emperor‘s brother Anton Victor, Grand Masterof the Teutonic Knights.This gave him a great reputation so many people from all over the country streamed into Gräfenberg.
In 1838 hydrotherapy was accepted as an alternative medical method and granted Priessnitza permit to establish the spa
In 1839, 1500 patients arrived (among them one monarch, a duke and duchess, 22 princess and 149 counts and countesses) and 120 doctors to study the new therapy.

In 1842, R. T. Claridgepublished The Cold Water Cure, its Principles, Theory, and Practice,
This detailed Priessnitz’s treatments.
Claridge was himself a patient of Priessnitz, and his book’s descriptions contain notes on the process of his own treatment at the spa, and the effectiveness of Priessnitz’s treatments on other patients with various diseases

The confidence of Priessnitz in the healing power of water became more firmly established and he became the water cure doctor whose healing powers spread across the country and the number of patients continued to increase.
The treatment used by him were bathing with cold water, full cold bath, wet gridle pack, water drinking in abundance.
His patients spent many time in walking and consumed large quantities of water.
He also added a simple natural diet and abundance of fresh air by day and night.
During the early years, Priessnitz treated mainly sprains ,fractures, dislocations, haemorrhage, chronic constipation. Gradually, he started treating even more severe diseases and he had to invent more and more techniques in which water could be curing the diseases.

He established the Water cure centre in Grafenburg. The permission was granted by Astro Hungarian Government to establish the centre. The number of patients increased year by year and included 1000s of people. He was granted a diploma by Austrian Government saying that he is permitted to heal the sick.
The French Government sent a head of the army to study the methods of Priessnitz and by this means, hydrotherapy was introduced into the military service of France.
The Grafenburg Hydrotherapeutic establishment was able to meet the demands.
Due to his activities carried out day and night, his general condition detoriated and finally he passed on 28th Nov,1851. Pressnitz was a person who dedicated his life to cure human illness and sufferings. The very nature of his methods was so individualistic for which the world should remember him.