["Drinking the waters" as a therapeutic exercise in the ionic range].

While "drinking the waters" (198 spa patients), longitudinal section inograms were made - Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, P and pH in serum, urine, saliva and perspiration were determined simultaneously and also the acid-base balance conditions in the blood by Astrup's method--and investigated from the point of view of the electrolyte metabolism. Carbonic acid absorbed from the intestine exerts a powerful action, triggering compensatory processes against acidification and leading to an increase in calcium and/or magnesium in the serum. Further, various changes in the ion concentrations, according to the mineral water, can sometimes be traced to an increase in the anion column and sometimes to hormonal effects (suprarenal cortex and medulla). They persist for several weeks after the course of treatment.