Dependence on very hot hot-spring bathing in a refractory case of atopic dermatitis.

A 21-year-old female with atopic dermatitis showed "dependence" on very hot hot-spring bathing. Her skin disease had been refractory to various treatments including steroid therapy for a long time. Without medical supervision she took four 3-minute 47 degrees C hot-spring baths daily for a month for the purpose of improving her skin symptom. Subsequently, she could not stop bathing in very hot hot-spring water of her own will. However, a month's isolation in a hospital relieved her of the situation. The mechanism of the dependence on very hot hot-spring bathing may be explained by a transient rise in the plasma beta-endorphin level due to hyperthermal stress.