Heliotherapy - Methods

An establishment entitled Sylvabelle in La Croix-Val-Mer, near Saint-Tropez on the Côte d'Azur, opened in 1904 as an explicitly naturist sanatorium, under the supervision of Dr Albert Monteuuis (fl.1900-1914). Monteuuis wrote extensively on heliotherapy and other natural therapies. He promoted heliotherapy as a natural treatment for the benefit of all citizens suffering from chronic illness. His book on air, light, and sun baths was first published in 1904, translated into English as early as 1907, and republished in 1911.

It was Monteuuis's hope to popularise heliotherapy for the benefit of all citizens suffering from chronic illness His goal was made obvious in the modification of the title of his 1911 republication: L'Usage Chez Soi des Bains d'Air, de Lumière et de Soleil, with the emphasis on home treatment and daily hygiene for the chronically ill ('chez soi'). One could take a bain de soleil, he said, in the bedroom, in a hotel room, or in the garden. Monteuuis's 1911 title implies that patients could take individual responsibility for their own cure, but only if armed with the right medical knowledge

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