Part 5

=Are Corsets Ever Necessary?=--For any unnatural or unhealthy conditions, the physician or specialist alone must prescribe. There is no reason why the bones and muscles of a woman, as well as a man’s, should not support the upper part of the body without artificial aid. As remarked in another chapter, the body acquires habits. After wearing corsets or stays for a time, their absence will doubtless suggest a lack of support, for the muscles have become weakened from a lack of use.

The skirts and other garments should be supported from the shoulders, and not from the waist. To this end, an under jacket, close-fitting, but in no sense compressing the body, loose in texture so as to be permeable to the air, with straps over the shoulders, should be worn. To this, by means of buttons, all the lower garments should be attached. No steel or other stiff supports should be tolerated. With this system in general use for a generation, the amount of suffering saved would be incalculable, and the advantage to the race would be beyond compute.

=The Feet.=--In so far as the health is affected by the dress, next to the evils of tight lacing come the evils of tight shoes. The feet being remote from the heart, the circulation of the blood at this point is not as free as in other parts of the body. This in itself tends to beget cold feet, and at once suggests the advantage of warm stockings and stout shoes in order to keep out the cold and wet, and to induce a freer current of warmth-producing blood.

The small foot is almost as much an object of worship as the small waist. The temptation to cramp it by tight and ill-fitting shoes is great, and is not wholly confined to the weaker sex. Large shoes may be ill-fitting and injurious, as well as small ones, often rubbing the skin and producing blisters and sores.

The shoes should be close-fitting but not tight, thus allowing free circulation of air as well as of blood, and also the freest action of the bones and muscles. Like other parts of the dress, the shoes must be adapted to the season. In cold and wet weather the soles should be thick so as to keep out the dampness. The maxim, “Keep the feet warm and the head cool,” is none the less good because it is old.

=Rubbers.=--Tight-fitting rubbers impede circulation, and, on this score, are objectionable. But the disadvantages of wet or damp feet are far greater. Through the winter and spring months the streets and pavements are rarely free from dampness, and light rubbers or sandals should be worn. Persons who are exceptionally susceptible to colds need to be doubly careful to keep the feet dry and warm.

=Stockings.=--The stockings, too, should be stout and warm. For most persons, wool is the best material. If the rough surface is uncomfortable to the skin, those of a smoother surface may be tried. A thin silk stocking with a woolen one of moderate thickness outside will make no more bulk than a single heavy woolen stocking, and will be found equally warm.

Some persons when about to undergo extreme exposure to cold wrap the feet with a thickness or two of tissue paper, either under or outside of the stocking. Being impervious to the air, paper is not to be recommended for general use.

The physical annoyances and discomforts growing out of ill-clad feet are such as to demand that great care be given to this part of the dress. Corns, bunions, and in-growing nails are so common that it is a rare thing to find a person who is free from these afflictions.

=Heels.=--Heels of moderate height are desirable. High heels throw the foot into the front of the shoe, cramp the toes, and destroy the natural action of the foot. The French heel, so coveted by many ladies, is an abomination. It is not only too high, but, being placed under the arch of the foot, defeats Nature’s purpose in the construction of the arch. Children under twelve years should not wear heels.

=Wide Soles.=--The width of the sole should always be greater than the width of the foot. With the foot clad in a close-fitting, stout stocking, stand upon a cardboard or piece of stiff paper, bearing the weight of the body upon this foot. With a pencil held in a vertical position, have some one draw the outline of the foot upon the paper. When purchasing a pair of shoes, apply this outline to the soles, and see to it that they are larger at every point than the outline. This will go far toward securing comfort.

Infants require to be warmly clad. The heat-producing powers of the organism are feeble. Clothing should be of a kind and of sufficient quantity to prevent the undue waste of natural heat. Children are often clad too thinly, and exposed to cold before they are strong enough to bear it. The “hardening” process to which some foolish mothers resort is accountable for no small amount of infant mortality. The other extreme is equally reprehensible. Aim to maintain an equable temperature of the room as well as of the body; avoid sudden changes, and keep the child out of draughts. Clothing of fine soft wool, as a rule, is the best.

=Evenly Distributed.=--The body of the child usually is too warmly clad, while the arms and neck are often insufficiently covered. The long skirts of infants are objectionable because they keep the legs too warm and hamper them in their movements, so essential to their growth and development.

=Weight.=--The weight of the clothing of all persons, of whatever age, should be as light as is compatible with comfortable warmth, but it is a matter of double importance to infants and young children.

=Constriction.=--Many young mothers have done their infant children incalculable injury by tightly pinning about their tender bodies the swathing band and the upper parts of the skirts. The heart and lungs, stomach and liver, as well as the rest of the body, need room for growth. Instances are recorded of infants having died from being deprived of sufficient room to breathe properly. Here again, the opposite extreme must be avoided. Socks that come well up on the legs should be provided. The dress should not be so loose about the neck as to admit cold draughts of air to the chest or spine. As with older persons, the petticoats and nether garments should be suspended from the shoulders as soon as the child is old enough to walk. The increase in the average life of the American is largely due to the better care of the children.

BATHS AND BATHING

=Why We Bathe.=--The first object of bathing is cleanliness. The importance of this object is so widely recognized as to have passed into a proverb, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” A second object of the bath is to stimulate the functions of the skin. A large amount of waste matter is thrown off through the pores, and unless removed by frequent bathing, soon becomes clogged, and sickness ensues. A third object is the pleasurable exhilaration which attends a plunge into the swimming pool, stream, or surf. The street urchin, with no ungovernable desire for cleanliness, and with little thought of the importance of keeping his cuticle in good working condition, plunges into the nearest stream long before the summer days have tempered the water to such a degree as to beguile his older brother.

=The Skin.=--In order that the advantages of bathing may be fully understood, it is necessary that we have some knowledge of the nature and structure of the outer covering of the body. This garment is soft, pliable, close-fitting, and quite thin, yet sufficiently strong to resist the ordinary contact with surrounding objects.

The skin is composed of two layers, the outer, called the epidermis, or cuticle, and the inner, called the cutis, or true skin. The two layers are closely united. When, from a burn or other cause, a blister is formed, a watery fluid separates the cuticle from the true skin.

The cuticle is very thin, and is composed of minute flat cells, arranged layer upon layer. These, as they are worn out, fall from the body in the form of fine scales. When the cuticle in the palms of the hands or other parts of the body is subjected to severe pressure, or friction, it becomes thick and hard, and better adapted to manual labor.

The cutis, or true skin, is firm, elastic, and very sensitive. Its surface is covered with minute elevations called _papillæ_. These contain the blood vessels which supply the waste of the skin, and also the nerves which are largely concerned in the sense of touch.

=Its uses.=--The skin, which seems like a very simple membrane in structure, is, in reality, a very complex and elaborate organ. With its numerous blood-vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves; its millions of _papillæ_ and pores and sweat ducts; its innumerable hair-follicles with their sebaceous glands and muscles; its odoriferous glands and special pigment-bearing cells, it is well equipped to perform the various duties assigned it.

First, it serves to protect the softer parts of the body which lie underneath it. Secondly, it regulates the temperature of the body by preventing, on the one hand, the too rapid radiation of natural heat, and, on the other hand, by reducing the temperature through the process of perspiration. Thirdly, through its millions of pores, it is constantly throwing off the useless materials found in the excretions of the perspiration and the sebaceous glands.

In order that the skin may perform its functions properly, it must be perfectly clean, the pores must be kept open, and the sweat glands free to throw off all the effete matter and prevent its accumulation within the system. While soap and water are necessary and helpful, free perspiration induced by vigorous bodily exercise or artificial heat will also enable the glands to cast off the more solid substances which accumulate at the bottom.

An eminent French physician has discovered that the annoying odors from the skin which characterize certain persons have their seat in the bottom of the sweat sack, and can be successfully removed by free perspiration followed by a bath.

In addition to the general benefits to the health, of systematic, vigorous exercise and the bath, they will give freshness of color to the skin, prevent the coming of wrinkles, and give to the face a beauty such as no paint or powder can approximate. If ladies with sallow complexions and shrunken countenances would substitute exercise and bathing for facial massage, the benefits of which last only so long as its use is continued, the results would be much more satisfactory.

Many of the common diseases of the skin which destroy the beauty of the complexion are believed to be due to certain microbes. If the skin were kept, by exercise and bathing, in a thoroughly healthy condition, these microbes would find no lodgment, or, gaining a temporary foothold, would readily yield to judicious hygienic treatment.

=The Hair and Nails.=--These, properly considered, are appendages of the skin. The hair follicles are hollow receptacles, from the bottom of which the hair grows. Alongside each hair follicle are two glands, called the sebaceous glands, which provide the hair with a natural oil or grease, and prevent excessive dryness. This sebaceous matter tends to keep the skin flexible, and serves to protect both skin and hair from the acridity arising from perspiration. The hair serves as a protection, shielding the brain from extremes of heat and cold, and moderating the force of blows upon the head.

The nails not only serve as a protection to the ends of the fingers, but also enable us to grasp more firmly, and to pick up small objects. Well-kept nails contribute much to the beauty of the hand. They are not only an indication of cleanliness but also a mark of refinement.

=The Perspiratory Glands.=--The skin is provided with numerous sweat-glands which consist of very small tubes with globe-like coils at their deeper extremity. It is estimated that there are 2,800 of these glands to the square inch of the surface of the body.

These glands or pores of the skin are, day and night, constantly excreting a watery fluid. Ordinarily this evaporates as rapidly as it is formed, and the process is called insensible perspiration. Under the influence of heat or exercise the flow is more abundant, and appears upon the surface of the body in the form of minute, colorless drops. This is known as sensible perspiration.

This excretion consists of about ninety-eight parts of water and two parts of solid matter. The quantity of perspiration varies with the temperature, the occupation of the individual, and other circumstances. In an adult, the daily amount is about thirty ounces, or more than nine grains a minute.

=Benefit of Perspiration.=--Besides freeing the blood of a large amount of water, with the effete matter it contains, perspiration serves to reduce the temperature of the body. This function is most active in hot weather, and the cooling process is proportionally increased, thereby contributing to the comfort of the individual. A partial or temporary check of this excretion is usually attended with headache, fever, and other unpleasant symptoms, and its total interruption is fatal. For the purposes of experiment, rabbits and other small animals have been covered with a coating of varnish, and death invariably ensued in from six to twelve hours.

=Importance of Bathing.=--As the watery portion of the perspiration evaporates, the solid matter is left on the surface of the skin, and soon clogs the mouths of the pores. The scales of the worn-out cuticle also accumulate, and further impede the action of the skin. These impurities must be removed, not only from motives of cleanliness but also from considerations of health.

=General Effects of the Bath.=--Bathing, in every form, increases the activity of the internal machinery. It increases the rate of respiration, the activity of the heart, the rapidity of the circulation, the combustion in the tissues, and the perspiration through the skin. This increased activity causes a degree of exhaustion, and makes demand upon the vital forces. The reaction that follows more than restores the depleted vitality, and the bath serves as a tonic to the system.

=A Satisfactory Experiment.=--A prominent Philadelphia merchant gives the following as a result of his experience: “For a number of years I was troubled with indigestion, and a feeling of general depression. My muscles were soft and flabby, and I was easily fatigued. I was seldom free from colds and their many discomforts. Although there were several gymnasiums near my place of business, I felt that I could not take the time for practice. My condition gradually grew worse, and the drugs and medicines I took did me no good. In sheer desperation, I concluded to see what a little exercise and bathing would do. I chose the early morning and the late evening, as interfering least with business. Upon rising in the morning, and with slight encumbrance of clothing, I devote fifteen minutes to such simple body movements as give exercise to the muscles of the arms, legs, upper and lower trunk, and expand the chest. Then I stand in the bath tub, and with a large sponge filled with cold water, I quickly drench the head, neck, chest, and every part of the body, and, after drying with a soft towel, I give myself a vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel, which produces a delightful glow that lasts for several hours. At night, just before retiring, I again devote ten or fifteen minutes to exercise, and enjoy sound refreshing sleep.

“Since I began this plan of exercise and bathing, some five years ago, my digestion has been excellent, and I enjoy my meals, and seldom ask myself whether it is safe for me to eat this or that, as I used to do. I accomplish much more labor, with less fatigue than formerly, and with none of the old-time languor and depression. My mind is clear and alert, and to my cold sponge bath I ascribe the fact that I rarely have a cold.”

=Temperature of the Body.=--By a wonderful provision of nature, the temperature of the surface of the body is preserved at about 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit, whether the individual resides in the arctic regions or within the limits of the torrid zone. The range of the internal heat of the body is not very great. A deviation of seven degrees from the normal is dangerous. If the temperature of the body rises to 109 degrees or falls to 76, death is almost sure to follow.

=Temperature and Kinds of Baths.=--From the standpoint of temperature, baths may be classed as hot, warm, tepid, cool, and cold. A hot bath has a temperature ranging from 98 degrees to 112 degrees Fahrenheit; a warm bath from 92 degrees to 98 degrees; a tepid, from 85 degrees to 92 degrees; a cool bath from 60 degrees to 75 degrees; and a cold bath from 60 degrees down to the freezing point of water.

Tepid, warm, and hot baths are employed, not only for cleansing the body, but to diminish blood pressure and to reduce nervous excitability. The hot bath is used in restoring warmth to the body in certain cases of shock, and to remove the effects of exposure to a low temperature.

When the water is of about the same temperature as the body, the effects are neither stimulating nor depressing. In some forms of sleeplessness, a tepid bath taken just before retiring has been found to be effective. In such cases, the body should be covered by the water for ten or fifteen minutes, and quietly dried with a soft towel, without vigorous rubbing or friction.

=Hot Bath.=--The cold bath stimulates, the hot bath facilitates function. Both hot and cold baths increase the combustion going on within the body. The immediate effect of a cold bath is to chill the surface of the body. This sensation is promptly conveyed by the nerves of the skin, through the spinal cord, to the brain. Respiration and circulation are at once increased, and the temperature of the interior of the body is raised.

The effect of a hot bath is to raise the temperature of the surface of the body and the temperature of the blood. As in the case of a cold bath, the respiration and pulse are quickened, and the escape of carbonic acid from the lungs is increased.

Warm baths can be borne for a longer time than cold baths, but if the temperature be very high they deplete the system rapidly, and faintness is apt to occur. The warm or hot bath leaves the skin in a very delicate condition, susceptible to chill from exposure followed by internal congestion. The bather should dress quickly after a warm or hot bath, and spend a half hour or more in a warm room so as to allow the body to assume its normal temperature, or he may go from the bath to bed, and cover up well.

=Popular Error.=--The belief is current that it is extremely dangerous to enter a cold bath when the body is heated or perspiring. The bracing effects of the bath are most manifest if taken while the individual is warm. The clothing should be removed quickly, the plunge or douche boldly taken, and immediately followed by a vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel.

Some years ago, an eminent physician, desiring to test the effects of the cold bath when the body is warm, made a series of observations upon himself. The following is his statement: “Every afternoon a free perspiration was produced by a brisk walk in the sun. As soon as the clothing could be cast off, and while the body was still freely perspiring, a plunge was taken into a fresh water bath of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. No ill result followed. On the contrary, the sensation which immediately followed the bath, and which continued for six or eight hours afterward, was exceedingly pleasant. The health remained perfect, and the weight decidedly increased during the two months the practice was continued. There is probably no danger to a healthy person in this practice, but it is considered advisable to immerse the head first, to avoid increasing the blood pressure in the brain too greatly, which might result if the body were gradually immersed from the feet upward.”

The douche consists of a stream of water, hot or cold, which is made to strike the body with force. Its value consists partly in the impact of the water, and partly upon its temperature. It is an exhaustive method of treatment, and must be used with caution.

The Scottish Douche consists in the use of alternating streams of hot and cold water, which produces a powerfully stimulating action. Hot and cold affusion are mild forms of the douche.

The Shower Bath differs from the douche in the division of the streams of water, causing it to strike the body with less force. This method, too, should be used with caution, especially by persons who are not robust.

The Needle Bath is a form of fine shower bath. The bather stands within a coil of pipes perforated with very small holes through which the finely divided streams of water impinge upon every part of the body.

The Vapor Bath combines the two agents, warmth and moisture. The patient sits in a small cabinet or other confined space, into which steam from a boiler or kettle is conducted. In some instances, the head is enclosed so that the vapor may be breathed, but more frequently the head and face are shut out from the vapor-inclosed chamber. The vapor bath can be borne much better than the water bath, the temperature often ranging from 120 degrees to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Various forms of steam or vapor cabinets are advertised in the popular magazines at small prices. The Russian Vapor Bath consists of a vapor bath of high temperature, followed by a cold douche, and is useful where a quick reaction is desired. The Galvanic Bath and the Electro-magnetic Bath consist merely of a bath of water through which a gentle current from a battery is passed. This is so arranged that the current passes from the water through the body, and affords a powerful stimulant to the skin.

Various forms of medicated baths are employed for specific purposes, but these should not be used except upon the advice of a physician.

=Air Bath.=--The Hot Air Bath, since the days of ancient Rome, has been not only a popular luxury but also a means of treating disease. Unclad, the bather sits in a room heated to a temperature of 120 degrees to 150 degrees. A glass of cold water is sometimes taken to stimulate free perspiration, after which the bather reclines on a marble slab and is shampooed by an attendant. The body is then thoroughly washed with hot water, and rubbed down with a horse-hair glove. This is followed by a cold shower-bath or douche, after which one is rubbed dry, dresses, and reclines for half an hour on bed or couch.

=Sun Bath.=--The value of sunshine to animal and vegetable life is apparent to all. Plants become blanched and tender, and lack hardihood, if left without sunlight. Fishes in the subterranean lakes are dwarfed, and have no eyes. Tadpoles kept in the dark never develop into full-grown frogs. Men, growing up in mines or in dark prison cells, are sallow and ill-formed. When Fashion smiles upon brown arms and a tanned face, health is improved, and the darker skin is rendered more hardy and better able to resist exposure.

Sand Baths have, at different times, been held in high esteem. The patient is buried in sand, except his head, and exposed to the full rays of the sun. The surface irritation caused by the sand, combined with the effect of the heat, produces a copious perspiration.

Mud Baths and Pine Baths are popular in parts of Germany. In the former, the body of the patient is imbedded, for a time, in the thick paste or mud deposited by some of the mineral springs, or formed of a mixture of moor-earth and water. In the Pine Baths, a strong decoction is made of the fragrant limbs and tops of the resinous pine trees, which, blended with water, has a stimulating action on the skin.