Part 9 (2/2)
Sixty-five degrees, and lower, may be borne for a long time.”
”Nature adapts herself to the cold bath by a rapid stimulation of heat production. All the muscles, nerves, and organs of the body are brought into heightened activity, and thus it is that to the healthy individual the cold bath is invigorating. But nature has her limits, and the bath must be discontinued while this tonic effect is felt, for the heat centers become fatigued and give rise to a chill which may continue for days afterward.
”The greatest agency in bathing is the stimulation of perspiration, and this depends upon the relative dryness of the surrounding air. Thus, in the dry vapor, or Turkish bath, a person will easily endure 264, and lose four pounds per hour by perspiration. It is this rapid evaporation from the skin that keeps the body cool. A person may stand for some time in an oven, beside a roasting rib of beef. But in the steam or Russian bath the perspiration is r.e.t.a.r.ded, and a temperature of 120 is hardly bearable. A temperature of 124 may induce a rise in the temperature of the mouth to 104 or even 107, which is seldom reached in a raging fever. Hence, there is an element of danger in the Russian bath--a danger to sudden death similar to sunstroke. This danger is much more p.r.o.nounced in the hot-water bath when perspiration ceases altogether, and the supply of heat from the interior to the skin is excessive. The temperature of bathing water should not exceed 104, and this hot bath should not be endured more than fifteen minutes. Even then it is likely to be followed by depression and weakness.” ”The circulation being quickened, the cold bath acts as a good blood purifier, was.h.i.+ng away the poisons of the body through the channels of the veins. In case of persons troubled with an excess of fat, the bath must be accompanied by ma.s.sage, banting, and a liberal indulgence in outdoor exercise. In the hot bath there is this same waste of tissue, but no tonic effects, and it is invariably accompanied with loss of energy and vitality. But the action of the bath upon the skin is no less beneficial than upon the interior of the body. It favors the excretory action of the skin, thus purifying it. The millions of dead scales, kept to the skin by the clothing, and the cementing effect of the oil, are washed away, thus relieving the skin, which is the great sewerage system of the body. The work of the lungs and kidneys is thus lessened, and the danger of consumption and Bright's disease, which may be caused by uncleanness, reduced.”
”_Effects of Sea Bathing._--Sea bathing is much more tonic than all other kinds, and the reason is simple. The salt has a slightly irritating effect on the skin, which is very beneficial. Besides, sea bathing is always accompanied by the best of exercise, by relaxation and freedom from the ordinary cares of life, by a change of climate and scene. The beating of the waves against the body also has an exhilarating effect. The bath in the sea should be taken about three hours after breakfast. There are three stages experienced in the cold bath--first, that of depression; second, the tonic stage; and third, the giving out of the heat-producing powers. This is the same as the one stage of the hot bath, and is always to be avoided as highly injurious.
”Nevertheless, the hot bath has its value. Its power to cool the body is admitted, and it is used with effect in cases inflammation induced by cold. The cold foot-bath is recommended as a positive cure for cold feet.”
”The practice among modern women of taking hot baths is endangering the health of the race. In a hot bath there is at first a feeling of oppression and violent throbbing of the head, followed by prostration, a highly feverish condition, and a relaxation of the entire system. In case of any organic disease of the heart or consumption, this bath must be carefully shunned. The hot bath belongs alone to the province of the physician. The cold bath, on the other hand, aside from its tonic effects, renders the body less sensitive to changes of temperature, and in this climate is, hence, especially valuable as a protection against catching cold. This bath is from 68 to 75, and should be taken in the morning before breakfast.”
”=Bleeding.=--A sudden and profuse flow of blood is cause for alarm.
First, decide whether the blood comes from an artery or a vein. If from a vein, the blood is dark, and oozes or flows evenly; if from an artery, it is bright red, and spurts in jets. In the former case, the bleeding may generally be stopped by binding on a hard pad. In case of a ruptured artery, the flow of blood may be checked by tying a twisted handkerchief, a cord, or strap, _between the wound and the heart_. If the hand is cut, raise the arm above the head and bind it tightly. In _wounds of the throat_, _arm-pit_, or _groin_, caused by cuts, and in case of any deep wound, thrust the thumb and finger into the bottom of the wound and pinch up the part from which the blood comes, directing the pressure against the flow. _In cuts of the lips_, compress the lips between the thumb and finger nearer the angle of the mouth than the cut itself. In _scalp wounds_, make direct pressure against the bones of the skull with the fingers, or, better, by means of a compress or bandage.”
”_Nosebleed._--Full-blooded persons who are afflicted with headache and dizziness are most subject to nosebleed. In such cases, the bleeding should be regarded as a relief to an overcharged system, and should not be too suddenly stopped. To stop the bleeding, keep the patient's arms elevated, apply cold water or ice to the base of the brain, or inject vinegar or alum water up the nostrils with a syringe. A thick piece of wrapping paper, placed between the upper lip and gum, and firmly pressed, will usually arrest the flow. It acts by compressing the arteries which supply the Sneiderian membrane. Try plugging with cotton, or a strip of soft muslin, gently pushed up the nostrils, thus causing the blood to clot about the plug. If these remedies fail, the case should have the attention of a physician.”
=Brain Worry.=--”After a good spell of hard work, the brain worker is often tormented by finding it difficult, all at once, to turn off the steam. His work-day thoughts will intrude themselves in spite of every effort to keep them out. Thackeray generally succeeded in exorcising the creatures he had been calling into existence, by the simple expedient of turning over the leaves of a dictionary. A great lawyer was in the habit, in similar circ.u.mstances, of plunging into a cold bath, and averred that a person never took out of cold water the same ideas that he took into it. Perhaps the best mental corrective of this condition is to employ the mind for a short time in a direction most contrasted to that in which it has been overworked. During excessive labor of the brain, there is an increased flow of blood to the working organ. If this condition of distention is long continued, the vessels are apt to lose the power of contracting when mental activity is diminished. Hence arises the impossibility of fulfilling the physical conditions of sleep, the most important of which is the diminution of the flow of blood to the brain. It is certain enough that the continued deprivation of any considerable part of the normal amount of sleep will be seriously detrimental to health. Dr. Hammond, in his work on sleep, mentions the case of a literary man in America who for nearly a year restricted his rest to four hours a day, and frequently less. At the end of that time, the overtasking of his mental powers was manifested in a curious way. He told the physician that, though still able to maintain a connected line of reasoning, he found that as soon as he attempted to record his ideas on paper, the composition turned out to be simply a tissue of arrant nonsense. When in the act of writing, his thoughts flowed so rapidly that he was not conscious of the disconnected nature of what he was writing, but as soon as he stopped to read it over, he was aware how completely he had misrepresented his conceptions.”
=Breathing.=--In each respiration an adult inhales one pint of air.
A man respires 16 to 20 times a minute, or 20,000 times a day; a child, 25 to 35 times a minute.
While standing, the adult respiration is 22; while lying, 13.
The superficial surface of the lungs, _i. e._, of their alveolar s.p.a.ces, is 200 square yards. The amount of air inspired in 24 hours is about 2,500 gallons.
Two-thirds of the oxygen absorbed in 24 hours is absorbed during the night hours, from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M.
Three-fifths of the total carbonic acid is thrown off in the day-time.
The pulmonary surface gives off about 5 fluidounces of water daily in the state of vapor.
The heart sends through the lungs 192 gallons of blood hourly, or 4,608 gallons daily. The duration of inspiration is five-twelfths, of expiration seven-twelfths, of the whole respiratory act; but during sleep, inspiration occupies ten-twelfths of the respiratory period.
There are two good rules to follow given by William Blaikie:--
”1. To hold the body erect, whether standing, sitting, or walking, and breathe deeply. This habit gives the lungs and digestive organs free play. More oxygen is taken into the blood, and the food is more readily digested and a.s.similated. 2. To fill the lungs full at frequent intervals, holding the air in the chest as long as is comfortable. This practice will soon improve a disturbed circulation.”
=Bright's Disease.=--Bright's disease is a disorder of the kidneys which causes those organs to secrete alb.u.men in the urine, while they fail to extract from the blood the urea, or effete matter, which they should take up from that fluid. Urea in the blood operates as a poison, and when acc.u.mulated in large quant.i.ties, produces drowsiness, convulsions, and apoplexy. Intemperance is a fruitful source of Bright's disease, because excessive drinking tends peculiarly to the degeneration of the kidneys. The best remedy we know, or have ever seen tested, is Bethesda water, from Waukesha Springs, Wis. It should be natural, without gas; a quart per day will not be too much for an adult.
=Bruises.=--If the skin is not broken, the best thing for a bruise, or black and blue spot, as they are often termed, is a piece of pure copper. It should be thin enough to shape with the fingers just the curvature or angle of the portion of the body bruised. In applying it, be very gentle at first, for if it be a finger nail you desire to preserve, on first application it will give you quite a severe shock, but by relieving it every second or two, inside of 5 minutes the pain will cease, and no black spot will follow. If the skin be broken, and the blood has ceased to flow, and you desire to use this remedy, first paste a piece of unprinted newspaper over the broken part, and then proceed as above; but in no case ever place a piece of copper on a broken part of the skin without the above precaution.
=Burns=.--A correspondent of the Philadelphia _Record_ vouches for the wonderful efficacy of the common cat-tail as a remedy for burns. He says: ”Take the down, and with just enough lard to hold it together, make a plaster and lay upon any burn, and it soothes and heals so soon that it seems a miracle. Put upon a fresh burn, and in less than half an hour the smart is gone; if it is an old burn, the healing will commence in twenty-four hours. 'Cat-tail' is also the Indian remedy for scrofulous sores or ulcers. Age does not destroy its healing virtues. It can be laid away and kept for years without losing any of its remedial properties.” Burns should be bathed with alcohol or turpentine and afterwards with lime-water and sweet-oil, but never with cold water.
Soft soap or apple b.u.t.ter are equally excellent for burns.
=Cancer.=--It is well proved that cancer cannot be successfully removed by use of the knife. Surgeon John McFarlane, of Glasgow, mentions the cutting out of _eighty-six_ cancers without effecting a _single cure_.
For those who are troubled we would say that there have been and there are remedies with permanent effects. The writer knows of a female physician in this city who has been very successful in achieving lasting cures in numerous authenticated instances.
=Chewing Gum and Other Substances.=--Regular chewing outside of meal hours of any substance is injurious. It unnecessarily excites the salivary glands, the strength of which should be reserved for eating. Do not chew the ends of your finger nails. Little pieces of the nails may be swallowed, which at some time--possibly quite remote--may cause you great pain, and even death. This has occurred. It has also been found by opticians and doctors that hardly anything will affect the eyes harmfully quicker than gum-chewing.
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