West-Jersey pioneer., 1875-09-16
DRESS WARM.

Winter is far more fatal to the old and to
invalids, the frail and feeble, than July;
this fatality is chiefly in the direction of
diseases excited by colds, especially lung
affections. Any one of fifty years will be
surprised at the number of old friends who
have gone before, from pneumonia, 1t is
simply inflammation Of the lungs or lung fe-
yer; it is a cold settling on the lungs, pre-
ceded generally slight feeling of chilliness
Or shiver, running over the body; many
times so slight as not to have been noticed.
This is mainly the result of our very change
able climate; many times marking differ
ence Of twenty or thirty degrees in a few
hours; and when there is harsh wind, as is
often the case, doubling the difference in
reality, although not indicated by the ther-
mometer.
The winds are the real source of danger,
because they carry the heat from the body
with great rapidity. The two most fatal
causes are, having draught of air on some
one part of the body, sitting still in raw,
damp place.
It is impossible to be always on the look
out for draughts of air, and in riding sitting
still is unavoidable. But there is an easy
protection against these, found in warm
clothing. The first point is to keep the feet
well protected, then the body, especially
along the back bone, from the nape of the
neck downward, a breadth of three inches
on the line of the shoulders, widening to
six inches or more at the small Of the back
the want of proper protection there, at al
times out of bed, is cause of Bright's dis
ease of the kidneys.
These important organs of the body were
indended by nature to be kept abundantly
warm. Hence in health they are enveloped
in a case of fat, so as scarcely to be seen, as
may be noted any day in a butchers shop;
if chilled the blood ceases to circulate; it
congests, becomes SO impacted in the little
blood-vessels, that the albumen of the blood
is forced through, where only it's watery
parts were intended to be passed. This
albumen is the very life, the support of the
body, to give it it's strength and flesh; but
| when it is passed off through the bladder,
| it is lost, and the man dwindles away to a
| skeleton; the congestion continuing in some
cases, the blood itself follows, and death is
inevitable; hence it is specially important
| in the old, that the small of the back should
| be comfortably warm.
| Between the shoulder blades behind the
lungs are attached to the body, and at nc
other point. Ali know how soon wind on
the back will give cold. A very few min
utes, sitting with the back to closed win
dow or door, will cause chilliness, even il
Summer time, because there is draught Of
air through the jointings; hence the space
between the shoulder blades should be es-
pecially protected in cold weather, either by
strip Of buckskin or of stout woolen fan
mel, attached to the garment ordinarily wor1
next the skin in the daytime.
But for all over fifty, for the frail and fee
BILE, a better plan is to wear next the Skin
both drawers and shirt made of very thick
knitted material, and made to fit about as
close as an ordinary stocking; the action O.
such garment is to retain the heat of the
body as well as to protect it against the e1
ternal cold. 1t has two other advantages
it is open enough to allow the emanations
of the body to escape from it, while the ac
tual dampness of perpiration is conveye,
from the inner to the outer surface. As
matter Of mere experiment, any intelligen
reader might try such inner garments for
single Winter, and be governed by the re
suit for the future, putting them on abou
the 1st of December, not to be remove
until June. Halls Journal Of Health.