Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-04-02

Not enough to Protect = You Must
Harden YOURSELF Against Cold.


Harden YOURSELF Against Cold.
OF the ordinary precautions against
catching cold l need say little. To dress
with sufficient warmth in winter, to
avoid suddenly checking the p%erspiration
in summer, to guard against cold feet the
year around, and against accidental un-
covering during sleep, to avoid draughts
and to keep warm in the cold-all these
precautions we know and practice 0
or less carefully, and yet many persons,
in spite Of them all, are among the great
est sufferers from colds.
Who are these unfortunate persons!
They are all of temperaments, habits and
ages. No age, no country, has not heard
their ~sneezings; and the chorus will
never cease until the sufferers learn this
lesson, which should be embroidered
upon every pocket-handkerchief in
Christendom: 1T is not enough to pro-
tect yourself against the cold. You must
also harden yourself against the cold.H
The people, then, who catch cold are
those who depend too much upon pre-
cautions and too little upon hardening,
and the more they protect themselves
without hardening, the tenderer they
become and the likelier to catch cold.
1t is like banking a river; the higher
you build the levees, the worse will be
the overflow when it comes. Those peo-
pie who defend themselves only by arti-
fee against colds are tho worst sufferers
from colds.
Now what regime can be recommended
to these sufferers? Certainly no extreme
or Spartan measures; for many of those
who suffer the most from colds are
delicate ladies, invalids, children, or
aged persons. To such it would often be
dangerous to recommend cold plunge
baths or long walks in rain or snow.
Theseare good tonics for some; but they
are for the strong, and not for the weak.
But the principle of treatment is the
same for all. These sufferers generally
have trait in common. They have
coddled themselves warmly as to have
ar over-sensitive skin; and this is the
great source of colds. Happily, it is a
condition that can be nationally treated
and usually cured.
How does the trouble begin? Very
often, perhaps usually, in childhood. An
anxious mother wishes to be sure that
her child shall not take cold; "and if 1
only keep him warm enough" she says
to herself, arguing from the name of the
thing-"if l can only keep him warm
enough, surely he will never catch eold."
So the child is burdened night and day,
summer and winter alike, with wraps
and coverings that keep him in perspira-
ton a great part of the time, and this
cause such tenderness of the skin that
catching cold on the least exposure is
inevitable. 1t is quite true that a child
should be kept warm. But the anxious
mother must bear in mind that in a
warm room OF on a hot day he does not
need as much clothing as when it is cold.
O~verheating, in a word, is the surest pre-
paration for colds; but with each new at
tack the ignorant mother can think of
nothing better than to make the house
warmer and the clothing thicker. Of
course the little sufferers skin becomes
still tenderer, and the colds more fire.
quent, Many an active little fellow, thus
coddled, has to spend the bright days Of
winter in watching from his bedroom
windows the sports of happier children
who are not SO tender but that they can
face the snow without danger.
Now what is to be done in such a case?
The treatment needed is simple enough,
though it needs intelligent care in the ap-
plication. These are my five rules for
hardening:
1. Cold plunge baths for the COM
.paratively few who can bear them.
2. Cold sponge baths daily for the ma
jority Of healthy persons.
8. AS much outdoor exposure, sum-
and winter, as possible, always with
clothing according to the season.
4. Avoid sleeping too warm at night;
the golden mean in the matter is the
best.
B. Many persons take cold by. having
cold feet, and for these the cold douche
to the feet is a most effective cure. It
stimulates the nerves and the arteries Of
the feet, and produces a brisk reaction Of
warmth. A single application will
sometimes set cold feet glowing that
have not been warm for a whole
In practice l have found
this a most effective remedy, and
while it is not to be used absolutely with
out precautions Of times and seasons
yet there are few persons so delicate as
not to bear perfectly well this moderate
and local exposure to cold, or to profit
by it, Often it will entirely sure the
lifelong affection of cold feet. The
the water the better; and il no
one has not the convenience Of a douche,
it will serve fairly well to stand in o tub
or basin filled to six inches deep with
the coolest water at command. The
reaction is essential.
In this matter Of colds an ounce of
prevention is worth at least a pound of
cure, a in other ailments. One who
will tougher himself as l have indicated
need not often ask, slow shall 1 cure
my coldE" for he will have already said
TO himself, First don't catch your
cold."-Titus Munson Coan, N. D., in
Harper's Bazaar.
Alteration Of tho Washington Mask.
A sad enough instance Of the form
-v1so1 A1wo. .1,o-oLs- ~