San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-01
WHEN AND HOW TO BATTLE.
There Are Times When Plunge Into Cold
Water Is Really Dangerous.

There Are Times When n Plunge Into Cold
Water Is Really Dangerous.
In considering the subject of injudicious
bathing, one of the medical journals reiterates
that it is highly dangerous TO plunge into the
water just after a meal or while fatigued.
An hour before noon and before going to
bed are the best times to bathe Theaverage
duration of the bath should be from five to
ten minutes for children, fifteen minutes for
women, and but little longer for men. To
delay much beyond these periods is per
ncious practice, inviting debility and in
iurv. How often one sees. in a stroll along a
popular sea beach, groups Of drenched, mis-
cradle objects, with blue lips, chattering
teeth and wrnkled, clammy skin, who have
been spending half morning in alternately
plunging into the waves and walking about,
dripping, in the cool air. They return from
what should have been an invigorating dip
in condition approaching collapse.
Such abuse of sea bathing is, unfortunate
ly, too common, even among those who have
sought the seaside for the improvement of
impaired health.
The immediate effect of cold bath is to
chill the surface of the body, the tempera'
ture of which, as tested by thermometer,
may fall several degrees-as much even as
three or four The skin becomes pale, the
lips blue, there is chilliness, shivering, goose
skin, and the breath has a spasmodic and
catching character
Cold bathing is salutary under certain con
ditions of the system, while in Others it is ca
pable of great harm 1t benefits the strong
and robust and it can be made a restorative
and tOnic-a revitaiizer-tO the run down.
when wisely and judcouSly used.
Aged people should use it with much care.
and not oftener than every other day, and
should not remain in the water longer than
ten minutes at the most Persons who have
heart or kidney disease and those in feeble
state of health should not indulge. If the
bather does not remain i'll too long, ''reac.
ton" sets in, the chillineSS gives place to
pleasant glow and feeling of comfort and
agreeable exhilaration. This reaction follows
most quickly when the bath is of short dura
ton The shorter the bath the less is the
ultimate depression of the temperature of the
blood The shorter the bath the greater l.
its power OF stimulating the functions; the
longer it is continued, the greater is the cool
ing effect and the consequent lowering Of
vitality.
The best of all baths is the SWIMMING bath.
for in it the bather can indulge i'll a free ex
ercise of his limbs, such as is hardly attaina
BILE under any other circumstances. Swim
ming is a very valuable exercise, as it brings
into action a large number of muscles. 1t
employs the arms equally with the legs, and
leads to healthy development OF the mus,
cles of the chest. Nearly all good swim
mers are big chested. a sea bath has also
another great advantage over all other forms
of bath-that it is taken in the purest air
possible Reaction more readily occurs after
a sea bath than after a river bath, and
thus the liability to catch cold" is less.
although the popular belief that it is impOssi-
bic to take cold from a wetting with salt
water is far from the truth
The practice into which the fair sex has
fallen, of sitting about for a long time after
Coming out" in order to dry their hair is
injurious and should be avoided. As soon a.
the bather leaves the water the body should
be dried thoroughly and the clothing assumed
as rapidly as possible.
Serious injury of the ear, resulting even il
deafness, has occurred in consequence of the
waves striking forcibly on the side of the
head. Put light cotton plug into each ear
New York News.