Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-14
HOW TO BATTLE IN WINTER.
Some Valuable Hiuts from a Physician
on an Important Subject.


on an Important Subject.
II will tell you how to get Russian steam
bath at home that will be nearly as satisfactory
as ii you paid 81 for it at an hammam," said
the physician. Just have big friedrich
heated red-hot in the kitchen range and place
II upon an iron stool or some such thing, then
stand chair over the stool. Sit down on the
chair and have four-leaved screen put around
you, with blanket thrown over the top. Thus
you will find yourself in sort of closet. and,
having been previously provided with a jug of
not water, you amuse yourself by pouring it
very slowly over the hot brick. The water,
transformed Immediately into steam, fills the
Enclosed space and at once induces violent
perspiration."
1T would take more than 81 to induce me
10 go through such self-inficted ordeal" re-
good enough for me-"
DO You mean cold air or cold water?"
WY, cold water, of course; 1 never heard
Vi sueh thing as cold-air bath"
HOW TO TAKE coLD-AIR BATHS.
"Cold-air baths are excellent, nevertheless,
ana strongly recommend them as tonic for
persons who are not strong enough to indulge
IN cold water. In taking one the bather should
open ped room window wide-upon rising
IN the morning is the proper time-and stand
IN tne cold air perfectly nude, meanwhile
rupDing the limbs and body vigorously with
ory towel. There is no danger Of I, itching cold,
even when the thermometer is Gown to zero
outside, for the reason that the sensitive pores
OF 1he shin contract under the exposure so as
10 make 1t a lrst-rate protection. As for cold
water baths, deem them excellent for people
VI apuholht vitality, but the trouble Is that
very many who take them are not strong enough
10 endure their effects. Nobody who is in the
ieaSt delicate should ever touch cold water for
pathing purposes. In the case of a robust in
aiVidual. the blood, driven from the surface of
the BODY by cold water comes quickly rushing
back again under the ministrations of a brisk
rup and delightful glow is felt. But weakly
person, whose vital organs are not sufficiently
vigorous to send the blood swiftly back to the
superficial blood vessels, fails to experience the
nealth.oetokening reaction and is very apt to
feel a falntness instead. However. there are
mlld ways OF taking cold water baths which do
very Well IN winter, as well as in summer, for
those who are only moderately vigorous"
COLD WATER BATHING.
"Such as what dOctor?"
"The mildest process is simply to dip towel
IN cold water and wet only one portion of the
body at time, taking the parts successfully
first an arm, then a leg and SO on until the alb
luton Is completed, each part being rubbed
Dry before the next is moistened. In this way
son the best plan is to use towel sopped in
cold water In the ordinary fashion, with a
thorough rubbing, of course, to follow. But
do not indulge i'll any Of this nonsense in the
way OF harsh towels and flesh brushes, which
merely serve to get up local irritation soft
towels are much better to rub with. A gentler
method Of cold bathing than the plunge and
very good one, is to stand up in the tub and
squeeze sponge over your head; a disadvan-
tage OF this plan is that it is rather too shivery
to be comfortable. The kind of bath usually
advise, unless the patient is weakly, consists in
going over the entire body, after getting up
each morning. with towel wrung out in cold
water as quickly as possible. the dry rub fol-
lowing. In rubbing after a bath the attention
should be given almost wholly to the limbs; the
ITSELF"
ALSO HOT WATER.
Glow about hot baths?"
"Iot baths should not be too hot, and they
must not be stayed in long, else the effect will
be to partially raralyze the little blood vessels
that form network all over the body beneath
the skin, thus disordering the circulation. You
can see this effect for yourself by observing
how quickly the fingers become wrinkled at
the extremities when held in hot water, the
blood leaving the surface. The best time to
take warm baths is at night and two a week
are plenty for the purposes of cleanliness.
Bathing Is frequently overdone by people who
are over nice about their persons Turkish
baths should not be taken on cold days unless
the bather is very remarkably robust, and
never more than once week. am not in
favor OF too much bathing"
QUEER WAYS OF BATHING.
II have known many people who were not
in favor OF bathing at all, said The STAR re-
porter.
Il fancy they are a majority of the human
race. Bathing is a matter of instinct with
most OF the lower animals, including the birds
and certainly the fishes, while it doesn't seem
to be SO to any degree with man. Most people
don't battle, even in civilized countries to any
extent worth mentioning. OF all Europeans
the Russians are the most addicted to the
bath. In st. Petersburg there are vast vapor
baths, to which the common people repair by
thousands every Saturday night carrying
clean towels and birchen twigs. With the
twigs, while lying upon the marble slabs in the
baths, they fog each other severely, afterward
standing about red-hot stoves and pouring
pailsful OF ice water over one another.
The fogging stimulates the circulation.
and, when the reaction comes after
the ice-water performance, the bathers
lie about in condition of ecstasy
sort of nervous intoxication. The ancient
Romans, you know, were extravagantly fond of
bathing. They got their notions about the
bath as luxury from the Greeks and at one
time there were nearly 900 public bathing es-
Establishments in Rome, many of which were the
most beautiful and elaborate structures ever
seen in the world. The baths of the Emperor
Diocletian covered more than half of a square
mile and contained, besides immense basins
and thousands Of marble recesses, theaters,
temples, halls for feasting, promenades planted
with trees, libraries, schools for youth and
academies for the discussions of the learned.
The bathers sat on marble benches below the
surface of the water, around the edge of the
basins, scraping themselves with dull knives Of
metal and ivory and taking occasional plunges
into the water. The rich were scraped by their
slaves. Dissipated Romans would spend whole
days in the bath. seeking relief from over in
diligence in eating and drinking the night be-
fore. Everybody, even the emperor, used these
baths, which were open to every one who chose
to pay the price Of admission"
A BATH TUB $500 YEARS OLD.
"And did the old Romans have no bath tubs
in their houses?'
1T was not usual, though at q date 1,5O0
years before that or $500 years ago. the noble-
mon Of ancient Greece had their dwellings sup
piled with bath rooms and bath tubs of terra
Gotta. A portion Of such bath tub was found
by DIR. Schliemann in the palace of the kings of
Tiryns, contemporary with Achilles, Paris,
Hafop nd tbo ,ipof