Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-02
HEALTH AND HYGIENE.
some Points BASED on Long Medical
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Observation and study.
From series of lectures delivered before
the Academy OF Natural Science Of Phila-
delphia. the Resord of that city furnishes
the following health promoting facts:
large trunk, a good chest, a generous
framework to hold the heart, lungs and
digestive organs, greatly promote longevity
and are usually accompanied by a clear
rosy skin, plenty of blood in the body and a
good supply of vital force.
insufficient mastication and food that dis
agrees and only tichles the palate should
be avoided.
No one neglects bodily exercise to any
degree without paving the way for future
trouble.
A proper scheme for healthy living would
involve the training Of all the members OF
the body.
Muscles unused become smaller in size,
fabby and weak; use hardens, strengthens
and makes them more responsive to the
will.
A quick person always has the muscles in
good trim
Ready obedience of muscles to will is a
very important thing.
Exercise does more than strengthen and
harden muscles. A microscopic examination
shows muscles constantly used are the more
healthy.
The value of a bodily organ depends upon
its use The oftener it is disintegrated by
action and rebuilt by the proper putting to-
gether Of the food stuffs from the digestive
organs the more times 1t is remade, the
better 1t is.
The use Of the muscles eXerts a notable
influence upon circulation.
Athletes who have contracted heart trouble
either have not taken their training Judlci-
ously, or, having developed large heart,
neglect their athletic work and are then
visited with troubles which could have been
avoided by exercise
After passing competent inspection of heart
and lungs would-be athlete need fear no
danger from a gradual system of training.
Where the heart is prganically diseased
and the person enters Immediately upon
some tremendous muscular task the heart
may give way.
Each man in an athletic team should al
ways pacs a preliminary examination before
entering any contest.
Under proper muscular exercise the heart
drives the blood in increased volume, not
only through the muscles concerned. but
through all parts of the body and the
oxygen absorbed by the lungs Is conveyed
through the system more thoroughly, with
better elimination of waste materials.
Every contraction of muscle drives the
blood out of that muscle by squeezing the
vessels, whicn, as network, pierce 1t, and
the muscle is thus emptied. When relaxed
again the blood is driven into the muscle
and again squeezed out on the way to the
heart, so that every muscular action helps
the heart.
In man at rest the heart does prac-
tically all the work, when the man works the
muscles aid largely in the blood-pumping
process.
An overdeveloped heart will be of no in
convenience If the individual keeps up
normal amount of bodily exercise.
A man walking four miles an hour takes
in FIVE times as much oxygen as when at
rest.
A laboring man will In a day excrete
through the lungs in the form of carbonic
acid gas, an amount of carbon equivalent
to a lump of coke as big as his two fists.
Exercise should not make us breathe
much more rapidly than we do normally,
but deeper.
Most of us are too lazy with our lungs.
not knowing how to fill them evenly,
smoothly and fully.
Most people have hollows above their
collar bones, which is wrong. The apex
of the lungs should project UP into that
space and fill it pretty nearly full, making
an almost even surface with the neck.
One should breathe deeply and fully,
otherwise the lungs apex imprisons a
stagnant pool of air, soon filled with dust
and organisms of all kinds, and forms an
excellent germ breeder.
Most cases of phthlss begin in the apex
of the lungs
Women, though closer housed and more
away from the fresh air. do not have con-
sumption as mucn as men.
The lessened liability to consumption en-
joyed by women is due partly to their loose
throated dresses, allowing full expansion
Of the lungs at the apex, which most men
do not use.
The blood of a person getting a sufIl-
cheney of pure air tngles on the tips of the
fingers and toes, and the elimination of
waste matter in the food is much nearer
perfection.
man using his muscles demands more
food than an inactive one, but owing to
the increased circulation of the blood
through the muscles and to the increased
supply of oxygen. there will be better man
ufacture of gastric and other digestive
juices, and better digestion, absorption and
assimilation.
Muscular effort carries blood to the brain
and favors its nutrition.
Manual training and physical exercise
are valuable aids in the development of the
weak-minded and those who suffer from
mental trobles.
Proper bodily exercise causes the skin
to throw OFF large amounts of waste matter,
which otherwise would accumulate, irritate
and cause bad compilations.
No hard and fast hygenic rules can be
devised. Every man is a personal equation
by himself. What Is good for one may net
bo good for another.
To maintain the health a man OF $50
pounds needs exercise equivalent to raising
oUV tOnS one IOOL per uhy, or walking nine
miles per day. Do not walk the nine miles
in addition 10 other work.
The bicycle offers a practical, gentle means
of exercise to almost every one. Home
gymnastics, public gymanasia and the differ
ent games are to be recommended.
A cold bath is very unwlse for some
people. They should not go much below the
body temperature.
Common sense and individual tempera-
ment should cCntrol the temperature of the
bath. Some prefer 60 degrees Fahrenheit
while 20 to 10 degrees is generally favored.
With a hardy person cold bath invgor-
ates and stimulates all the various func-
tions and. followed by a good rubbing it
imparts a tone which nothing else can give
Beware of sea bathing Immediately before
or after meals.
Bathing too soon after eating has caused
the worst cases Of cramps through indges-
tlon, even where the digestive apparatus
from all surface indications appeared in the |
best order.
Do not eat too soon after surf bathing, |
as the violent exercise robs the digestive |
organs of the brood, and Indigestion results. |
Do not enter the water in a state of active |
nor yet wait until fully cooled |
off, because you are then in a state of ex-
treme reaction, and various forms of con-
gestlon may follow. Take your bath while |
warm, after perspiratlon has stopped, but
before completely cooled OFF Stay no longer |
than comfortable and dress quickly.