Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-04-09
HYGIENE OF THE BED.
A Matter of Great Importance t.
Every Member of the
Household.

A large proportion of our indoor life
Is spent in bed, and during these hours
the system is making an effort to re-
cuperate and renovate the system.
Our sleeping moments are supposed
to provide the needed rest, but much
of the system is actively employed in
poisonous secretions, and excretions
are either being accumulated or de-
posted upon the bed clothing or in
the atmosphere about the sleeping
room. The hygiene of the bed is OBJ
viously a matter of great Importance,
writes W.. T. Parker, NJ. d., in Good
Housekeeping. Generally speaking.
the house is built without any consid-
Grafton as to where the furniture is
to be placed. The bed. must take its
chances as to location, and often it is
quite impossible to avoid an unhealthy
situation; in fact, a situation danger
Gus to health and even life, To sleep
in a draft is quite as injurious as to
sleep in a room without suitable ven
tilation.
An ideal bedroom has at least two
good windows and an open fireplace,
and wall space enough to give the bed
a position well away from windows or
fireplace. The should have a
well made floor, painted, stained or
polished, with just enough rugs to
make dressing or undressing com
Portable. The bedstead should be one
readily cleansed; of course, for this
purpose metal is the best material, and
wood the worst. Screens are often
provided nowadays to protect the
sleeper.
That old abomination, the feather
bed, with all it's dangers and discom-
forts, has almost disappeared from
use, and the wooden bedstead. with its
monstrous headboard, always the
abode of dust and often vermin, is
also going out of fashion. Generous
sized sheets and blankets, with a light
comforter or extra blanket for cold
nights, should be provided. The coun-
terpane or spread should be always
taken off the bed and folded at night,
and more especially during sickness,
as it is unhealthy to sleep under 1t.
For the under sheet an old blanket is
exceptionally advisable, particularly
for those suffering from rheumatism.
For the same reasons, a slip cover
should be made for the pillows under
the ordinary case.
One notices in London, and in other
parts of England, and occasionally in
this country, the sign, "Well-aired
beds" which is a consummation de-
voutly to be wished. "Well-aired beds"
is the essence of hygienic law concern
ing our places of repose. The refresh
ing sensation of the clean, well-aired
bed is indeed a luxury. To accomplish
this, the bed clothing must be entire
ly removed from the bed and exposed
to the air, and if possible to the sun.
The most thorough way to do this is
to take bed clothing, pillows, and,
when convenient, the mattresses, out
of doors, where hanging. upon stout
lines in a sunny, breezy location, the
foul odors of the night can be blown
away. Not sooner than an hour after
rising should the bed be made up, a
longer interval being much more de
sirable. The sleeping room should not
be used any more than is absolutely
necessary by day, and an open window
should be brought into requisitior
whenever possible during the time il
is unoccupied; and always at night
The pure air is as much required by
night as by day, to say the least.
In our American hotels and board
ing houses, while the guests are al
breakfast, the beds they have just lief
are being made up. At night wher
sleeps sought under heavy bed clothes
and counterpart the chances for {
headache the next morning are exceed
ingly good. That feeling of being more
tired than when one went to bed is
often entirely dependent upon the alb
sence of all hygienic rules for a healthy
bed.