Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-14
HEALTHY BATHING

Il always keep my tuD tHTee-louTtHS luiI
of cold water. and whenever l come In
fl ON outdoors. halfbaked, or finish
some household task which leaves me
dripping with perspiration, 1 take a
plunge in this water. which is just the
right temperature from having stood an
hour or more I find this more comfort
ing than cold drinks the use of fan
On very hot days l am likely to hop into
the tub five or six times between sunup
and sunset. Just try my remedy and you
won't mind staying in town all summer
You know your tub is one thing you can't
have at cheap summer resort
So said a plump, rosy matron In the early
part of July, 1904. Today she Is In an Adj
rondack sanitarium fighting tuberculosis.
1t started with summer cold which Work
ed down to her lungs with the first coio
days When her physician heard of those
half dozen daily submersions, wSh the
sudden change from activity In a heateo
atmosphere to actual siesta In water
of IS degrees or less, he knew where the
cold" had started.
A Young woman who worked all last sum-
mer in lithographing establishment,
standing on her feet practically the entire
day, developed a perfect passion Tor not
baths. Every night before she retired she
would fill the bathtub with water at about
90 degrees and then leave the hot water
faucet open to trtckle slowly but constant
ly until the temperature of the water was
so high that to the inexperienced II Wou.o
seem to scald the skin. With her head
resting on a folded towel she would lie IN
this water reading a book, sometimes for
fifteen minutes or longer. If the water con-
tinued to trickle warmly and the DOCK nap
pened to be particularly interesting the
bath might even last an hour. Her argu-
ment was that the reaction from this very
hot water was so great that she could fall
asleep Immediately and not wake until
nry,fv hnx hnf ha n
About the first of the year she fell Ill.
Kidney trouble, her physician pronounced
it. but not necessarily fatal. But somehow
his patient did not rally. She had terrible
sinking spells and finally died of heart fall
ure, pure and simple, but not before her
physician had explained to her family that
In taking those eXaggerate ted hot baths every
night she had burned or steamed out her
very vitality, leaving no reserve strength
for fighting acute disease.
To Asbury Park last summer came a
young woman from the business world with
just three days of peasuring at her COM
mand. She wanted to make the most OF
this brief holiday and was especially fond
of surf bathing. One day after hearty
luncheon the breakers were particularly
inviting and she announced that she must
have a second bath. She had already bath
ed with the morning beach throng. Her
friends protested. 1t was too soon after
eating. They begged her to wait at least
an hour. She laughed them to scorn. She
had never known days Illness in her life.
Her digestion was perfect. She was in
Veterate tub bather. Half an hour later
a life saver laid her unconscious form on
the sand and 1t seemed hours to her friends
before she opened her eyes. The attack
of collie and cramps which had come on in
the surf was followed by peritonitis, during
which the girls life hung in the balance for
days.
These are some of the perils of fndiscreet
bathing in hot weather. The woman who
shrfnks from a daily Tubing all winter
long, and especially from cold water seems
her outraged system rebels. The Saturday
night tub Is now regarded as a relic of
hygienic barbarism by polite society; but
to go to the other extreme, excessive bath
Ing without working up to 1t gradually,
is equally barbarous. Nature demands that
habits, like the entire physical being. shall
be built up gradually, deliberately.
Taken properly and hygenically, the daily
bath is not only a beautifier. but 1t pro-
longs life and youth, stimulates all the Sc
creuons and energies. and soothes the tired
nerves All these good results spring from
its primary office cleanser of the mil
lions of pores all over the body.
y
What, then, Is the hygtenic daily bath?
No hard and fast rule can be given in reply
to this question. Every woman is a law
unto herself. and her daily tubing should
be governed by her own feelings and the
advice Of her family physician, who pre-
sumably understands her peculiar function
al habits and needs Every sort of bath Is
followed by some sort of rea ctfon, and the
bath best suited to your particular case is
the one which leaves you feeling strongest
and best. A few trials of various tempera-
lures will be the best test. When your ply
stefan advises hot ba tn he pha
% degrees or over; warm bath ranges
from SO down to 80: for the tepid bath you
may choose between so and So, but any
thing below the last figure Is cold bath.
All druggists and high-grade housefur-
nishers now carry bath thermometers, by
which you can test the temperature of the
water; and once having found the degree
best suited to your physical condition, you
can always keep 1t exact for your daily
bath.
A warm bath should be taken at least
once week in the interest of cleanliness,
for the daily cold bath is more of stimu-
liant than a cleansing process.
Summer Is the ideal time for testing
ones ability to endure the daily cold bath;
but no woman should make the change
too abruptly. Neither. after taking warm
baths all winter. should she attempt to
plunge into cold water, like the expert
enced cold-water fiend II she is accus-
toned to daily Tubing in warm water,
let her reduce the temperature OF the wa
ter few degrees each day until 1t drops
to g. II she cannot stand a cold plunge.
let her try sponging with cold water. For
this purpose she can use a foot-tub, filling
1t half or a third with tepid or warm water
in which she stands, and then sponge OF
the body with water from the cold faucet.
This sponging may be done with an ordi-
nary sponge. Turkish wash-rag or the
bare hands. Another way to educate one
self up to the daily cold bath u to use the
shower. Take q warm (not hot) bath,
lasting from six to ten minutes, and then
turn on the cold shower for quick finish
II you have no shower attached to your
tub. buy for Is cents one Of the rubber
tubes with a nickel spray attached. Of the
sort most often used for rinsing the hair
after shampoo. Attach this to the cold
water faucet and spray the body with 1t
briskly
One successful newspaper woman. who
a. th4 10 tnlr fy1n