The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-11-27
Are Baths Necessary to Health?

some time ago q professor IN the
northwest startled the community by
stating that we battle too much. that
bathing is not only unnecessary, but
that it is the cause OF more illness,
particularly pulmonary troubles, than
any other agency of our daily lives.
The professor may be correct. There
is nothing at hand to prove that he is.
He advocated taking no baths at all,
but keeping the body clean by a fire.
quent change of clothing. Like all ex-
tremists his shout echoed for a short
space of time and then died out in the
distance.
In the discussion of the hygienic
worth of baths an authority says that
too much bathing and rubbing. partic-
ularly with soaps that are strongly all
kaline, are to be avoided, The skin is
covered with scales that are constantly
dropping off as they mature. each TO
uncover a bright, new and clean one.
The skin is not an absorbent mem
brane and since the old scales are con-
stantly dropping off frequent bathing
is not a physiological need, but mere
ly an eXpedient to satisfy a personal
regard for cleanliness. The same au-
thority says that these scales should
not be soaked off or brushed off in
wholesale way. The oil in the skin is
a protection against the changes of
weather, and is also a necessity in it's
functional integrity. Persistent rub
bling and long bathing is therefore not
calculated to be of much physical
benefit
Within the past few years great
great strides have been made in the
cleanliness of the human race, and
scientific investigation has discovered
that it is far better to prevent disease
thanto cure it. Baths have been found
capable and effective means for the
preservation of health and the preven-
ton of disease, if they are taken Sensi-
bly, and with care. The kind of baths
referred to now are those taken in or
binary water, not such as are taken at
springs for their medicinal and mineral
value. On the other hand, careless
bathing and subsequent exposure has
unquestionably led the way to a great
many cases of consumption and pneu-
monia.
There is no need denying the luxury of
a bath. There is nothing tones up the
general system more or puts all the
nerves and pores of Ahe body in finer
working order. And personal cleanli-
ness cannot be advocated too strongly;
the old proVerb declares that ii is next
to goodness.
The claim that the body can be kept
clean by a frequent change of clothing
is not quite true; since all clothing
worn by man or woman is porous, and
some dust and dirt is bound to settle
on the body. 1t is an accepted fact that
those whose employments soil their
clothes and bodies most are the very
ones who battle most infrequently.
Medical authorities claim that there
ha oil rx-ni
has its origin in a chronic lack of
cleansing the skin.
Admitting that people who do not ac-
quaint their persons with soap and wa
ter do get old does not prove that baths
are unhealthy. Some people get old
who~Sannot read, yet only the fool will
agree that illiteracy is necessary to
longevity. Baths were unknown to
some of our forefathers and were con-
idered unnecessary. But the Roman
patrician considered his morning bath
not only a luxury but an absolute ne
cessity. Frequently it was the only
way to relieve him of the effects of a
nights debauchery. There is no need
to claim for baths that they are indis-
pensable; but that they are invigorat-
ing, healthy and advisable experience
has proven. They are of aid to physi-
clans, and many employ bathing as
the sole means to counteract fever, in
stead o. applying internal medicines
The opposition to bathing is to be
found, not in the baths themselves, but
in the careless manner in which they
are taken Just to cite an example
which is very apropos in this hot
weather. A man viii return from his
office thoroughly fatigued and sticky
with perspiration. His entire body is
heated. He jumps into a bathtub in
which the temperature of the water is
considerably lower than the normal
temperature of the human system.
What is the result? 1t may be a seri-
Gus one. The reaction will act on the
heart and if that organ is weak there
may be a serious affection. At all
events the shock is hurtful to the sys-
tenn. The manner in which a man in
such a condition should proceed is to
divest himself gradually, cool off slow
ly and then. after having sprinkled his
body with water, merge it into the wa
ter Plunge bathing is always depress-
ing to human energies and should be
avoided by the debilitated. Father
Kneipp. in his famous system of wa
ter cure. recommends these plunges
even in the coolest weather but medi-
cal authorities differ sharply with him
and claim that such a procedure would
be suicide to many constitutions.
The question of cold or hot baths is