The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-03-10
Bathing for Health
and Comfort.
By DIR. ]. C. BAYLES.


That bathing may be overdone and
assume the character of a vice Is q
statement which may surprise the
reader, but it Is strictly and literally
true. Much misleading advice has
been given on this subject, and thou
sands have suffered lasting injury
from following it. Cleanliness cannot
be carried to excess, but the abuse OF
the bathtub is easily possible, and
when abused, It Is an evil Of a seri-
Gus character. That bathing may be
an e%nfeebling self-indulgence was
strikingly illustrated during the per-
Tod of the Roman decadence. The
men who led the Roman legions in
world conquest were not the gilded
youths who wasted their strength and
slapped their virility in the baths Of
D~iocletian.
Primarily, soaking the body is not
essential to as high a degree Of clean
illness as health and comfort demand.
Millions of self-respecting people
have no opportunity to do this, and
some who may do it prefer other
methods of washing. If the bathtuh
Is used at all it should be temperate
Iy and %discreetly, and no o fire.
~luently than experience shows to be
consistent with the maximum Of phys
ical vigor. For most people twice a
week is often enough for immersion
oathing, and for some even this Is
zoe frequent.
The temperature Of the bath
should be that which gives least dis
comfort to the bather. AS a rule,
very warm baths should be taken only
when prescribed by a physician of
judgment. They are enervating, in
volve grave risk of resulting colds,
and should always be followed by
sleep to restore the normal tone of
the system. Cold baths are danger
Gus, and when they shock the system,
should be avoided. 1t does not make
them safe or beneficial to find that
the circulation can be restored and a
comfortable glow" established by
vigorous skin friction with a rough
towel. Most of those who discover
either pleasure or benefit in this
method of bathing are misled and
mistake the ability to recover from
shock for a healthy and stimulating
reaction. There are really a very few
persons for whom a conscientious
physician would advise cold baths at
home or at the seashore than
one a day, and very brief at that.
The surf bather who comes out Of the
water chilled, with blue fngernails
and a desire for alcoholic stimulants,
had better remain on dry land.
Whether in fresh or salt water, the
cold bath is not cleansing. The Sc
cretions of the skin are not dissolved
and removed by cold water, and all
the clea- ing, value Of such a bath is
in the towel. In most cases the cold
bath in winter is a piece of brutal
bravado. The person who leaves a
warm and comfortable bed to step
into a tub of cold water would, per-
haps, be a hero IL any good and use
full purpose was served by his act;
as 1t is, he is merely illustrating the
utter futility Of self-sacrifice for its
own sake.
The best temperature of water for
bathing or washing is that at which
it gives NJ n of shock on touching
the skin. This means that 1t should
be about Observation-Disclosures nine
ty-fve and 100 F. This is as true
in summer as in winter. Cold water
tends to close the pores and suppress
natural perspiration, and a cold bath
greatly increases the discomfort from
high temperatures. The only sane
way to ''cool off" is to start the pers-
piration freely. One Of the wisest
women l know is stout, and when the
heat in summer becomes so great that
she cannot stand it another minute"
she takes a broom and begins to
sweep. This starts the perspiration;
a sponge-bath in tepid or warm water
REFRESHED the skin, and for the re-
mainder of the day she is comfort
able.
In winter, hot baths are safe only
when the bather can go at once to
bed and to sleep. At any other time
sponging with tepid or warm, water
Is altogether better. Properly used
and cared for. the sponge is an admir-
able agent of cleanliness. 1t should
itself be kept clean and sweet and
frequently refreshed in the sun. A
sponge which has a gelatinous feeling
when wet needs a sun-bath, and
should not be used until 1t has rad
1t.
Soap is something to be selected
with care. Fortunately. some Of the
best soaps are the cheapest. Too
copious a lather is a danger signal,
as it means that the soap has taken
up a larger amount of the natural
unguent Of the skin than can be
spared.
There Is no advantage in a rough
towel A soft, absorbent towel is at
once more comfortable and better
for the purposes for which a towel
is used. To rub the skin to redness
is to irritate and abrade it, and this
should never be done except with
hands and face, which are toughened
by exposure to wind and weather.
Even with them it is unnecessary.
The safest general rule as to bath
ing is to consider comfort, and not
sacrifice it to mistaken standards OF