Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-26
THE DAILY BATH

The daily bath is quite generally ac-
cepted as the natural and inevitable in
PRODUCTION to the days routine for ev-
cry we'll bred man or woman. The few
voices still raised in defense of the old
time Saturday night function have as
sumed O tone either family apologetic
or obstinately aggressive. The great
majority are tactfully silent, appreci-
ating the futility of attempting to cloak
carelessness or laziness with transpar-
ent theories of health. Even the vain
braggart with his superior references to
his daily plunge" has begun to realize
that "he doth protest too much" fol
one to the manner born.
There are, doubtless, a few brave
souls who still believe sincerely in the
theory that daily baths are weakening
We would advise them to seek doc
tors advice as to the individual appli-
cation of their theories; as for the gen.
eral application, common sense, expert
ence and medical science all combine
to pronounce it a mistake. There are
baths and baths, hot baths, cold baths
tepid baths, tub baths, sponge baths
and showers, some adapted to the weak
and some to the strong. She who would
base her conclusions as to her welfare
upon the results of any one without
first trying all Is making a serious
blunder 1t is, indeed, the exceptional
person who will not find benefit for her
health and comfort, as well as gen.
eral sense of well-being, in one of the
many kinds of baths. No one can pos
sibly be injured by being clean every
morning.
For many, possibly for the majority,
a cold bath is too much of a shock. II
there is not an immediate reaction after
it, even with a vigorous rubbing, 1t Is
undoubtedly a mistake. Some find a
quick cold plunge or shower after
warm bath beneficial, when they can
not endure a cold tub. 1t requires a
tremendous amount of vitality to take
the cold bath, but its reward lies in the
added vitality that it gives, sending the
blood surging through the BODY, ano
stimulating all its activities. II 1t acts
in Just the opposite way, leaving one
shivering and blue, then 1t is a serious
bIunder to repeat the experiment. A
very hot bath is rather stimulating
than otherwise, since it excites the cir
culation. and it has the virtue of being
infinitely more cleansing than the cold
bath, and of drawing the blood from
the brain to the skin so that 1t acts as
a sedative at night.
The tepid bath neither adds to the
vitality nor takes from it, and is con-
seuuently best adapted to those who
are not very strong. 1t is, of course,
not wise either to eat or to go out di-
rectly after a hot bath, since 1t draws
the blood from all the vital organs and
opens the pores. The cold bath Is the
greatest protection against exposure,
but it decidedly is not cleansing. That
means that the ideal bath Is combina-
tion of the tepid and the cold; either
a scrub in a tepid bath in the morning,
followed by a quick cold shower or
plunge, or a cold bath in the morning
for stimulation and refreshment, fol-
lowed by a warm or hot bath just De-
fore going to bed. We may forego the
stimulation, delightful and exhilarating
though it be, but we cannot afford to
dispense with the bath that makes us
clean, and that Is the warm or hot
bath.
Among all these every person, wheth-
er strong or weak, no matter what his
idiosyncrasies, should be able to find
one adapted to his needs without
weakening his vitality; in fact, with
the decided effect of increasing 1t, since
the health of the entire body must
needs be increased by keeping the
pores open and active.
The brain must indeed be befogged
that thinks those pores may be kept
open without the daily scrub. Those
of us who have the most elementary
knowledge of physiology know that
the dirt and dust of the outside world
are only a small part of the accumu-
lation that forms on every healthy
skin. The skin itself Is pouring forth
through its perspiratlon ducts and oil
glands, fats, carbonic acid gas, salts,