Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-01-10
Health Talks by Dr.. Brady
Onngiu Onnr,n.

Nobody ever asks whether il is hyEicnic
| or safe to bundle up With more clothing than
| actual comfort demands. to coddle But n
| great many readers ask whether II Is safe
| to leave off ones wintcr-wcight undics now
and then for some formal occasion, or whc ther
! any risk 10 health is involved in going with
! out ones red flannel chest protector, or chang
! ing boots TO shoes. or from high to low, or
from linen wool silk to cotton without
regard for the calendar the weather.
great deal of harm. much unncccssary
Ill health ana sickness. is caused by wear
Ing more clothing than comfort demands. but
no harm at all is done by changing from heavy
to light or from more TO less clothing at any
time in any weather. FOR hour or many.
II Is all 4 question of individual comfort.
Anyhow. the less one wears in the way of
clothing at any time or under any circun,-
stances. certainly tho more hygienic. a little
more covering Of the body than Is needed to as
sure reasonable comfort Is weakening: Il
lowers ones natural resistance against the
very group or diseases which the un.nligh,cned
imagine are kept of by coddling. namely. tho
respiratory diseases. The moro nearly naked
we can be at all times the better for our
health. More than women have pncu
'nonia-which fact is not consistcn: with the
notion that exposure is n contributing cause
OF pneumonia, for If exposure were n factor
certainly tho women would FAR outnumbcr the
mon In pneumonia statistics. because women
do expose their chests and men do not.
From purely hyEicnic point of view, as
Stunning IN unprejudiced mind and familiarity
with the actual and experimental evidence
bearing on the question. II Is impossible to
Imagine that too little clothing all the time
or at any particular time has any Injurious
erect on human health. True. exposure to
cold causes one serious result. but only one,
namely, frostbite In one form or another
livery bit OF admissible evidence that has
been deduccd only adds further weight TO this
conviction.
Now, then, think wooden underwear Is
most comfortable for most people in the tenn
pcrate and north temperate zones in the cold
season Of year. Al the same time / know,
that many vigorous young persons are com
Portable and well within hysicnic law wear
Ing nothing more than sheer cotton athletic
underwear or none at all. practically. Per-
haps few middle aged or elderly persons
may emulate the youngsters in this SILK
IL even better. hygicnically. than wool for
underwear and stockings OF course the
stocEngs and underwear should he OF the same
texture and weight, for comfort. If one is
comfort q bic with just imitation stockings we'll
and good: IL is entirely hyGicnic Don't be
mlslcad about that, children Co without stock
ings at all IL you are more comfortable
without EN-. so far as the hygiene OF the mat
ter is concerned I merely remark that we
oldstcrs who were little too much coddlcd
for our physical we'll being in our Infancy
and youth, find light weight sort of stock
iretic-knit (I have in mind no particular
make or brandy wooden OF mostly WOODEN with
little cotton), WOO! and silk union suit
the most comfortable armor in the winter time
for protection against the overhented atinos-
phere indoors we'll as the wintry blasts
outside.