Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 August 1887 — The British Cold Water Crank. [ARTICLE]

The British Cold Water Crank.

London Oosiip New York World. This doctor also exploded the theory so prevalent in England that cold baths are conducive to vigor and health. Nearly every man in England talks about his cold bath. It is apparently one of the most entertaining subjects that you can suggest for conversation. The length of the bath, and whether it should be a plunge or a shower or the like afford an infinite variety to this ever delightful topic. I understand there is an association in England so rabid on this subject that they make it a rule to take a plunge into cold water out of doors every day of their lives, and do not stop even in midwinter except to first break Tibß lee. This learned, and at the same time one of the most successful, physicians in London said that many of the worst diseases which he had to treat could be traced back to the evil effects of too much cold bathing. Said he: “The theory of the cold bath is wrong. It attacks the vitality of the body at the very outset. It draws in the blood from the surface and concentrates it unnaturally upon the interior, and produces for the time being a tremendous tension. The wholeTffecfol the shock is a positive injury. The people whose systems are strong enough to react from the shock may think they are benefitted, but they have been simply strong enough to recover. No healthy person, much less a sickly one, should ever put cold water upon his body.”