Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1870 — Bathing. [ARTICLE]

Bathing.

BY AN EMINENT PHYSICIAN.

Bathing may be practised for pleasure, for cleanliness, and for health. There is no more pleasurable excitement than the bath,*properly prepared and arranged. In our climate, it is only in the summer that the luxury of bathing in the sea or lake or river can be indulged in, and then only for a limited period. It is a healthful sport to all classes, but especially to the young, when judiciously managed, combining, as it does, vigorous exercise of all the muscles of the limbs in a gentlyresisting medium which surrounds and envelopes the body. Bathing for pleasure requires that the water should be of an agreeable temperature; it must neither be too hot nor too cold, and this will be determined very much by the health of ,tbe individual To a robust person in a nude state, the cold water of the lake and sea

during ths rammer heato is most exhilarating, while to the feeble it la chilling and depreaalng. The degree of temperature must be regulated by the sensations, and especially tne reaction of the system after the first plunge. If the body eo reacts that the water feels comfortable and agreeable, the bath will be pleasurable and healthfal; but if reaction is feeble and the water seems to become colder, the bath will be injurious. To enjoy a bath fully, the bather must be nude. The condition of the body at the time of the bath now spoken of is also important ; it should not be overheated ana in a state of perspiration, for this would lead to an immediate congestion that might result in grave diseases of the internal organs. Nor should the person be greatly fatigued, as this condition would tend to prevent prompt and healthfal reaction. Finally, the bather should exercise vigorously during the b*th, and not remain in the water until It begins to grow cold and uncomfortable. On leaving the bath, the skin should always be dried thoroughly, and then rubbed by the person himself, until it is all aglow. Bathing for cleanliness should be regulated as follows: 1. Those parts of the body liable to become daily unclean or offensive should be daily bathed in warm soaped water; 2 The whole body should be bathed in similarly prepared water every fourth day. The object of such bathing is to cleanse the body of all kinds of filth. This filth may be acquired from the external world, or it may be inherent; the former consists of lint from the clothing, dust from the air, etc, and the latter the ever-separating epithelium, or scarf-skin, the oil from the glands of the skin, etc. Warm water and soap are the best solvents of these substances. Such a bath may be safely taken just as the person is retiring for the night, and is a great luxury, often securing a most refreshing night’s sleep, and not liable even in winter to render the bather susceptible to cold afterward. It is well to lie down first in the water for a few minutes, and gently rub the skin with the hand; this relaxes the skin and softens the layer of epithelium; then stepping out, the body should be rubbed with the soap until a lather is formed. On entering the bath, the scurf (for this is its proper term) separates and leaves the skin soft and perfectly clean. A dash of cold water over the body, followed with gentle friction of a soft towel, is the last step. Bathing for health offers a wide field for discussion. The bath, in its various iorms, medicated and unmedicated,.is a most important remedial measure; unfortunately, it is too much in the hands of uneducated practitioners, who, by their malpractice, tend to bring it into discredit. No general rule can be laid down which it is safe for the invalid to follow but this—namely, consult a competent physician.— Hearth and Home.