Cleanliness
It is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. Good health is dependent upon the care of the body, and the body will not remain in a healthful state unless frequently bathed.
The fact that thousands of persons enjoy good health without even taking an infrequent bath, must not be used as an argument against regular bathing. These persons, if in health, live out of doors, and Nature seems to take care of them; but it is obvious that they would be healthier and stronger if they gave proper attention to bodily cleanliness.
The majority of city dwellers, and a large proportion of those living in the country, work indoors, and their health is dependent upon their personal cleanliness.
Opinions differ, and some hygienists do not consider the daily bath essential, but the majority of those who have studied the subject maintain that perfect health requires the daily bathing of the entire body.
Without the daily bath one does not begin his work refreshed or with exhilaration.
A scrub is not to be recommended more than once a week, but a bath should be taken daily, and the entire body rubbed with a dry towel, a bath towel to be preferred. Emersion in a tub of water is not necessary, although it is the best and easiest way of taking a bath, next to a shower bath. A sponge bath answers all purposes.
A cold plunge should not be taken without the advice of a physician. The shower bath is very refreshing. A hot bath is seldom advisable. It is better to have the water of a temperature not much higher than that of summer heat. A pure soap should be used, and care should be taken to rinse it from the body. The daily bath is the best preventive of colds. Comparatively few people who bathe daily suffer from more than transient colds.
The bath should not be taken in a draught. If the room is cold, work rapidly and use additional time for rubbing, continuing it until the skin glows.
The practice of partial bathing is not to be recommended. When you take a bath, take it all over.
If away from home, and sleeping in a hotel bed, which may have been occupied by a diseased person, it is well to go over the body carefully in the morning with an antiseptic soap. Every hotel, and all public conveyances, are laden with germs, and a bath will prevent many diseases.
A few drops of ammonia or a teaspoonful of borax placed in the water in which you bathe will remove the odor of perspiration, but ammonia should not take the place of good soap.
Clothing Afire.—Force the person afire to lie down and roll him over and over. Wrap him in a rug or blanket, or anything else at hand. Throw water upon him, but do not wait for water. Wrapping him in a blanket is sure to extinguish the flames. Under no circumstances allow the person afire to run about or out of doors.
Colds.—Use simple remedies, such as hot lemonade, but if the cold does not soon abate, consult a physician.
Diphtheria.—Consult your physician. Never go near a case of diphtheria or allow a dog, cat, or other animal to enter the sick-room. Be careful of every utensil, and do not allow any one else to use them until they have been washed in antiseptics. Never handle any clothing or other articles in a sick-room.