The Bath and Its Importance
The dirt of the skin and underclothing consists of the sweat and greasy matters exuded from the pores, together with the cast-off surface of the skin itself, which is continually scaling away. The importance of frequent bathing will be better appreciated when we remember what are the functions of the skin, and the amount of solid and fluid matter excreted thereby. The quantity varies greatly according to the temperature and moisture of the air, the work done, and the fluids drunk, but is probably never less than five pounds or half a gallon daily, and with hard labor and a high temperature this amount may be multiplied many times. From one to two per cent of this consists of fatty salts, without taking into account the skin scales.
A good cistern, spring or well of wholesome water is a positive necessity on every farm. A bath-tub and its frequent use are quite as essential to the welfare of the farmer.
In the cities, where soot and dense coal smoke soil linen and mulch the lungs and air passages, there is necessarily a greater regard for cleanliness on the part of the inhabitants than may be observed in the country, where the agencies which oppose cleanliness are of an entirely different composition and productive of different results.
The farmer during the summer season is lightly clad—a straw or hickory hat, a strong shirt, a pair of overalls, socks and heavy shoes constituting his bodily protection. The absence of underwear—sometimes socks—is excused upon the ground that the lighter the harness the less energy is diverted from the performance of work.
Clothed as he is, the farmer when working in the fields or engaged in any farm work, soon not only gets his clothing soiled, but the pores of his skin fill with particles of dust and this retards their normal and vitally necessary functions. No vocation in life makes frequent bathing unnecessary. Farmers and miners, perhaps more than any other class of laborers, who are continually in contact with the earth, need the elevating influence, physical and spiritual, of a daily bath.
From a moral and hygienic standpoint the matter of cleanliness, which is next to godliness, is of great importance, and it is fine evidence of intellectual progress and spiritual growth when men use more water and soap at the end of the day’s work.
For purposes of cleanliness a bath without soap and friction is perfectly useless, and warm water is more effectual than cold. The shock of a cold plunge or sponge bath, however, has a powerful invigorating influence on the nervous system, and helps it guard against the risks of catching cold. The purpose of health and cleanliness alike will be best served by the daily bath with cold water and once a week with warm.
Speaking of cold baths, we may take note of a popular error as to what this means. The temperature of the body is always a little under one hundred degrees F. If, then, in summer, a bath at sixty degrees F., or forty degrees below that of the body, is considered cold and gives the desired amount of shock, it will do the same in winter, and to insist on plunging into water still colder than that is, to say the least unreasonable. The cold bath, then, is one at forty degrees below the temperature of the blood, and is the same in January as in July. To bathe in water from which the ice is broken, as some do, is a result of misunderstanding or folly, and may be followed by dangerous consequences.
It is dangerous to bathe after a full meal, and also when fasting. An hour or two after breakfast is a good time, but if one wishes to bathe earlier, a bit of food should be taken first. Again it is dangerous to bathe when exhausted by fatigue, but the glow of moderate exercise is a decided advantage. A light refreshment and a short run or brisk walk are the best preparations for a swim, which should not be prolonged until fatigue and chill are felt, and should be followed by a rub-down, speedy dressing and a quick walk home.
When the resisting and rallying power and the circulation generally are weak, as shown by shivering, coldness of the extremities, and sense of exhaustion, river or sea bathing should be given up. So, too, persons whose lungs and hearts are weak, and above all those who have any actual diseases of those organs, should not attempt it. There is a general tendency among those who enjoy outdoor bathing to stay in the water too long. Boys in summer remain for hours at lake or river side, most of the time in the water. This is an exceedingly weakening practice. Half an hour is ample for all the benefit that can be derived from such a swim, and a longer time in the water is apt to be distinctly injurious.