The feet and legs ought every morning to be bathed, not by stand-
ing in the water while the body is being washed, but by putting one foot
in the water, and then the other, washing quickly with a sponge, and
allowing the water to trickle from the sponge, from'the knees down-
ward. The feet ought to be kept as clean as the hands, and if the nails
are cut as often, and they are attended to carefully, it will be a means
of warding off corns and bunions.
The best time to bathe is just before going to bed. It will assist
one's sleep, giving a quiet, restful feeling. Never wash the hair before
going to bed, as one is apt to catch cold. Reserve that for a day when
you can stay in the house. Many take a bath on first rising, and this
seems to agree with them, but on others it has a very depressing and
exhausting effect. Never take a bath just after a meal.
If oatmeal is used in the water while bathing the hands and face, it
will soften and whiten them ; or rubbed on dry after the hands and face
have been dried with a soft towel.
CARE OF THE TEETH.
The comfort of a pure breath, and the agreeable effect of a clean and
healthy mouth, is something to rejoice over and be proud of in these
days of dentistry, when they, the dentists, seem to be the best patron-
ized of any in the medical profession. Decay is not the only enemy to
the teeth, but the accumulation of tartar upon them has an equally bad
effect. This must in any case be removed by an experienced dentist,
and after that they must be carefully attended to.
Simple measures regularly employed are sufficient for healthy mouths.
Patent nostrums and advertised powders and washes should be avoided.
Any wash that is recommended for whitening the teeth is either inca-
pable of accomplishing what is claimed for it, or does so at the expense
of the integrity of the enamel. The habitual use of astringent washes
or powders, so far from being conducive to the health of the gums, is
injurious. Strongly alkaline washes are also injurious. Washes or
powders containing alum, cream of tartar, charcoal, ground barks or
acids of any description, are injurious, either because of a chemical
action upon the teeth, or because the ingredients are apt to get under
the gums. Tooth powders containing excessively gritty or abrasive
ingredients, do injury by roughening instead of polishing the enamel
surfaces of the teeth. Perhaps there is no agent in common use for
356 THE TOILET.
cleansing the teeth worthy of such utter condemnation as powdered
charcoal. Its continued use, besides loosening the teeth, causes the
gums to assume a tattooed appearance.
A mouth wash may be anodyne, astringent, stimulant or tonic ; but
if the secretions are natural and the gums healthy, the wash should
merely be pleasant to the taste and agreeable in odor. A tooth powder
for a healthy condition of the mouth and teeth, should be purely a
mechanical agent, possessing a hardness sufficient for the removal,
without liability to injure the enamel, of slight accumulations of food
and tartar.
Page 315
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The feet and legs ought every morning to be bathed, not by standing in the water while the body is being washed, but by putting one foot in the water, and then the other, washing quickly with a sponge, and allowing the water to trickle from the sponge, from the knees downward. The feet ought to be kept as clean as the hands, and if the nails are cut as often, and they are attended to carefully, it will be a means of warding off corns and bunions.
The best time to bathe is just before going to bed. It will assist one's sleep, giving a quiet, restful feeling. Never wash the hair before going to bed, as one is apt to catch cold. Reserve that for a day when you can stay in the house. Many take a bath on first rising, and this seems to agree with them, but on others it has a very depressing and exhausting effect. Never take a bath just after a meal.
If oatmeal is used in the water while bathing the hands and face, it will soften and whiten them ; or rubbed on dry after the hands and face have been dried with a soft towel.
CARE OF THE TEETH.
The comfort of a pure breath, and the agreeable effect of a clean and healthy mouth, is something to rejoice over and be proud of in these days of dentistry, that the dentists seem to be the best patronized of any in the medical profession. Decay is not the only enemy to the teeth, but the accumulation of tartar upon them has an equally bad effect. This must in any case be removed by an experienced dentist, and after that they must be carefully attended to.
Simple measures regularly employed are sufficient for healthy mouths. Patent nostrums and advertised powders and washes should be avoided. Any wash that is recommended for whitening the teeth is either incapable of accomplishing what is claimed for it, or does so at the expense of the integrity of the enamel. The habitual use of astringent washes or powders, so far from being conducive to the health of the gums, is injurious. Strongly alkaline washes are also injurious. Washes or powders containing alum, cream of tartar, charcoal, ground barks or acids of any description, are injurious, either because of a chemical action upon the teeth, or because the ingredients are apt to get under the gums. Tooth powders containing excessively gritty or abrasive ingredients, do injury by roughening instead of polishing the enamel surfaces of the teeth. Perhaps there is no agent in common use for
cleansing the teeth worthy of such utter condemnation as powdered charcoal. Its continued use, besides loosening the teeth, causes the gums to assume a tattooed appearance.
A mouth wash may be anodyne, astringent, stimulant or tonic ; but if the secretions are natural and the gums healthy, the wash should merely be pleasant to the taste and agreeable in odor. A tooth powder for a healthy condition of the mouth and teeth, should be purely a mechanical agent, possessing a hardness sufficient for the removal, without liability to injure the enamel, of slight accumulations of food and tartar.