Baths and Bathing. — In infancy, bathing or washing at least twice a day is necessary to preserve the skin in a healthy condition. In so doing, however, care must be taken that the surface of the body be not chilled; a judicious warmth (avoid- ing too great heat) should be studied. In the early weeks of life the body does not readily maintain its own temperature; hence the reason that the young of animals remain a certain time constantly near their mother. It is the same with our infants; no warmth is so equable or so good for them during the few first days or weeks of life as the warmth of their mother; hence, also, the necessity for a warm bath as the means of cleanliness. A fallacy lurks in the notion of hardening children. The argument in favor of the attempt so to do, drawn from the "state of nature," is altogether a dangerous fallacy. All that can really be said in its favor is that it is not possible to kill all the children submitted to the system. The delicate ones will be sifted out, and the hardy ones will survive in spite of "sys- 406 MEDICINAL. tern.** It is an error in reasoning to quote the savage state as that of nature, and, therefore, worthy of imitation. It may be urged with greater force that the nature of man's mental en- dowments tends to raise him from the savage to the civilized state. The natural state of man is that of civilization, with its attendant fostering care of infantile existence. Sponge Bath. — In after-life the daily sponge bath con- tributes greatly to the preservation of health, by the promotion of cleanliness, and by the exhilarating influence in stimulating the circulation of the blood on the surface of the body. The warmth of reaction is more sure to follow if the bath be used on rising, while the body is still warm, and before the surface is chilled by exposure in dressing In using this, a due regard to the feelings should be observed. Some persons are extremly sensitive to cold, while others enjoy its reaction and bracing influence. The temperature of the water should, therefore, be regulated by the climate, weather, and individual susceptibility. After sponging, the whole body should be briskly dried with a rough towel, and a glow of warmth will follow. Cold Bath. — (Temperature 50*-* to 60^.) — A cold bath will vary in its effects according as it is taken in a small bath, or in a river, the sea, or a quantity of water large enough for swimming, and according to the temperature of the air. The benefit to be derived from a cold bath is governed also pretty much by the state of the bather, or on the greater or less vigor of the heart's action, and of the circulation in the skin. A cold bath should not be taken with a cold skin; the best preparation is the warm glow of exercise. A plunge (head first) into cold water, even when hot and perspiring after exercise, and a good swim for a few minutes, is more surely followed by healthful reaction than the waiting until the body is dry and cool, or per- haps chilled by evaporation of perspiration. A cold bath with- out the active exercise of swimming should not be prolonged beyond three or four minutes; even the good swimmer must be warned that prolonged action of cold incurs the risk of cramp.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Baths and Bathing. — In infancy, bathing or washing at least twice a day is necessary to preserve the skin in a healthy condition. In so doing, however, care must be taken that the surface of the body be not chilled; a judicious warmth (avoiding too great heat) should be studied. In the early weeks of life the body does not readily maintain its own temperature; hence the reason that the young of animals remain a certain time constantly near their mother. It is the same with our infants; no warmth is so equable or so good for them during the few first days or weeks of life as the warmth of their mother; hence, also, the necessity for a warm bath as the means of cleanliness. A fallacy lurks in the notion of hardening children. The argument in favor of the attempt so to do, drawn from the "state of nature," is altogether a dangerous fallacy. All that can really be said in its favor is that it is not possible to kill all the children submitted to the system. The delicate ones will be sifted out, and the hardy ones will survive in spite of "system. It is an error in reasoning to quote the savage state as that of nature, and, therefore, worthy of imitation. It may be urged with greater force that the nature of man's mental endowments tends to raise him from the savage to the civilized state. The natural state of man is that of civilization, with its attendant fostering care of infantile existence. Sponge Bath. — In after-life the daily sponge bath contributes greatly to the preservation of health, by the promotion of cleanliness, and by the exhilarating influence in stimulating the circulation of the blood on the surface of the body. The warmth of reaction is more sure to follow if the bath be used on rising, while the body is still warm, and before the surface is chilled by exposure in dressing In using this, a due regard to the feelings should be observed. Some persons are extremely sensitive to cold, while others enjoy its reaction and bracing influence. The temperature of the water should, therefore, be regulated by the climate, weather, and individual susceptibility. After sponging, the whole body should be briskly dried with a rough towel, and a glow of warmth will follow. Cold Bath. — (Temperature 50° to 60°.) — A cold bath will vary in its effects according as it is taken in a small bath, or in a river, the sea, or a quantity of water large enough for swimming, and according to the temperature of the air. The benefit to be derived from a cold bath is governed also pretty much by the state of the bather, or on the greater or less vigor of the heart's action, and of the circulation in the skin. A cold bath should not be taken with a cold skin; the best preparation is the warm glow of exercise. A plunge (head first) into cold water, even when hot and perspiring after exercise, and a good swim for a few minutes, is more surely followed by healthful reaction than the waiting until the body is dry and cool, or perhaps chilled by evaporation of perspiration. A cold bath without the active exercise of swimming should not be prolonged beyond three or four minutes; even the good swimmer must be warned that prolonged action of cold incurs the risk of cramp.

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