BATHING IN SUN

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 101, 23 January 1933, Page 5

BATHING IN SUN

Small Doses of Rays CARE IS NECESSARY Properly used—and much depends on taking correct precautions—sunbathing increases the resistance agains disease. It has a valuable preventive action, is a wonderful aid to convalescence, and tones up the whole system of healthy people. . To understand how this is brough about it is essential to realise that th. skin is not merely an impervious covering like parchment, but a living oigafl, several layers in thickness. IIUOU S the skin much of the waste products of the body is excreted, and sun-rays may be absorbed through these layers into the blood-stream.

Storing Sunslune. It has been proved that the good effects of sun-bathing may be stored in the system for some considerable time. So if you sun-bathe and let your children sun-bathe with due care and precaution during the summer holidays you can definitely increase your resistance to colds during the coming winter. This action of sunshine is preventive and not curative, and real sunshine absorbed during the summer is far more valuable thQn ultra-violet lamp rays given during the winter, bun-bathing means, to most of us, lying with little or no covering in broiling sunshine at the seaside for one or two hours with the object of acquiring a beautitui bl ßut this is intensive sun-bathing and must be reached by easy stages, it is possible to absorb small, but very beneficial, doses of sun-rays all day long in sunny weather if light, loose clothing, with open necks and short sleeves, is worn. Aloreover, it is not essential to be at the seaside in order to sun-bathe, though the strength of the ultra-violet or glaring rays is, of course, much increased by reflection from the sea. Lying in Garden. Great benefit may be derived by sunbathing in a garden, or even in the house with the windows open or fitted with vita-glass. Unfortunately, particularly for those who live in towns, the rays of the sun are partly absorbed by the dirt in the atmosphere. It is important to realise that over 90 per cent, of the rays of sunshine are infra-red or warm rays which benefit us by their penetration to the deeper layers of the skin. An excessively byown or pigmented skin prevents this absorption. Dark-skinned people of tropical countries are protected from the fullest effects of the warming rays by a stronger pigmentation of the skin. Therefore, if you wish to gain the maximum benefit from the sun’s warmth, don’t bake your skin into a hard, impenetrable brown. Wear a loose hat or use a sunshade to protect the head; wear suitably tinted spectacles, and cover the nape of the neck. Sun-bonnets are perfect, and linen hats with wide brims are excellent for small boys. Begin by exposing a little of the more tolerant parts of the skin for five minutes daily. When you have found out how long you can stand without redness or swqjling, lengthen this period by five minutes a day. But remember that these 1 ill-effcts will not. manifest themselves until, prhaps, hours later, so do not stay in the sun until you can see yourself beginning to change colour. Back Before Front Children, whose arms and legs are usually bare and consequently can stand the sunshine, may start with a five minutes’ sun-bath on the back of the legs and thighs. Next day give five minutes to the front of the limbs as well. Then on the following day add the back down to the waist, and then the front. After two or three days, let them wear only hats and short drawers, and later retain only the hats. Adults are well advised to start even more slowly than children, and should expose only the backs of the legs to the knees on the first day. Avoid cold winds and keep the children lying down. All babies under two and very fair children must be protected from the direct rays of the sun. They derive great benefit from* lying without their clothes in a shady place whore the sun has recently been and the air is soaked with its warm radiance.

No one who is subject to eczema, rheumatism, acidosis or chronic chest trouble should be allowed to sunbathe except under the doctors direction.

A Danger Signal.

Those over forty-five, people with high blood pressure or heart trouble, must take their sun-baths in the shade where the sun has just moved off. And, preferably, even this should be with their doctor’s permission. Extreme exhaustion after exposure to the sun is a danger signal in all people and may prove to be the first stage of sunstroke.

Women should allow the sup and wind on'their faces and necks only with great caution: the complexion takes a lot of repairing after overenthusiastic sun-bathing. It is advisable to sun-bathe during the summer betwen 16 a.m. and 1 p.m., and not less than one hour after a meal.

If you gradually brown without blistering or swelling, you may know that you are healthy and that you have acquired a good stock of resistance and happiness against the cold ami gloom of the coming winter.