NOTES ON HEALTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9040, 19 November 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

NOTES ON HEALTH.

BATHING, AND WHY WE SHOULD BATHE. Among all tho appliances for health and comfort to mankind, we may safely say there is nothing so well known, so useful, and withal so comforting, and yet so little practised, so carelessly and thoughtlessly neglected, as judicious bathing. The skin of the human body, from head to foot, is a network of pores, which ought always to be kept free and clear of obstructions. These pores are the openings into minute tubes or channels, which lead through unseen meanderings into tho sanctum of life within.

To those blessed with good health, a bath, as a common-sense appliance, gives thrift and growth to healthy functions, a brightness and delightful serenity, a clearness of mind and buoyancy ot spirit. It is certainly a blessing to both mind and body. For the mental worker, it is a nerve tonic. A thorough immersion in water of proper temperature will calm and give strength and tone to his whole system. The indoor labourer who gets but a scanty supply of fresh air, needs a bath to obtain those invigorating elements so common in the open air. The outdoor labourer — especially the farmer—who works with heroic energy all day long, unavoidably gathers on tho entire surface of his body a complete prison wall of dust and thickening, gummy perspiration, and when his day's work is done, he needs then, more than any other thing, not only a wash, but a good, luscious " full bath," to lit him for a clean bed and a refreshing sleep. The glutinous mass of perspiration, dust and filth, which gathers on the surface of the body, naturally covers and clogs the pores, and often enters them and poisons the system. To remove that tilth, frequent ablutions and occasional immersion in water are exceedingly desirable, and usually indispensable to health and comfort; consequently every family should have a convenient bath, and a lull bath, too, of some kind, not only for general neatness of person so desirable to every individual of taste and culture, but as a means of preserving health, and in many cases, especially under the advice of a good physician, as the safest, pleasantest, and one of the most powerful and efficient means of combating disease. Directed by good judgment and wise counsel, a bath is a valuable auxiliary to other remedies, and it can be used when internal remedies cannot. In the long catalogue of diseases to which flesh is heir, scarcely one can he named in the treatment of which a bath is useless. In an emergency, which often happens when least expected, as in cholera, cholera infantum, cholera morbus, cramps, fits, etc., a pliable, portable bath, which requires but little water, ready just at the right time, may save some precious life. Finally, every one needs a bath at times, and every human habitation should contain something that will serve to secure a complete immersion in water, and since convenient and efficient portable baths at comparatively low figures are now extensively advertised for sale, there is little excuse for anyone to be without this priceless benefit.

SPONGING OUT A HEADACHE. In case of an ordinary nervous headache from which women suffer so much, says an authority, remove the dress waist, knot the hair high upon the head, out of the way, and, while leaning over the basin, place a sponge soaked in hot water, as hot as can be borne, on the back of the neck. Repeat this many times, also applying the sponge behind the ears, and, if the assertion of the writer is not a mistaken one, in many cases the strained muscles and nerves that have caused so much misery will be felt to relax and soothe themselves out deliciously, and very frequently the pain promptly vanishes in consequence. Every woman knows the aching face and neck generally brought home from a hard day's shopping, and from a long round of calls and afternoon teas, She regards with intense dissatisfaction the heavy lines drawn around her eyes and mouth by the long strain on the facial muscles, and when she must carry that worn countenance to some dinner party or evening's amusement, it robs her of all the pleasure to be had in it. Cosmetics are not the cure, or bromides, or the many nerve sedatives to be had at the drug shop. Here, again, the sponge and hot water are advised by the writer quoted, bathing tho face in water as hot as it can possibly be borne. Apply the sponge over and over again to the temples, throat, and behind the cars, where most of the nerves and muscles of the head centre, and then bathe the face in water running cold from the faucet. Colour and smoothness of outlino return to the face, an astonishing freshness and comfort results, and, if followed by a nap of ten minutes, all trace of fatigue vanishes.