" Don'ts " For Bathers.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 68

" Don'ts " For Bathers.

Never bathe itntil at least two hours after a substantial meal (says a writer in the July World and His Wife). The reason for this is that a plunge into cold water while digestion is actively pioceeding is mest likely to arrest it suddenly, and this may be followed by very grave consequences. Remember that there is an intimate sympathy between the stomach and the brain; and when the process at work in the stomach is brought to a sudden standstill there may bo a reaction injuriously affecting the- brain. Many cases of drowning, supposed to be caused by the victim being attacked with cramp, are^ really the result of his having had a seizure, or "fit," m the water. If this should occur to a person when out of his depth, be sinks to the bottom like a stone Never bathe when, very tired, depressed, or chilly, because in theee conditions a good reaction is not likely to follow, and the body • remains chilled, instead of experiencing a glow of warmth. The fact of remaining chilled after seabathing indicates one of two things; either j that you have stayed in too long or that cold bathing- does not agree with you, and should be discontinued. Never stay in the water until your teeth begin to chart 3r and your fingers become stiff and livid. Many people who would be greatly benoflfceJ by a tea bath of fiyo minutes' duration make th«ir selves ill simply because they &tay in tho water too long. Never urge or drive children into tho water against their will. Let them get used to the icea of bathing, and they wiU gradually learn, to love, it. Forcing them into the water, while they scream with terror—a spectacle, unfortunately, often seen on ■ur beaches in summer—not only engenders a detestation of bathing, but sornetiimcs does permanent injmy through the &evsr© shock it causes to the nervous bystein.