Cold Damp Air
The body quickly becomes chilled in a cold damp air because the increase in the water vapor increases the conductivity of the air for heat. It can thus be seen that the heat producing processes of the body must be increased in order to maintain the normal temperature of the body. As we know, all activity of the body requires an expenditure of energy, so if the body is exposed to a cold damp air for an abnormal length of time it will necessitate an increased expenditure of internal energy to meet the increased demands for heat and thus dissipate forces that should and would, under normal conditions, be utilized in the metabolism of the body. If the heat production is at a minimum in the body, which it may be, due to several factors such as old age, infancy, or dis-ease, this exposure to lowered temperature and high humidity will result in injury to the body.
An interference with the transmission of mental impulses to the kidneys resulting in a decrease in their functional activity may mean a retention of poisons in the body and produce a condition diagnosed as rheumatism, for example; or an interference with the serous circulation may result in the tissue cells being under-nourished. Both of these conditions will interfere with the processes of intellectual adaptation. Educationally, man may help in the adaptation by proper clothing and by giving attention to proper exercise.