Spons' Household Manual / A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management

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Bathing in general.

Bathing is of several kinds. There is the morning tub and the sea dip which are taken to brace up the system; then there is the hot bath, more for sanitary and cleansing purposes; and finally come hot-air and vapour baths which are generally of a more or less medicinal character. These will be considered in rotation.

Cold Bathing.—All persons in health and of average strength may use a cold bath daily, in summer at least. In winter, mornings of extreme frost try the strongest constitution, and few are likely to benefit by a plunge on these occasions. For the most part, individuals of moderate powers and free from disease may carry the cleanly practice of summer through the winter months. A word on the bath itself. Those who take it should begin in summer, not winter, and so become gradually accustomed to its lowest temperature. No one should linger over it; 3-4 minutes are ample. After immersion, the body should be quickly and well dried and rubbed before dressing. Light gymnastic, dumb-bell, or club exercise, may occupy the next few minutes, the clothes being partly on if the weather be cold, and breakfast, or a cup of warm tea or coffee, should shortly follow, to prevent chilling.

There are those whom a cold bath injures, instead of invigorating. The readiest test of benefit is the glow of free surface-circulation, or at least the absence of any decided sense of chill after immersion. Some do not experience this. Among these are the subjects of heart weakness, arising from whatever cause; it may be consequent on organic disease of the heart, on old gout or rheumatism, or on overwork and underfeeding, in which case it is a part of a general debility. Again, there is in some a tendency to engorgement of one or other deep-seated organ with blood, a kidney, the liver, &c. This is commonly the result of a previous inflammatory attack, or of visceral disease at the time existing. Surface-cold aggravates the congestive tendency. Obviously, therefore, such persons, if they bathe, ought to use tepid water; and, in renal disorders, this method is often advantageous. In slight cases, cold is not injurious if the ablutions be expeditiously gone through, and restricted to periods of summer weather. The aged should avoid cold baths, and commonly do. Infants, if ordinary despatch is used in bathing and in dressing, have no reason to fear them. Their powers of reaction are excellent.

Cold baths chill down the feeble circulation of the badly nourished, and provoke a physical torpor which is obstructive to the processes of nutrition. They drive the blood from the surface of the body in upon vascular organs, whose circulation is already sluggish from general weakness. They thus produce discomforts which aggravate existing languor, and enhance the feeling that food and drink ought not to and therefore cannot be taken. A bath described as one “from which the chill has been taken” is too cold for subjects under medical advice who are in need of extra feeding.

In any case it is unwise to bathe out of doors when copious perspiration has continued for some hour or more, unless the weather be excessive or the sweating has been induced by loading with clothes rather than by exertion. When much perspiration has been produced by muscular exercise, it is unsafe to bathe, because the body is so fatigued or exhausted that the reaction—that is, the return of the momentarily displaced blood to the surface—cannot be ensured, and the effect may be to congest the internal organs and notably the nerve centres. From congestion of the nervous centres comes cramp, so often fatal in bathing.

If the weather be “chilly,” or there be a cold wind so that the body may be rapidly cooled at the surface while undressing, it is not safe to bathe. Under such conditions the further chill of immersion in cold water will take place at the precise moment when the reaction consequent upon the chill of exposure by undressing ought to occur, and this second chill will not only delay or altogether prevent the reaction, but convert the bath from a mere stimulant to a depressant, ending in the abstraction of a large amount of animal heat and congestion of the internal organs and nerve centres. The actual temperature of the water does not affect the question so much as its relative temperature as compared with that of the surrounding air. Practically, there ought to be a good deal of difference between the two, the water being much lower than the air and the body being—without great or long persisting perspiration—much warmer than the water, of course, but not so much warmer than the atmosphere as to be chilled by undressing. In short, the aim must be to avoid two chills; first, from the air, and second, from the water, and to make sure that the body is in such a condition as to secure a quick reaction on emerging from the water, without relying too much on the possible effect of friction by rubbing. It will be obvious that both weather and wind must be carefully considered before bathing is commenced, and that the state of the organism as regards fatigue and the force of the circulation should also be considered, not merely as regards the general habit, but the special condition when a bath is to be taken. These precautions are eminently needful in the case of the young or weakly.

Sea bathing is regarded, naturally, as more bracing in its character than river bathing. The saltness of the water and the sharp air of the sea together tend to invigorate us. As a rule, the bather can remain longer, without injurious effect, in salt than in fresh water. The sudden shock which results from a plunge into river or sea may be attended by bad effects in the case of persons who are subject to fits of any kind or to disturbance of the heart’s action. Another highly important question in bathing has reference to the care of the ears. Wherever any tendency to ear-ache or inflammation of the ear exists, bathing must be cautiously indulged in. A dive has been known to be followed by rupture of the “drum” of the ear, owing to the sudden pressure to which this membrane has been subjected in passing from the air under the water. Again, persons who have suffered from discharges from the ears—common after scarlet fever, for example—and in whom the drum of the ear may be perforated or irritable, abscess of the brain may follow injury produced by the sudden dive or by plunging the head beneath the water. Placing cotton wool in the ears is a necessary precaution for any who have tender ears, and a safe practice for all. Further, do not dive too much and avoid swimming on the back, for from the position of the ears the water gets into them a great deal more than even in diving. When getting out, besides giving a good rub down with a rough towel, always carefully wipe the ear and the glands behind the ear dry.

No child under 2 years of age ought, under any circumstances, to be bathed in the open sea, and no one, child or adult, can enter the sea without danger while under the influence of emotional excitement. Under 2 years of age, a child’s body is too weak to gain any benefit from the shock of immersion in the open sea. Its nervous and circulating forces are too feeble for the development of that vigorous reaction, without which sea-bathing is either useless or hurtful. In the absence of strength for such reaction a sea-bath tends to chill an infant’s body, and predispose to internal congestion. At any age the shock of immersion in the sea brings risk of danger, and even of death, when the emotions are powerfully excited, and especially when the mind and body are dominated by that most depressing of human emotions—fear. Infants are not always bathed in the sea merely with the intention of making them strong. There is an old seaside tradition that babies diligently bathed become fearless in the water when they grow up. This notion is also false. Than that infants gain courage by being plunged in the sea, it is more probable that many a nervous child has acquired a dread of bathing which no after-experience could remove, because it was compelled in fear and trembling to plunge under water. If a child be sufficiently robust to develop a good reaction, if it be over 2 years of age, and, above all, if it be not afraid, it may be bathed in the sea with advantage. If any of these conditions be wanting, sea-bathing for children is likely to be positively injurious. (Brit. Med. Jour.)

Attacks of cramp, to which even expert swimmers are liable, may arise from many causes. Where special nervous diseases do not exist, the so-called “cramp spasms” are, as likely as not, due to some irregularity in digestion, or to some imprudence in bathing at wrong times and seasons. Bathing after a full meal may induce so-called “cramps,” and it is to be feared that many a fatal case of drowning, attributed to some hidden nervous cause, has had a far simpler origin in digestive disturbances reacting on the nervous system, and through this system propagated to the muscles.

The ordinary rules—drawn up by the Royal Humane Society—which should be observed by all bathers, whether in fresh or salt water, and whether swimmers or not, are simple and readily borne in mind.

1. Never bathe within 2 hours after a meal.

2. Never bathe when exhausted or in ill-health. The practice of plunging into the water after exercise is to be thoroughly condemned.

3. Never bathe when the body is cooling after perspiration.

4. A morning bathe may be taken by those who are strong and healthy before breakfast on an empty stomach.

5. The young, or those who are delicate, should bathe 2-3 hours after a meal, and in the forenoon, if possible.

6. The signs which forbid open-air bathing altogether are chilliness and shivering after entering the water, numbness of hands and feet, and deficient circulation generally.

7. When the body is warm, bathing may be indulged in, provided undressing is quickly accomplished, and the body is not chilled before entering the water.

8. On leaving the water, dry and dress quickly. Standing about undressed, after leaving the water, is, under any circumstances, injurious.

9. Rather cut short, than prolong, the bathe. Swimmers possess the power of remaining in the water for a considerable time, in consequence of their active movements. But even in their case injury is often wrought by unduly extending the exercise. The slightest feeling of chilliness should be taken as a sign to leave the water at once.

It is a recognised fact that a sudden head douche of cold water is apt to cause giddiness in many persons from its effect on the brain-circulation, which forms in itself a peculiar part of the blood-system. Cases of persistent headache, often accompanied by giddiness and faintness, have followed sea and river bathing; these effects having disappeared when the practice of plunging the head below water was discontinued. Persons thus affected cannot do better than omit the head from the bath, and, in shower baths, stoop forward or lean backward and sidewise, so that the water shall fall on back, chest, and shoulders, but not on the head.

Hot Baths.—Concerning the bathroom, Edis remarks that whenever a bath is provided, it is generally left open, and forms a receptacle for dirt and dust, which is not always cleaned out when the bath is filled. He suggests that the bath be slightly lowered into the floor, and fitted with a hinged top, about seat-high from the floor, so as to keep the bath clear of dirt, and when not in use make it answer as a table or seat. A bathroom is often fitted up with cupboards for linen, and if the hot-water cistern be placed in the room on the floor level, or sufficiently high for use, or a coil of hot-water pipes be carried through, the linen cupboard with lattice shelves might easily be fitted over it, with closed doors of course, by which the linen would always be kept properly aired; and if the room be lined with tiles, there would be no fear of damp or moisture from steam condensing on the walls. The bath should be formed in a recess, with tile lining all round and overhead, and the recess might then be fitted with cupboards over, and drawers and useful shelves at one end, so as to provide storage-room for a large amount of spare clothing and linen, which it is often so difficult to find room for. A curtain drawn across the bath keeps it clean, and hides it from view when not immediately required.

Hot-air and Vapour Baths, Turkish Baths, &c.—The Lancet expresses a strong objection to that form of bath which involves the patient being in an erect or sitting posture, where the bath is used to produce perspiration; it is always possible that some amount of faintness or giddiness may be experienced by the bather even when the blanket or tent-shaped envelope is so effectively applied as to prevent the fumes rising to the mouth and being inspired. It is always far better, and ought to be a rule, that the patient should be in the recumbent position. With a properly constructed cradle-head, the bed-clothes can be raised and the lamp placed safely in the bed itself, the clothes being well tucked in round the neck and under the chin, so that nothing may reach the mouth. In this way the patient may enjoy the full benefit of a fairly high temperature without the least fear of faintness. There are, nevertheless, certain precautions which ought to be observed, and which are too commonly overlooked. (a) A thermometer with a long stem ought to be so placed that the bulb may be inside the clothes and the indicator-column visible outside. Such a thermometer might with advantage be supplied with the bath. It is always desirable to know the temperature of the atmosphere to which the patient is subjected. (b) The moment perspiration is induced there arises the question—How far ought it to be carried? If the purpose of the bath be to eliminate fluid or any product of tissue-waste from the body, there may be a need for the maintenance of the cutaneous perspiration for some time: but otherwise it is not, generally speaking, well to let the patient remain in the heat for more than 10 minutes; otherwise, the result can only be to saturate the bed-clothes with moisture, which will begin to cool as soon as the lamp is removed, and after the lapse of 20-30 minutes must place the patient in the perilous position of lying, perhaps sleeping, in a damp bed. A hot-air bath for ordinary purposes is better given in the morning than at night; or, if that be impossible, the patient should be removed to a dry bed with hot blankets. The body-heat can never be safely trusted to keep the clothes, which have been saturated with moisture by a bath, warm after the lamp is withdrawn. It is quite a different matter when the perspiration has been raised by the heat of the body itself. As a rule, the patient should be removed and wiped dry in about 20 minutes after the withdrawal of the lamp—that is, in ½ hour from the commencement of the bath. If the perspiration be acid, it is desirable to sponge the surface with hot water, in which about 1 dessertspoonful soda carbonate has been dissolved—say, in 1 qt. water. (c) If the case be one of rheumatism or gout, it must be recognised that by determining to the skin we are likely to get increased stiffness and surface irritation after each bath until the excrementitious material has been thoroughly eliminated. Overlooking this fact, patients, and sometimes practitioners, fail to persevere long enough with the baths, because, as it seems, each bath makes matters worse.

A simple form of hot-air or steam-bath for home use may be made as follows:—To the back of an ordinary wooden or cane-bottom chair fix an upright piece of wood, and to this at the height at which the neck of the sitter on the chair will be fix a hoop of cane or other material sufficiently wide to keep the cloth to hang from the hoop free from the shoulders of the sitter. Place beneath the chair a gas or oil lamp or two, if one does not give sufficient heat. If, now, a cloth be fixed round the ring sufficiently ample to reach the ground and close all round the sitter, a tent will be formed from the top of which the head of the sitter will project. Let the cloth overlap the ring freely, so as to permit of being pulled close to the sitter’s neck. Whilst taking this hot-air bath, the feet must be kept in a basin of warm water. If there is danger of a headache, a cold wet cloth on the head will prevent it. If a vapour bath is preferred, place a pan of water over the lamp, so that the water may boil.

127. Ellis’s Bath.

Ellis & Co., of 47 Farringdon Road, London, have introduced a Cabinet Turkish Bath, which dispenses with chair, lamp, sheets, and covers. It is exceedingly simple, and consists of a neat cabinet (Fig. 127) made of well-seasoned wood, taking up a floor space of only 2 ft. 5 in. by 2 ft. 8 in., and large enough to admit the person comfortably. It is mounted upon castors, so that it may easily be moved from place to place on the same floor; and it is light enough to be carried if required. It is fitted with a foot-warmer, and with an adjustable seat, so that it can be used by children and by adults of different sizes. A book-rest is arranged conveniently, so that the time may be pleasantly occupied, and small doors are provided through which the hands may be passed in order to turn over the leaves of a book, or to wipe the face, or to remove a cigar from the mouth, &c. The bath is heated by gas, or by a special lamp in which spirit is burned. It may be managed with the greatest ease without the aid of an attendant, being, in fact, quite as simple as an ordinary sponge or sitz bath. It is only necessary to fill the foot-warmer with hot water, covering it with a piece of flannel, to light the lamp, and step into the bath with a towel round the neck to prevent the heat escaping too readily. Ample ventilation is allowed, so that the body is not exposed to the action of vitiated air, since this is constantly being renewed from outside. The bath constitutes, in fact, a small ventilated hot chamber, the time spent in which may vary from 10 minutes to ½ hour, according to pleasure. The prices of this bath range from 5l. 10s., as made in best pine, to 9l., in black walnut.