Personal hygiene and physical training for women

by Anna M. Galbraith

Rationale of the Douche.—The douche is a thermic massage. Since the douche is a sorbefacient of pathologic products, the French have availed themselves of its use to aid the body to throw off an excess of uric acid, fatigue toxins, etc.

It has been demonstrated that a rain douche of 50° F., under a pressure of two atmospheres, increases threefold the work that the muscles are capable of doing, while the Scotch douche, oscillating between 98° and 53° F., doubles the working capacity of the muscles. Even tepid douches increase the working capacity of the muscles, while a tub-bath of the same temperature is without decided effect. The pressure under which the douche is given adds a powerful element, which is absent in other hydriatic procedures. The percussion and vibration affect the vasomotor system much more powerfully than any form of still bathing.

The power and action of the heart are greatly improved by the use of the douche, the capacity of the lungs is increased, and the digestion is improved.

Brief douches of from ten to fifteen seconds generally act better than those of longer duration. The general condition of the patient must always be carefully studied, and, like the Turkish bath, the douche should always be taken under the direction of a physician, as they are also capable of doing a great amount of harm as well as good. The best results from the douche are obtained when it is taken following the use of the electric-light bath.

The neutral douche is particularly applicable in cardiac affections and in cases of high arterial tension. The sensation afforded should not be either that of hot or cold, and the duration from one to two minutes. The douche for this purpose should be given with only a slight degree of pressure, and to avoid irritation it should be directed to either side of the spinal column. This is a sedative application.

Contraindications for the Use of the Douche.—In all acute inflammations and in eruptive disorders of the skin. The cold douche is contraindicated in inflammation of the uterus, ovaries, kidneys, stomach, liver, bowels, and bladder, in intestinal catarrh, chronic inflammation of the stomach, and general neuritis. It must also be avoided in rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, cardiac insufficiency, valvular diseases of the heart with deficient compensation, fatty degeneration of the heart, and in cases of extreme nervous irritability.

The Internal Use of Water.—The internal use of water is essential to life. Water constitutes about two-thirds of the body weight; it is found in every tissue and organ of the body; it acts to dilute the foods so that they can be absorbed from the digestive tract; its presence in the blood is essential, both to carry foods to the tissues and to convey the waste matter away from the tissues. Its use in the form of a lavage is even more necessary, to keep clean and free from impurities the mucous membrane lining the 30 feet of the digestive canal and the tubules of the kidneys than is the external use of water to keep the skin in a healthy condition. Its use is also needed to keep the blood-pressure and the heart in a normal condition.

About 4½ pints of water are given off daily in the excreta and exhalations; but, since about one-half of the solid foods taken consist of water, 3 pints of water, taken daily as such, are sufficient to counterbalance the loss.

All water for drinking purposes should be filtered. The best method is to have a filter attached to the pipes of the house-supply, so as to insure filtered water running from all the spigots.

If the water is not filtered, it should be boiled for thirty minutes. The water should be run off in the morning, then poured into a well-kept tea-kettle and boiled. It is then allowed to stand and become partially cooled in covered vessels, when it is poured into large bottles—quarts are the most convenient size; these should be stoppered with corks of absorbent cotton. When cool, the bottles are placed in the refrigerator beside the ice. Water should be boiled every morning for the twenty-four hours. Boiling for this length of time secures the destruction of all the germs of disease, and it is doubly essential on the return to town in the fall, when the house has been closed for some time; also when typhoid fever in the neighborhood indicates the strong possibility of the impurity of the water-supply.