Bathing. Each child should have his own wash cloths and towels. Have a separate wash cloth and towel for the face, another cloth and Turkish towel for the body. Dry and sun wash cloths every day; boil them weekly.
Temperature of bathroom about 70° F. (65-70), with no drafts. Before the child is undressed, have everything ready, including the clothing to be put on.
Water and soap are irritating to eczema; use oil or, occasionally, water bath with bran.
The Cold Bath. The daily cold bath is of vital importance in training the skin to react quickly to temperatures, increasing the circulation, increasing the white blood corpuscles, and maintaining a high degree of vitality and resistance to illness, especially to colds, croup, coughs, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
By careful attention to details, the cold bath can be given with a minimum of shock, and children enjoy it. It should be made as enjoyable as possible, and persisted in, even under protest. It should not be given, however, in a cold room. If the child has a cold, or the skin is cold and clammy, it should be given only to the throat, chest, and back. If the child is in a low vital condition, or does not react well otherwise, it may be preceded by a quick hot bath (98°-100°F.) to furnish body heat. The mildest form is to give it while the child lies in bed, quickly bathing and drying one part at a time. Ordinarily it can be given as follows, the whole procedure, including rubbing, not taking more than five minutes.
Let the child jump, run, or exercise vigorously for a few minutes before beginning the bath. Remove clothing and give a vigorous allover rub with hands or Turkish towels, rubbing from extremities toward the heart; let the child help in this and do it himself after four years. The child may stand with his feet in lukewarm water, or on a bath mat, not on a cold surface.
Temperature of the water should be at least down to 70° F. and as much lower as the child can take and react well. Salt (1 tablespoon to quart of water) gives a better reaction and lower range. Tepid water gives no tonic and may leave a chilly reaction. Have the wash cloth wet but not dripping. Wash quickly in the following order: (1) hand, arms; (2) neck, chest; (3) back, beginning at lower end; (4) legs, beginning with soles of feet; (5) abdomen. In this way the reflexes are bathed first, and the feeling of shock reduced, but the same valuable tonic results obtained. Dry quickly, rubbing with Turkish towels and hands. In cold weather, or if the skin is very dry, rub in quickly a little cocoa butter, olive oil, or cold cream. A spray with weak force, or pouring from a cup may begin in the second year; a strong spray or shower not until the fifth year.
The Warm Bath. For cleansing, the warm bath is needed two or three times a week in winter, and every day in hot weather. The body surface is relatively greater in children than in adults, and because of their greater activity and more rapid circulation, a relatively greater quantity of perspiration and waste material is constantly being poured out upon the skin. If this is not removed, it clogs the pores and thus keeps poisons within the body and prevents the normal absorption of oxygen through the skin.
The warm bath is best given at night, as a tub bath, before the supper, or an hour afterwards. When the bath is not given, the neck, ears, armpits, hands, and feet should be well washed. The water temperature should be 96°-98° F. A mild oil soap should be used moderately, such as Castile or Palmolive. The bath should be given in three minutes. Let the children splash in the tub for another three minutes, trying to swim. Always follow with the cold water to close the pores and prevent colds. This may be poured into the tub, to reduce the temperature to about 70°, or poured from a pitcher, or given with a spray, at 70°-80°, or given as a quick sponge at that temperature. Dry quickly and thoroughly, putting on a wrap to avoid chilling. If the child sleeps outdoors, the bath should be given an hour before bedtime in cool weather, or the oil rub may be given instead of water bath.
In hot weather children may have three or four sponge baths at 70°-80° during the day, or five-minute splashes in the tub at due intervals after meals.