Importance of Bathing.—As the watery portion of the perspiration evaporates, the solid matter is left on the surface of the skin, and soon clogs the mouths of the pores. The scales of the worn-out cuticle also accumulate, and further impede the action of the skin. These impurities must be removed, not only from motives of cleanliness but also from considerations of health.
General Effects of the Bath.—Bathing, in every form, increases the activity of the internal machinery. It increases the rate of respiration, the activity of the heart, the rapidity of the circulation, the combustion in the tissues, and the perspiration through the skin. This increased activity causes a degree of exhaustion, and makes demand upon the vital forces. The reaction that follows more than restores the depleted vitality, and the bath serves as a tonic to the system.
A Satisfactory Experiment.—A prominent Philadelphia merchant gives the following as a result of his experience: “For a number of years I was troubled with indigestion, and a feeling of general depression. My muscles were soft and flabby, and I was easily fatigued. I was seldom free from colds and their many discomforts. Although there were several gymnasiums near my place of business, I felt that I could not take the time for practice. My condition gradually grew worse, and the drugs and medicines I took did me no good. In sheer desperation, I concluded to see what a little exercise and bathing would do. I chose the early morning and the late evening, as interfering least with business. Upon rising in the morning, and with slight encumbrance of clothing, I devote fifteen minutes to such simple body movements as give exercise to the muscles of the arms, legs, upper and lower trunk, and expand the chest. Then I stand in the bath tub, and with a large sponge filled with cold water, I quickly drench the head, neck, chest, and every part of the body, and, after drying with a soft towel, I give myself a vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel, which produces a delightful glow that lasts for several hours. At night, just before retiring, I again devote ten or fifteen minutes to exercise, and enjoy sound refreshing sleep.
“Since I began this plan of exercise and bathing, some five years ago, my digestion has been excellent, and I enjoy my meals, and seldom ask myself whether it is safe for me to eat this or that, as I used to do. I accomplish much more labor, with less fatigue than formerly, and with none of the old-time languor and depression. My mind is clear and alert, and to my cold sponge bath I ascribe the fact that I rarely have a cold.”
Temperature of the Body.—By a wonderful provision of nature, the temperature of the surface of the body is preserved at about 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit, whether the individual resides in the arctic regions or within the limits of the torrid zone. The range of the internal heat of the body is not very great. A deviation of seven degrees from the normal is dangerous. If the temperature of the body rises to 109 degrees or falls to 76, death is almost sure to follow.
Temperature and Kinds of Baths.—From the standpoint of temperature, baths may be classed as hot, warm, tepid, cool, and cold. A hot bath has a temperature ranging from 98 degrees to 112 degrees Fahrenheit; a warm bath from 92 degrees to 98 degrees; a tepid, from 85 degrees to 92 degrees; a cool bath from 60 degrees to 75 degrees; and a cold bath from 60 degrees down to the freezing point of water.
Tepid, warm, and hot baths are employed, not only for cleansing the body, but to diminish blood pressure and to reduce nervous excitability. The hot bath is used in restoring warmth to the body in certain cases of shock, and to remove the effects of exposure to a low temperature.
When the water is of about the same temperature as the body, the effects are neither stimulating nor depressing. In some forms of sleeplessness, a tepid bath taken just before retiring has been found to be effective. In such cases, the body should be covered by the water for ten or fifteen minutes, and quietly dried with a soft towel, without vigorous rubbing or friction.