70 THE INTEGUMENT, OR SKIN 



An aphorism of Boerhaave, worth, remembering, if not of 

 adopting, is, " We should put off our winter clothing on mid- 

 summer's day, and put it on again the day after." He also 

 says, " Only fools and beggars suffer from the cold ; the latter 

 not being able to get sufficient clothes, the others not having 

 the sense to wear them." The practice of exposing the limbs 

 and necks of young children, for the alleged purpose of " hard- 

 ening " them, is quite hazardous. It is not to be denied that 

 some seem to be made tough by the process. But it is so only 

 with the rugged children; the delicate ones will invariably 

 suffer under this fanciful treatment. As the skin is constantly 

 acting, by night as well as by day, it is conducive both to 

 cleanliness and comfort to entirely change the clothing on 

 retiring for the night. The day-clothing should be aired dur- 

 ing the night, and the bedding should be aired in the morning, 

 for the same reason. (Head Notes 11 and 12.) 



from barbarism to civilization, more and more attention is paid to dress 

 as a means of protection against cold. As a rule, more harm arises from 

 using too little clothing than too much, especially in a changeful climate 

 like our own. 



10. Light in the Sick-room. "It is the unqualified result of all my 

 experience with the sick, that second only to their need of fresh air is 

 their need of light ; that, after a close room, what hurts them most is a 

 dark room ; and that it is not only light, but direct sunlight they want. 

 You had better carry your patient about after the sun, -according to the 

 aspect of the rooms, if circumstances permit, than let him linger in a 

 room when the sun is off. People think that the effect is upon the spirits 

 only. This is by no means the case. Who has not observed the purify- 

 ing effect of light, and especially of direct sunlight, upon the air of a 

 room ? "Here is an observation within everybody's experience. Go into 

 a room where the shutters are always shut (in a sick-room or a bed-room 

 there should never be shutters shut), and though the room be uninhabited 

 though the air has never been polluted by the breathing of human 

 beings, you will observe a close, musty smell of corrupt air of air 

 unpurified by the effect of the sun's rays. The mustiness of dark rooms 

 and corners, indeed, is proverbial. The cheerfulness of a room the 

 usefulness of light in treating disease is all-important. It is a curious 

 thing to observe how almost all patients lie with their faces turned to the 

 light, exactly as plants always make their way toward the light." 

 Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing. 



11. Underclothing and Bedding. All clothing worn during the day 

 should be removed at night. A practice prevails in tropical countries of 

 shaking thoroughly every article of apparel just before it is placed on the 



