54 PHYSIOLOGY AND TEMPERANCE. 



or dirt is added to this, and the glands get choked up, and 

 are no longer free to do their duty. The work that belongs 

 to the skin falls to the lungs or kidneys, and overtaxes them, 

 and thus the health is interfered with. Cleanliness of the 

 skin is, therefore, a matter of the first importance. 



In health nature will do her work, but the individual should 

 do his. Regular daily washing of the skin is necessary. To 

 omit washing the hands and face is to neglect the first 

 principles of cleanliness and decency. It would be a great 

 advance in good breeding if a rule to wash daily the whole 

 body were observed. The hands and face, being exposed, are 

 apt to get dirty, and require more frequent attention than the 

 unexposed parts of the body. Often, too, the hands become 

 much soiled from work. In addition to an abundance of 

 water for cleansing them, it is necessary to use soap, an 

 alkaline substance which dissolves oils and fats, and hastens 

 the removal of particles of grease and dirt. For the un- 

 exposed parts of the body, water alone, used daily, is suffi- 

 cient, with a good hand-rubbing of the skin after drying, to 

 brush away the loose scales of epidermis. 



9. Bathing. Cleanliness of the skin is not the only object 

 in bathing. All-important as it is in this respect, it has other 

 beneficial effects. A bath gives increased strength and vigor 

 to the whole system. On rising in the morning, a plunge 

 into a cold bath is to the healthy and robust an invigorating 

 tonic. The less rugged and strong may not receive the same 

 benefit. They may even be injured by it. Cold water applied 

 to the skin causes the blood-vessels to contract, and the body 

 becomes pallid. Reaction soon follows, with an increased 

 redness of the skin and a pleasant glow of warmth. If 

 reaction is slow and so feeble as to subside readily, the bath 

 is too cold, and should not be prolonged. The body should 

 be quickly dried, and rubbed vigorously with a coarse towel 

 until well reddened and all feeling of shivering passes off. 



