TAKING COLD. 229 



fore, hard thought or violent exercise soon after a meal is very 

 apt to produce an attack of indigestion by diverting the 

 blood from the abdominal organs, where it ought to be at 

 that time. Young persons whose organs have a super- 

 abundance of energy, enabling them to work under unfa- 

 vorable conditions, are less apt to suffer in such ways than 

 their elders. One sees boys running actively about after 

 eating, when older people feel a desire to sit quiet or even 

 to go to sleep. 



Taking Cold. When the skin is chilled its arteries con- 

 tract, as shown by the pallor of the surface. This throws 

 an undue amount of blood into internal parts, whose ves- 

 sels become gorged with blood or "congested," and con- 

 gestion very easily passes into inflammation. Consequently, 

 prolonged exposure of the surface to cold is very apt to be 

 followed by inflammation of parts inside the body, and 

 give rise to a so-called "cold" (which is really an inflam- 

 mation) of the mucous membranes of the head, or throat, 

 or lungs; or of the intestines, causing diarrhoaa. In 

 fact, the common summer diarrhoea is far more often 

 due to a chill of the surface leading to intestinal inflam- 

 mation than to the fruits eaten in that season, which 

 are so often blamed for it. The best preventive is to 

 wear when exposed to sudden changes of temperature, a 

 woollen or at least a cotton garment over the trunk of the 



Why is it not wise to take hard exercise or do severe mental work 

 soon after eating-? Why do young persons suffer less from exercise 

 soon after dinner than do their elders? 



What happens to its arteries when the skin is chilled? How does 

 this manifest itself? What is its result on the blood-supply of in- 

 ternal parts? What is congestion? Into what diseased state does it 

 often pass? 



What diseases are apt to follow a surface chill? What is the most 

 trequent cause of summer diarrhoea? What should be worn wheu 

 liable to exposure to considerable changes of temperature? 



