158 AXSWESS TO PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



skin remains cold and blue in spite of friction, it shows that 

 the reaction has not taken place, in which case the bath is an 

 injury. Or, if for some time after the bath the bather feels 

 languid and weary, it indicates that the reaction is too much 

 for his nervous system. But, in most cases, if the habit is 

 formed by beginning first with tepid water, decreasing the tem- 

 perature gradually, morning by morning, until the bather in- 

 ures himself to the coldest water, the shock and the reaction 

 will be a luxury he will not willingly abandon. In this con- 

 nection it may be said that, as water is a better conductor of 

 heat than air, water at a temperature of 75 or 80 will seem 

 cold to most persons (the normal temperature of the body being 

 about 98 Fahr.), though an atmosphere of that degree would 

 seem warm. The temperature of the room should always be 

 higher than that of the water. 



39. llJiy should our clothing always fit loosely ? 



(See Physiology, pp. 14, 67, 96.) 



Any thing that impedes circulation is injurious. Loose un- 

 der-clothing is warmer in winter than tight under-clothing, on 

 account of the stratum of air between the body and the gar- 

 ment. (See Question 12.) The effects of tight-lacing are well 

 known.* Too close-fitting sleeves interfere with the venous cir- 

 culation of the arm, and tend to make the fingers cold and 

 blue ; while the pressure upon the nerves, which lie not far 



* The evil effects of tight-lacing are not all nor always in the future. 

 Signs of distress are often quickly apparent ; the nose purples, the upper 

 bowels emit croaking sounds, while the lower become unnaturally protu- 

 berant ; the womb falls, and the breathing and the circulation of blood 

 are so hindered as often to bring on palpitations of the heart and faint- 

 ing ; especially after a full meal or in a close and sultry atmosphere. The 

 long-continued and tight pressure of corsets also wastes and impairs the 

 natural strength of the muscles of the back; so that without the usual 

 lacing there is a most uncomfortable feeling of weakness. The circulation 

 of the blood in the lower part of the lungs, from the severe compression 

 imposed upon them, becomes in an almost stagnant condition, producing 

 languor and a painful sense of lassitude. Continue this constraint, and 

 the cell-life of the lungs, liver, and stomach becomes permanently im- 

 paired, laying a sure foundation for disease in these parts whenever the 

 constitutional strength and vigor begin to fail. The Ten Laws of Health, J. 

 B. BLACK. 



