Book of health for the million : with practical remarks on bathing, diet, exercise, disease, and the water cure / by La Roy Sunderland.

  • Sunderland, La Roy, 1802-1885.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Book of health for the million : with practical remarks on bathing, diet, exercise, disease, and the water cure / by La Roy Sunderland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    CHAPTER V. PURE COLD WATER BATHING, FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH. It has been truly said, that, from the first hour of man's existence to his latest breath, in health and in sickness, rich or poor, water is always re- quisite. Baths were dedicated by the ancients to the divinities of medicine, strength, and wisdom, namely :—iEsculapius, Hercules, and Minerva, to whom might properly ba added the goddess of health, Hygeia. The use of water has been en- forced as a religious observance, and water has been adopted as one of the symbols of Christianity. The following remarks on bathing are so much to the point, and prepared, as I find them, to my hand, I do not hesitate to transcribe them here:* The structure and purposes of the skin, the con- stant removal and reproduction of the cuticle, the functions of the oil-glands and perspiratory system, afford the ground-work for inferring the necessity of bathing. The cuticle is cast off in minute, pow- dery scales, many of which are retained upon the surface by the pressure of clothing. These mingle with the oily and saline products of the skin, and form a thin crust. This crust, on account of its adhesiveness, collects particles of dust and soot *Dr. Cutter's Physiology.