Thomas Bond

“ Urquhart, the introducer of the Turkish bath into this country, is one of the benefactors of the age, and it is to be hoped some day there will be a bath in every town and village in England. Doctors are very much to be blamed for allowing themselves to be prejudiced against it. The usual opinion given by medical men to their patients is, that it is debilitating, and only to be borne by the robust. ”

“ Persons who are apoplectic, or suffering from fatty degeneration of heart, should not venture to disturb the circulation by the excitement of baths. The first effect of Turkish baths is to stimulate the circulation, the second to cause active congestion of the skin, the third to produce profuse perspiration, the fourth to keep down the temperature of the body by rapid evaporation. On leaving the Turkish bath the body should be douched with cold water ”

“ Sufficient heat to prevent all risk of chill is generated in the body by exercise. The care should be taken to retain sufficient clothing after exercise, and when at rest, to prevent the heat passing out of the body. Indeed, persons very often catch chills from throwing off extra clothing after exercise, or from sitting about in garments, the material of which is not adapted to prevent the radiation of heat from the body. Linen and cotton under-clothing, when moistened by perspiration, parts with heat very rapidly, whereas flannel and silk, being non-conductors, prevent the rapid loss of heat. ”

“ Again, it keeps the body in a state of perfect cleanliness, which is so essential to robust health; but these are not its only virtues—it promotes purity of mind and morals. The man who is accustomed to be physically clean shrinks instinctively from all contact with uncleanliness. ”

“ The old-fashioned idea that persons should wait to cool before plunging into the water is a fallacy. There is no danger in plunging into the coldest water in a state of profuse perspiration, if the heart and arteries are in a healthy state. Of course, it would be unwise to do so immediately after a full meal, as the action of the heart might be impeded by the distended stomach.
8. Many persons complain of always getting up tired in the morning. This is very often due to defective ventilation of the bedroom, or from using an undue amount of bedclothes and bedding. ”

“ ON an average, one-half of the number of out-patients treated by a hospital-surgeon suffer from diseases due primarily to a want of knowledge of the laws of health and cleanliness. 1. The ignorance of hygienic laws, which affects so disastrously the health of the rich as well as the poor, exists chiefly in regard to dress, ablution, and ventilation. ”

“ The effect of the Turkish bath on the skin is to cause an active condition of its functions of elimination, by removing the hardened epithelial scales, by removing the fat from the pores, and by causing the sweat-glands to maintain the activity of their functions, giving a general stimulus to the vital power of the skin. ”

“ In river and sea bathing, persons should be careful not to remain in the water too long, nor should they exert themselves sufficiently to cause exhaustion, as the power of reaction is much impaired thereby; neither should persons get into cold water when cooling. ”

“ Warm baths should, in my opinion, never be taken on rising except under the above conditions, but warm baths at night are often desirable. They should be taken just before going to bed, when they have the effect of relaxing the muscular system and of promoting sleep by soothing the activity of the brain by the withdrawal of blood from it. I do not think warm baths at night are weakening, as the depression of vital energy which may occur is recovered during sleep. ”

“ Children should never wear them at all, as the stockings can be perfectly well kept up by attachment of elastic straps to the waistband. If garters are worn, it is important to know how to apply them with the least risk of harm; at the bend of the knee the superficial veins of the leg unite, and go deeply into the under part of the thigh beneath the ham-string tendons. Thus a ligature below the knee obstructs all the superficial veins, but if the constriction is above, the ham-string tendons keep the pressure off the veins which return the blood from the legs ”

“ They follow the movements of the muscles, and never relax their pressure on the veins. Non-elastic bands during muscular exertion become considerably relaxed at intervals, and allow a freer circulation of the blood. ”

“ By this means the heavier external atmosphere ascends vertically through the tubes like the jet of a fountain, displacing the warmer and lighter atmosphere of the room, which finds its exit up the chimney. ”

“ Persons should cultivate the faculty of detecting sewer-gas in houses. Typhoid fever is often caused by the escape of this gas into the house through defect of the traps and drains. However bad the drains may be outside of the house, there is little to fear, provided the gas can escape externally. ”

“ Varicose ulcers are seldom admitted into general hospitals, so that hundreds of poor families are driven to the workhouse, and such cases form a majority in the workhouse infirmary. The most frequent and flagrant cause of obstruction is the ordinary elastic garter. ”

“ Feather beds are too soft and yielding, and partially envelop the sleeper, thus producing profuse perspirations. The habit of lying too much under blankets is also very pernicious, by reason of the carbonic acid exhaled by the sleeper being respired. ”

“ The tubes should communicate with the outer air on a level with the floor, and should be carried vertically upward in the room for about four or five feet. A constant supply of fresh air is thus insured without the slightest liability to draught, as the current goes directly upward until it strikes the ceiling. ”

“ The perfection of ventilation may be obtained in any room with a fireplace by simply providing proper inlets for the air, and nothing answers so well for the purpose as the upright tubes invented by Mr. ”