 | The poor rich man, and the rich poor man |  |
NOTE.
The writer of the preceding pages would not be
supposed to want a due respect for the art of medicine;
that it sometimes cures and sometimes alleviates,
there can be no doubt; but, does not the
patient often resort to it, and resort to it in vain,
when, if he had studied and obeyed the laws of
physiology, he would not have needed the aid it
cannot give.
The laws of Him who made us are perfect. “It
is a very different thing to comply blindly with the
directions which come to us simply on the authority
of a man like ourselves, and to comply intelligently
with those which claim our obedience on the authority
of the Creator.”
The suggestions made in this volume, on the
use of albutions, ventilation, flannel, &c., for the
preservation of health, are derived from the admirable
and popular work of Andrew Combe on
Physiology, and from an observation of the benefit
derived from the actual application of his rules.
We give a few brief extracts from his work, and
wish that the whole, in a more popular form, were
in every habitation in our land.
“Taking,” says Mr. Combe, “even the lowest
estimate of Lavoisier, we find the skin endowed
system about twenty ounces of waste matter every
twenty-four hours.”—“Insensible perspiration removes
from the skin, without trouble and without
consciousness, a large quantity of useless materials;
and, at the same time, keeps the skin soft and
moist, and thereby fits it for the performance of its
functions as the organ of external sense.”—“Where
the perspiration is brought to the surface of the
skin, and confined there, either by injudicious
clothing, or by want of cleanliness, there is much
reason to suppose that its residual parts are again
absorbed, and act on the system as a poison of
greater or less power, according to its quantity and
degree of concentration, thereby producing fever,
inflammation, and even death itself.” Mr. Combe
proceeds to adduce many facts to support the theory
that diseases are taken in through the skin,
and therefrom infers the necessity of guarding it.
“Brocchi ascribes the immunity (from the effects
of malaria) of the sheep and cattle which pasture
night and day in the Campagna to the protection afforded
them by their wool.”—“Similar means
have been found effectual in preserving the health
of labourers digging and excavating drains and canals
in marshy grounds, where, previous to the
employment of these precautions, the mortality
from fever was very considerable.”
“The insensible perspiration being composed of
a large quantity of water, which passes off in the
form of vapour, and is not seen, and of various salts
and animal matter, a portion of which remains adherent
to the skin, the removal of this residue by
health.”
In youth and health, “cold bathing and lighter
clothing may be resorted to with a rational prospect
of advantage; but when, from a weak constitution
or unusual susceptibility, the skin is not endowed
with sufficient vitality to originate the necessary
reaction which alone renders these safe and proper—
when they produce an abiding sense of chillness,
however slight in degree—we may rest assured that
mischief will inevitably follow at a greater or shorter
distance of time.”
“Many youths, particularly females, and those
whose occupations are sedentary, pass days,
weeks, and months without experiencing the
pleasing glow and warmth of a healthy skin, and
are habitually complaining of chillness on the surface,
cold feet, and other symptoms of deficient
cutaneous circulation. Their suffering, unfortunately,
does not stop here; for the unequal distribution
of the blood oppresses the internal organs;
and too often, by insensible degrees, lays
the foundation of tubercles in the lungs, and other
maladies, which show themselves only when
arrived at an incurable stage.”—“All who value
health, and have common sense and resolution,
will take warning from signs like these, and never
rest till the equilibrium be restored. For this purpose,
warm clothing, exercise in the open air, sponging
with vinegar and water, regular friction with a
flesh-brush or hair glove, and great cleanliness, are
excellently adapted.”
“The Creator has made exercise essential as
a means of health; and, if we neglect this, and seek
of weakening the body, relaxing the surface,”
&c. &c.—“Many good constitutions are
thus ruined, and many nervous and pulmonary
complaints brought on to imbitter existence.”
“Flannel, from being a bad conductor of heat,
prevents that of the animal economy from being
quickly dissipated, and protects the body in a considerable
degree from the influence of sudden external
changes. From its presenting a rough and
uneven, though a soft, surface to the skin, every
movement of the body in labour or exercise gives,
by the consequent friction, a gentle stimulus to the
cutaneous vessels and nerves, which assists their
action, and maintains their functions in health;
and being, at the same time, of a loose and porous
texture, flannel is capable of absorbing the cutaneous
exhalations to a larger extent than any other
material in common use.”
“It is during the sudden changes from heat to
cold, so common in autumn, before the frame has
got inured to the reduction of temperature, that
protection is most wanted, and flannel is most
useful.”
“The exhalation from the skin being so constant
and extensive, its bad effects when confined
suggest another rule of conduct, viz.—that of frequently
changing and airing the clothes, so as to
free them from every impurity. It is an excellent
plan to wear two sets of flannels, each being worn
and aired by turns, on alternate days.”—“A practice
common in Italy merits universal adoption.
Instead of beds being made up in the morning the
moment they are vacated, and while still saturated
became sensible, even to smell, in a bedroom,
the bedclothes were thrown over the backs of
chairs, the mattresses shaken up, and the windows
thrown open for the greater part of the day, so as
to secure a thorough and cleansing ventilation.”
“The opposite practice, carried to extremes in
the dwellings of the poor, where three or four
beds are often huddled up, with all their impurities,
in a small room, is a fruitful source of fever
and bad health, even where ventilation during the
day, and nourishment, are not deficient.”
“In eastern and warm countries, where perspiration
is very copious, ablution and bathing have
assumed the importance of religious observances.”
“The warm, tepid, cold, or shower bath, as a
means of preserving health, ought to be in as common
use as a change of apparel, for it is equally a
measure of necessary cleanliness.”—“Our continental
neighbours consider the bath as a necessary
of life.”
We hope the following remarks, which Mr.
Combe quotes from Stuart, the traveller, will be
taken as a wholesome admonition, not as an unkind
censure:—
“The practice of travellers washing at the
doors, or in the porticoes or stoops, or at the wells
of taverns and hotels, once a day, is most prejudicial
to health; the ablution of the body, which
ought never to be neglected, at least twice a day,
being inconsistent with it. I found it more difficult,
in travelling in the United States, to procure
a liberal supply of water, at all times of the day,
in my bedchamber, than any other necessary. A
seems all that is thought requisite.”
“For general use, the tepid, or warm bath,
seems to me much more suitable than the cold
bath, especially in winter, for those who are not
robust and full of animal heat.”—“For those not
robust, daily sponging of the body with cold water
and vinegar, or salt water, is the best substitute
for the cold bath, and may be resorted to with
safety, especially when care is taken to excite in
the surface, by subsequent friction with the flesh-brush
or hair glove, the healthy glow of reaction.”
—“A person in sound health may take a bath at
any time, except immediately after meals.”—“As
a general rule, active exertion ought to be avoided
for an hour or two after using the warm or tepid
bath.”—“If the bath cannot be had at all places,
soap and water may be obtained everywhere, and
leave no apology for neglecting the skin; or, if the
constitution be delicate, water and vinegar, or
water and salt. A rough and rather coarse towel
is a very useful auxiliary. Few of those who have
steadiness enough to keep up the action of the
skin by the above means, and to avoid strong exciting
causes, will ever suffer from colds, sore
throats, or similar complaints.”—“If one tenth of
the persevering attention and labour bestowed to
so much purpose in rubbing down and currying
the skins of horses, were bestowed on the human
race in keeping themselves in good condition, and
a little attention were paid to diet and clothing,
colds, nervous diseases, and stomach complaints
would cease to form so large a catalogue in human
miseries.”
We wish we could enrich our little book with
farther extracts, but we must conclude with again
earnestly recommending Dr. Combe's work, “The
Principles of Physiology, applied to the Preservation
of Health,” as one of the most important for
the family library.
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