The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English Part 23

If you ever heard a little creature sighing or sobbing in its sleep, you could never do this. Seal their closing eyelids with a kiss and a blessing. The time will come, all too soon, when they will lay their heads upon their pillows lacking both. Let them at least have this sweet memory of happy childhood, of which no future sorrow or trouble can rob them. Give them their rosy youth. Nor need this involve wild license.

The judicious parent will not so mistake my meaning. If you ever met the man or the woman, whose eyes have suddenly filled when a little child has crept trustingly to its mother's breast, you may have seen one in whose childhood's home 'dignity' and 'severity' stood where love and pity should have been. Too much indulgence has ruined thousands of children; too much love not one."

POSITION IN SLEEP. The proper position in sleep is upon the right side.

The orifice leading from the stomach to the bowels being on this side, this position favors the pa.s.sage of the contents into the duodenum.

Lying on the back is injurious, since by so doing the spine becomes heated, especially if the person sleeps on feathers, the circulation is obstructed and local congestions are encouraged. The face should never be covered during sleep, since it necessitates the breathing of the same air over again, together with the emanations from the body.

THE AMOUNT OF SLEEP. The amount of sleep required varies with the age, habits, condition, and peculiarities of the individual. No definite rule can be given for the guidance of all. The average amount required, however, is eight or nine hours out of the twenty-four. Some persons need more than this, while others can do with less. Since both body and mind are recuperated by sleep, the more they are exhausted the more sleep is required. A person employed at mental labor should have more than one who is merely expending muscular strength. Six hours of unbroken sleep do more to refresh and revive than ten when frequently interrupted. If it is too prolonged it weakens and stupefies both body and mind. If an insufficient amount is taken the flagging energies are not restored. Persons who eat much, or use stimulants generally require more than others. To sleep regularity is desirable. If a person goes to bed at a certain hour for several nights in succession, it will soon become a habit. The same holds true with regard to rising. If children are put to sleep at a stated hour for several days in succession, it will soon become a habit with them.

CLEANLINESS.

"Cleanliness is next to G.o.dliness," and is essential to the health and vigor of the system. Its importance cannot be overestimated, and it should be inculcated early on the minds of the young. "Even from the body's purity, the mind receives a secret sympathetic aid."

When we consider the functions of the skin, with its myriads of minute glands, innumerable little tubes, employed in removing the worn-out, useless matter from the system, we cannot fail to appreciate the utility of frequent bathing with soap and water. Unless these excretions are removed, the glands become obstructed, their functions are arrested, and unpleasant odors arise. Many persons think because they daily bathe the face, neck, and hands, dress the hair becomingly and remove the dirt from their clothing that the height of cleanliness has been reached.

From a hygienic point of view, bathing the _entire_ body is of much greater importance.

Notwithstanding the necessity for cleanliness of the body, we occasionally meet with persons who, although particular about their personal appearance, permit their bodies to be for weeks and even months without a bath. Such neglect should never exceed one week. Plenty of sunlight and at least one or two general baths every week are essential to perfect health. Cleanliness is necessary to health, beauty, attractiveness, and a cheerful disposition.

CHAPTER IV.

HYGIENE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.

The structure and functions of organized bodies are subject to continual alteration. The changes of nutrition and growth, which are constantly taking place in the tissues render them at the same time the seat of repair and waste, of renovation and decomposition, of life and death.

The plant germinates and blossoms, then withers and decays; animal life, in like manner, comes into being, grows to maturity, fades, and dies. It is, therefore, essential to the perpetuation of life, that new organisms be provided to take the place of those which are pa.s.sing out of existence. There is no physiological process which presents more interesting phenomena than that of reproduction, which includes the formation, as well as the development of new beings.

Since self-preservation is Nature's first law, the desire for food is a most powerful instinct in all living animals. Not inferior to this law is that for the perpetuation of the race; and for this purpose, throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we find the Biblical statement literally ill.u.s.trated: "Male and female created He them."

Health is the gauge by which the prosperity of a people may be measured.

Were we to trace the history of nations,--their rise and fall,--we would find that much of the barbarism and crime, degradation and vice, as well as their decline and final extinction, was due to licentiousness and s.e.xual excesses. Since there is an intimate relation between mind and body, when the body is enfeebled the mind becomes enervated. Morbid conditions of the body prevent the highest mental development, and, on the other hand, when the mind is debilitated, general depravity, physical as well as mental, is the result. The highest development of the body results from the equal and harmonious cultivation of all the mental powers. The perfect development and health of the physical organs is therefore essential to the happiness of mankind. But, before health can be insured the nature and general functions of the physical system must be understood. This being done, the question naturally arises: _How can health be best maintained and longevity secured?_

INFLUENCE OF FOOD. We have previously noticed the effects which food, exercise, and other hygienic agencies, have upon digestion, circulation, and respiration; and we find that they exert a not less potent influence upon the health of the generative organs. Excessive stimulation excites the s.e.xual pa.s.sions. For this reason, children should not be immoderately indulged in highly seasoned foods. Those persons who have great muscular vigor are endowed with violent pa.s.sions, and unless restrained by moral considerations, are very likely to be overcome by their animal propensities.

_Alcoholic stimulants_ have a debasing influence upon the whole system, and especially upon the s.e.xual organs; they excite the animal and debase the moral nature; they exhaust the vitality, and, after the excitement, which they temporarily induce, has pa.s.sed away, the body is left in a prostrated condition.

PHYSICAL LABOR MODIFIES THE Pa.s.sIONS. Labor consumes the surplus vitality which a person may possess, and no better protective can be found against the gratification of the pa.s.sions, unless it be high moral training, than daily toil extended to such a degree as to produce fatigue. Labor determines the blood to the surface and to other parts of the body, and prevents excitement and congestion of the s.e.xual centers.

If, by education or a.s.sociation, the pa.s.sions of children be excited, they will be increased. If, on the contrary, they be taught to avoid these social or solitary evils, they will be abated. Let them be educated to work and the intellectual faculties will a.s.sert their sway, the moral powers will be strengthened, and the body better developed, for purity of mind is the result of the perfect development of man.

INFLUENCES OF CLIMATE. Individuals possess distinguishing peculiarities characteristic of the nation to which they belong. Climate exerts a powerful influence upon mankind. In tropical regions the inhabitants are enervated, effeminate, and sensual. The rich live in luxury and ease, vice is unrestrained and license unbridled. When the animal propensities are allowed to predominate, the mental faculties are kept in subjection.

Hence races that inhabit those lat.i.tudes rarely produce scholars or philosophers. A warm climate hastens the development of the reproductive organs. Men and women become mature at a much earlier age in those regions, than in countries where the temperature is lower. In like manner there is a tendency to premature enfeeblement, for the earlier the system matures, the sooner it deteriorates.

MAN IS A SOCIAL BEING. History demonstrates that when man is deprived of the society of women, he becomes reckless, vicious, depraved, and even barbarous in his habits, thus ill.u.s.trating the maxim: "It is not good for man to be alone." Social intercourse promotes mental and physical development. The development of the individual implies the unfolding of every power, both physical and mental. Nothing so regulates and restrains pa.s.sion as a healthy condition of the organs through which it finds expression. And every organ of the body is powerful in proportion to its soundness. The propensities play a prominent part in the education of the child. When properly disciplined and held in subordination to the higher faculties, they const.i.tute an important factor in the economy of man. Boys are more liable to be morbidly excited when secluded from the society of girls, and vice versa. Again, when the s.e.xes are accustomed to a.s.sociate, the pa.s.sions are not apt to be aroused, because of the natural antagonistic const.i.tutional elements.

The influence of the one refines, and enn.o.bles the other. Let children be taught to understand their natures, and knowing them, they will learn self-government. "As man rises in education and moral feeling he proportionately rises in the power of self-restraint; and consequently as he becomes deprived of this wholesome law of discipline he sinks into self-indulgence and the brutality of savage life.

The pa.s.sions may be aroused by the language, appearance or dress of the opposite s.e.x. A word spoken without any impure intent is often construed in a very different sense by one whose pa.s.sions color the thought, and is made to convey an impression entirely unlike that which was intended by the speaker. Also, the dress may be of such a character as to excite the s.e.xual pa.s.sion. The manner in which the apparel is worn is often so conspicuous as to become bawdy, thereby appealing to the libidinous desires, rather than awakening an admiration for the mental qualities.

OBSCENE LITERATURE. Literature is a powerful agent either for good or evil. If we would improve the morals, _choice_ literature must be selected, whether it be that which realizes the ideal, or idealizes the real. Obscene literature, or books written for the express purpose of exciting or intensifying s.e.xual desires in the young, goads to an illicit gratification of the pa.s.sions, and ruins the moral and physical nature.

It not unfrequently happens that a child is born with a vigorous, mental organism which promises a brilliant future, but manhood finds him incompetent, debilitated, and totally incapacitated for mental or manual labor. This may be the result of youthful indiscretion, ignorantly committed, but not unfrequently it is the effect of a pernicious literature which inflames the imagination, tramples upon reason, and describes to the youth a realm where the pa.s.sions are the ruling deities.

Many persons are born into the world with disordered organizations for which they are not themselves responsible. Such individuals are ent.i.tled to the sympathy of humanity. Dyspepsia, scrofula, consumption, and a thousand ills to which mankind is heir, are inherited from parents, the results of ill-a.s.sorted marriages. Intoxicated parents often produce offspring utterly demented. Children of healthy parents, with good const.i.tutions, are usually healthy and intelligent. There are marked varieties of character in children of the same parents. One manifests great precocity, another is below the average in mental attainments; one is amiable, another irritable in disposition; indeed, there are often as great differences between children of the same, as of different families. This is due to the physical and mental conditions of the parents, more especially the mother, not only at the time of the impregnation but also during the period intervening between conception and the birth of the offspring. The ancients regarded courage as the princ.i.p.al virtue. By us, purity is so estimated. Moral purity is an essential requisite to the growth and perfection of the character.

SELF-ABUSE. Untold miseries arise from the pollution of the body.

Self-pollution, or onanism, is one of the most prolific sources of evil, since it leads both to the degradation of body and mind. It is practiced more or less by members of both s.e.xes, and the habit once established, is overcome with the greatest difficulty. It is the source of numerous diseases which derange the functional activity of the organs involved, and eventually impair the const.i.tution. This vicious habit is often practiced by those who are ignorant of its dangerous results. Statistics show that insanity is frequently caused by masturbation.

Immoderate indulgence in any practice is deleterious to the individual.

Emphatically true is this with regard to s.e.xual excesses. Not unfrequently does the marriage rite "cover a mult.i.tude of sins." The abuse of the conjugal relation produces the most serious results to both parties, and is a prolific source of some of the gravest forms of disease. Prostatorrhea, spermatorrhea, impotency, hypochondria, and general debility of the generative organs, arise from s.e.xual excesses.

The health of the reproductive organs can only be maintained by leading a _temperate_ life. The food should be nourishing but not stimulating.

Lascivious thoughts should be banished from the mind, and a taste cultivated for that literature which is elevating in its nature, and the a.s.sociations should be refining and enn.o.bling. Let these conditions and the rules of hygiene, be observed, and virtue will reward her subjects with a fine physique and a n.o.ble character.

Woman, from the nature of her organization, has less strength and endurance than man. Much, however, of the suffering and misery which she experiences arises from insufficient attention to the s.e.xual organs. The menstrual function is generally established between the ages of twelve and fourteen. For want of proper instruction, many a girl through ignorance HAS caused derangements which have enfeebled her womanhood or terminated her life. At this critical period the mother cannot be too considerate of her daughter's health. Preceding the first appearance of the menses, girls usually feel an aching in the back, pains in the limbs, chilliness, and general languor. The establishment of this function relieves these symptoms. Every precaution should be taken during the period to keep the feet dry and warm, to freely maintain a general circulation of the blood, to avoid exertion, and to refrain from standing or walking too much. Menstrual derangements should never be neglected, for they predispose to affections of the brain, liver, heart, and stomach, induce consumption and frequently end in death. Young women should, therefore, properly protect themselves, and avoid extremes of heat and cold.

CHAPTER V.

PRACTICAL SUMMARY OF HYGIENE.

1. The first step which should be taken for the prevention of disease, is to make provision for the health of the unborn child. Greater care should be exercised with women who are in a way to become mothers. Those who are surrounded by all the luxuries which health can bestow, indulge too much in rich food, and take too little exercise; while the poor get too little nourishment, and work too hard and too long. A woman in this condition should avoid over-exertion, and all scenes which excite the pa.s.sions or powerful emotions. She should take moderate exercise in the open air; eat moderately of wholesome food, and of meat not oftener than twice a day; take tea or coffee in limited quant.i.ties, and avoid the use of all alcoholic liquors; she should go to bed early and take not less than nine hours sleep; her clothing should be loose, light in weight, and warm. She should take every precaution against exposure to contagious or infectious diseases.

2. There is no better method for preventing the spread of contagious diseases than perfect isolation of the infected, and thorough disinfection of all articles of clothing or bedding which have been in contact with the infected. Many persons erroneously believe that every child must necessarily have the measles, and other contagious diseases, and they, therefore, take no precautions against the exposure of their children. The liability to infection diminishes as age advances, and those individuals are, as a rule, the strongest and best developed who have never suffered from any of the contagious diseases. Although, vaccination is the great safeguard against-pox, yet it should never prevent the immediate isolation of those who are suffering from this disease.

3. To avoid the injurious effects of impure air, the following rules, should be carefully observed. The admission of air which contains anything that emits an unpleasant odor into closed rooms should be avoided. The temperature of every apartment should be kept as near 70 Fahr. as possible, and the air should not be overcharged with watery vapor. Provisions should be made for the free admission into and escape of air from the room at all times. When an apartment is not in use, it should be thoroughly ventilated by opening the windows. Those who are compelled to remain in an atmosphere tilled with dust, should wear a cotton-wool respirator.

4. To insure a healthy condition of the body, the diet of man ought to be varied, and all excesses should be avoided. The total amount of solid food taken in the twenty-four hours should not exceed two and a half pounds, and not more than one-third of this quant.i.ty should consist of animal food. Many persons do not require more than one pound and a half of mixed food. To avoid parasitic diseases, meat should not be eaten rare, especially pork. The amount of drink taken should not be more than three pints in twenty-four hours. The excessive use of tea and coffee should be avoided. Pickles, boiled cabbage, and other indigestible articles should never be eaten.

5. To avoid the evil effects of alcoholic liquors, perfect abstinence is the only safe course to pursue. Although one may use spirituous liquors in moderation for a long period of time and possibly remain healthy, yet such an indulgence is unnecessary and exceedingly dangerous. A person who abstains entirely from their use is safe from their pernicious influence; a person who indulges ever so moderately is in danger; a person who relies on such stimulants for support in the hour of need is lost.

6. While the use of tobacco is less pernicious than alcohol in its effects, et it exerts a profound disturbing influence upon the nervous system, and gives rise to various functional and organic diseases. This is the verdict of those who have given the subject the most study, and who have had the best opportunities for extensive observation. Suddenly fatal results have followed excesses in the use of tobacco. Therefore, the habit should be avoided, or if already acquired, it should be immediately abandoned.

7. The clothing should be light and porous, adapted in warmth to the season. It is especially important that persons in advanced life should be well protected against vicissitudes of heat and cold. Exposure is the cause of almost all those inflammatory diseases which occur during winter, and take off the feeble and the aged. The under-garments should be kept scrupulously clean by frequent changes. Corsets or bands which impede the flow of blood, compress the organs of the chest or abdomen, or restrict the movements of the body, are very injurious, and should not be worn. Articles of dress which are colored with irritating dye-stuffs, should be carefully avoided.

8. It matters not how varied a person's vocation may be, change, recreation, and rest are required. It is an error to suppose that more work can be done by omitting these. No single occupation which requires special mental or physical work, should be followed for more than eight hours out of the twenty-four. The physical organism is not constructed to run its full cycle of years and labor under a heavier burden than this. Physical and mental exercise is conducive to health and longevity, if not carried too far. It is erroneous to suppose that excessive physical exertion promotes health. Man was never intended to be a running or a jumping machine. In mental work, variety should be introduced. New work calls into play fresh portions of the brain, and secures repose for those parts which have become exhausted. Idleness should be avoided by all. Men should never retire from business as long as they enjoy a fair degree of health. Idleness and inactivity are opposed to nature.

9. The average length of time which a person ought to sleep is eight hours out of the twenty-four, and, as a rule, those who take this amount enjoy the best health. The most favorable time for sleep is between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. All excitement, the use of stimulants, and excessive fatigue tend to prevent sleep. Sleeping rooms should be well ventilated, and the air maintained at a equable temperature of as near 60 Fahr. as possible. An inability to sleep at the proper time, or a regular inclination to sleep at other than the natural hours for it, is a certain indication of errors of habit, or of nervous derangement.

10. Prominent among all other measures for the maintenance of Health, is personal cleanliness. Activity in the functions of the skin is essential to perfect health, and this can only be secured by thoroughly bathing the entire body. Strictly, a person should bathe once every twenty-four or forty-eight hours. The body should be habituated to contact with cold water at all season of the year, so that warm water may not become a necessity. The simplest and most convenient bath, is the ordinary sponge-bath. An occasional hot-air, or Turkish bath, exerts a very beneficial influence. It cleans out the pores of the skin and increases its activity.