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Hygienic Physiology

J >> Joel Dorman Steele >> Hygienic Physiology




EFFECTS OF INSUFFICIENT OUTDOOR EXERCISE UPON THE YOUNG (p. 41).--Children
deprived of adequate outdoor exercise are always delicate, pale, and
tender; or, in a figurative sense, they are like the sprig of vegetation
in a dark, dank hole,--bleached and spindling....An inactive indoor life
is one of the most effectual ways of weakening the young body. It renders
the growth unnaturally soft and tender, and thus susceptible to harm from
the slightest causes. It hinders the garnering of strength necessary for a
long life, and gives to the germs of disease a resistless power over an
organization so weak and deficient....Measles, scarlet fever, and
diphtheria find among such a congenial soil, and run riot among the
elements of the body held together by so frail a thread....Such children
are always at the mercy of the weather. Colds and coughs are standard
disorders in winter, headaches and habitual languor in summer....The
scapegoat for this result is the climate: if that was only better, mothers
are sure their children's health would also be better. No, it would not be
better: no earthly climate is good enough to preserve health and strength
under such unnatural training....Children of the laboring classes, often
dirty and imperfectly clad, seldom have colds, simply for the reason that,
for the greater part of the day, they have the freedom of the streets. It
is not the dirt, it is not the rags, _but the life-giving force of an
active outdoor life_ that renders such children so strong and healthy.
--BLACK, _Ten Laws of Health_.

POPULAR MODES OF OUTDOOR EXERCISE (p. 42).--_Walking_.--Every person
has his own particular step, caused by the conformity, shape, and length
of his bones, and the height of his body. Such a thing, then, as a
regulation step is unnatural, and any attempt at equalizing the step of
individuals of different heights must result in a loss of power.

The moment, also, that walking comes to be _uphill_, fatigue is
sensibly increased. The center of gravity of the body is changed, and the
muscular force necessary to provide for the change causes the fixing of
the diaphragm, and a rigid condition of many muscles. Respiration is
interfered with, owing to the fixing of the diaphragm, and the heart
becomes affected thereby. A person with a sensitive or diseased heart can,
during a walk, tell when the slightest rise in the ground occurs. We make
climbing more exhausting from the habit we have of suspending the breath.
Let the reader _hold his breath_ and run up twenty-four steps of a
stair, and then perform the same act _breathing freely_ and deeply.
It will be found that by the first act marked breathlessness will be
induced, whereas by the latter the effect is much less. This management of
the breath constitutes the difference between the beginner and the
experienced athlete. The enormous increase of the quantity of air consumed
during exercise will at once bring home a number of lessons. One is, that
exercise is best taken in the open air, and not in gymnasia; another, that
free play to act for the regions of the chest and abdomen must be given.
On no account must a tight belt be worn around the soft-walled abdomen. If
a belt is preferred to braces, let it be applied below the top of the
haunch bone, where the bones can resist the pressure.

Whatever may be the pastimes indulged in by young men, walking should
never be neglected. The oarsman will become "stale" unless the method of
exercise is varied; the gymnast will develop the upper part of his body,
while his lower extremities will remain spindleshanks. So with all other
forms of exercise; success, in any form of game, sport, or gymnastic
training, can not be attained unless walking be freely taken.

_Skating_ is simply an exaggerated swinging walk, with this
difference, that the foot on which one rests is not stationary, but moves
along at a rapid rate. The benefit to the circulation, respiration, and
digestion is even greater in skating than in walking. The dangers from
skating are:

1. The giving way of the ice. Great caution should be used in regard to
the safety of a frozen pond or river.

2. Taking cold from becoming overheated, and from subsequent inactive
exposure. Physiological knowledge will teach people that, when they begin
to skate, outer wraps should be laid aside, and again put on when skating
is finished.

3. Sprains, especially of the ankle, and other minor accidents arising
from falls. Ankle boots with strong uppers should be worn during skating.
Those who have weak ankles ought to wear skates with ankle straps and
buckles, acme skates being relegated to those who are not afraid of going
"over their foot."

_Rowing_.--The muscles employed in rowing may be summed up under two
heads--those that are used in the forward swing, and those used in the
backward. In the _forward_ swing all the joints of the lower
extremity, the hip, knee, and ankle, are flexed; the shoulder is brought
forward; the elbow is straightened; and the wrist is first extended and
then flexed, in feathering the oar. The body is bent forward by the
muscles in front of the abdomen and spinal column. In the _backward_
movement the reverse takes place; the lower extremity, the hip, knee, and
ankle are straightened; the shoulder is pulled back; the elbow is flexed;
and the wrist is held straight. The body is bent backward by the muscles
at the lower part of the back, and by those of the spine in general. It
will be seen that the enormous number of joints put into use, and the
varying positions employed, call into play nearly every muscle of the
limbs and trunk. Rowing gives more work to the muscles of the back than
any other kind of exercise. This is of the first importance to both men
and women, but especially to women. The chief work of the muscles of the
back is to support the body in the erect position, and the better they are
developed the better will the carriage be, and the less likelihood of
stooping shoulders, contracted chests, and the like. Now, the work of the
muscles in supporting the body is largely relegated in women to the stays,
and, in consequence, the muscles undergo wasting and fatty degeneration,
in fact, atrophy; so that when the stays are left off, the muscles are
unfit to support the body. Rowing exercises these muscles condemned to
waste, and imparts a natural carriage to the girl's frame. In rowing, as
in horseback riding, the clothing should be loose, stays left off, and
flannels worn next the skin. The dress itself should be of woolen, and
there should always be in the boat a large wrap to use when one stops
rowing. The following practical rules should be observed by rowers:

1. Never row after a full meal.

2. Stop when fatigue comes on.

3. _Allow the breath to escape while the oar is in the water_. A
novice usually holds his breath at each stroke, and pulls so rapidly that
in a few minutes he becomes breathless, and is forced to stop. Not only is
this uncomfortable, but it is dangerous. In the case of both young and
old, it may give rise to an abdominal rupture (hernia), dilation of the
cavities of the heart, rupture of a heart valve, varicose veins, etc.
Instead of fixing the diaphragm and holding the breath during the time of
pulling, as novices are apt to do, _do exactly the opposite_. Let the
diaphragm go loose, and allow the breath to escape.

4. Change the clothing from the skin outward as soon as the day's rowing
is finished.

5. Before retiring for the night, have a warm bath, temperature 92° Fahr.
This is a specific against the aches and muscular stiffness which often
follow a long pull on the water.

_Swimming_.--A word of warning is necessary in regard to those
learning to swim in rivers. Boys at school, when they take to river
bathing, often carry it to a dangerous extent. They get into the water,
and now in, now out on the bank, sometimes remain for hours. This may take
place day after day, and if the weather continues warm and the holidays
last long enough, the boy may reduce himself to the lowest ebb of
feebleness, and possibly develop the seeds of latent disease. He may even
die from the effects of this prolonged immersion and madcap exposure.

The muscular exertion undergone during swimming, especially by those who
swim only occasionally, is very great. The experienced swimmer conserves
his strength, as do proficients at all feats, but the occasional swimmer,
like the occasional rower, puts forth treble the energy required, and soon
becomes exhausted. In the first place, it is a new act for the muscles to
perform; they are taken off from the beaten tracks, and are grouped
together in new associations; hence they lack adjustment and adaptation.
Again, as in other feats for which one is untrained, the heart and lungs
do not work in time. Ease and speed in swimming depend upon the attainment
of harmony in the working of the muscles, heart, and lungs.

Diving is an accomplishment attached to swimming, which involves many
dangers, and is well-nigh useless. The customary dive off a springboard
into the shallow water of a swimming bath is dangerous in the extreme. The
only place where diving should be attempted is into deep water, at least
fifteen or twenty feet, where there is no danger of striking the bottom.

_Lawn Tennis_.--Of all modern inventions in the way of games, lawn
tennis is the best.

The dangers attendant on lawn tennis are:--

1. Overexertion, causing rupture and deranged circulation, especially in
the case of those with weak hearts, or those who, being out of condition,
or too fat, suddenly engage in the game too long or too violently.

2. Rupture of the _tendon of Achilles_, from taking a sudden bound.
In such an accident the subject falls down, with a sensation as if struck
with a club on the leg.

3. Rupture of one of the heads of the biceps in the arm. Here the arm
drops helplessly, and a muscular knob rises up on the inner and upper part
of the arm.

4. The tennis arm. This trouble arises from the method of manipulating the
bat. The pain is felt over the upper end of the radius.

Many of the strains, ruptured tendons, and torn muscles in tennis players
are caused by the want of heels to tennis shoes. As, ordinarily, we walk
on heels which vary from half an inch to an inch, there must be a
considerable extra strain thrown on the muscles of the calf of the leg,
when the heels are left off. Especially during a sudden spring is this
apparent, when to rise from off the heels on to the toes requires a
greatly increased force. Tennis shoes should therefore have fairly deep,
broad heels.

_Horseback Riding_ is a mixed exercise, partly active and partly
passive, the lower parts of the body being in some measure employed, while
the upper parts in easy cantering are almost wholly relaxed. It is
peculiarly suited to dyspeptics, from its direct action upon the abdominal
viscera, the contents of which are stimulated by the continued agitation
and succussion, consequent on the motion in riding.

_Bicycling and Tricycling_.--While strongly recommending bicycling
and tricycling to both men and women in health, those suffering from heart
or lung affections, ruptures, scrofula, joint disease, or like maladies,
should not indulge in them without medical sanction. For abdominal
complaints, such as dyspepsia, congestion of the liver, constipation, and
the like, the exercise is excellent.

_Baseball_ is an essentially American game, which brings into play
nearly all the muscles of the body. Its chief danger lies in being hit by
the hard, forcibly pitched ball, and, for weak persons, in the violence of
the exercise.

_Football_ is a rough-and-tumble game, suited only to that class of
boys and men, who, brimming over with animal life, take small heed of the
accidents liable to occur.

_Light and Heavy Gymnastics_.--For wet weather, and when outdoor
exercise is not practicable, gymnastics are most advisable. Boys and
girls, at the age of fifteen or sixteen, often shoot up and become tall
and lanky; they want filling out, and are troubled with growing pains.
Even men, when tall and thin, are seldom very erect, their muscles are too
weak; and there is only one way of overcoming this weakness--by exercising
them. Nothing more is wanted than a pair of very light Indian clubs, a
pair of light wooden dumb bells, a long wooden rod, and a pair of wooden
rings,--the last for combined exercises. Indeed, a systematic motion of
the body itself, without any extra artificial resistance, is quite
sufficient for the purposes of physical education. In nearly all our large
cities are found gymnasia, provided with competent instructors, and every
facility for both light and heavy gymnastics. Exercise in a gymnasium is
open to the objection of being too brief and too severe, and of simply
causing an increase of muscular development. Besides, it is generally
unequal in its results, being better adapted to the cultivation of
strength in the upper extremities and portion of the body than in the
lower. Nevertheless, during inclement weather, or with persons in whom the
muscles of the arms and chest are defective, moderate gymnastic exercise
is far better than no exercise.--_Compiled_. (_Mostly from "The
Influence of Exercise" in The Book of Health_.)

THE SKIN.

THE HAIR (p. 52).--_Baldness, and its Causes_.--Various reasons are
assigned for the baldness which is so prevalent among comparatively young
men in our country. One writer says: "The premature baldness and grayness
of the Americans as a people is in great measure owing to the
nonobservance of hygienic rules, and to excess of mental and physical
labor in a climate foreign to the race." Others attribute it to the close
unventilated hats commonly worn by men. Dr. Nichols, in the _Popular
Science News_, gives his opinion thus:

"In our view, it is largely due to modern methods of treatment of the hair
and scalp. The erroneous idea prevails, that the skin which holds the hair
follicles and the delicate secretory organs of the scalp must be kept as
'clean,' so to speak, as the face or hands; consequently young men
patronize barbers or hairdressers, and once or twice a week they have what
is called a 'shampoo' operation performed. This consists in a thorough
scouring of the hair and scalp with dilute ammonia, water, and soap, so
that a heavy 'lather' is produced, and the glandular secretions, which are
the natural protection of the hair, and promotive of its growth, are
saponified and removed. No act could be more directly destructive of a
healthy growth of hair than this....Women do not shampoo or wash the hair
as often as the other sex, and consequently they are in a large degree
exempt from baldness in middle life. It is true, however, that many women
in cities make frequent visits to the hairdressers, and subject their
tresses to the 'scouring' process. If this becomes common, it will not be
long before baldness will overtake the young mothers as well as the
fathers, and the time will be hastened when even children will have no
hair to destroy with ammonia or other caustic cosmetics.

"The advice we have to offer to young men and maidens is,--let your hair
alone; keep at a safe distance from hair-dressing rooms and drug shops,
where are sold oils, alkaline substances, alcoholic mixtures, etc., for
use upon the hair. They are all pernicious, and will do you harm. The head
and hair may be washed occasionally with soft, tepid water, without soap
of any kind. As a rule, the only appliances needed in the care of the hair
are good combs and brushes: and they should not be used harshly, so as to
wound the scalp. Avoid all 'electric' and wire-made brushes. No
electricity can be stored in a hairbrush: if it could be, it is not
needed."

_Sudden Blanching of the Hair from Violent Emotions_.--The color of
the hair depends mainly upon the presence of pigment granules, which range
in tint from a light yellow to an intense black. A recent investigator has
succeeded in extracting the coloring matter of the hair, and has found
that all the different shades are produced by the mixture of three primary
colors--red, yellow, and black. "In the pure golden yellow hair there is
only the yellow pigment; in red hair the red pigment is mixed with more or
less yellow, producing the various shades of red and orange; in dark hair
the black is always mixed with yellow and red, but the latter are
overpowered by the black; and it seems that even the blackest hair, such
as that of the negro, contains as much red pigment as the very reddest
hair." Hence, "if in the negro the black pigment had not been developed,
the hair of all negroes would be a fiery red."--DR. C. H. LEONARD. _The
Hair: Its Diseases and Treatment_.

The gradual disappearance of this pigment causes the gray or white hair of
old age. This natural change in color does not necessarily denote loss of
vitality in the hair, as it often continues to grow as vigorously as
before it began to whiten. Cases of sudden blanching of the hair from
extreme grief or terror are often quoted,--those of Sir Thomas More and of
Marie Antoinette being well-known instances in point. An interesting
circumstance has been discovered with regard to such cases, namely, that
the change of color is not dependent upon the disappearance of the pigment
of the hair, which always takes place slowly, but upon the sudden
development in its interior of a number of air bubbles, that hide and
destroy the effect of the pigment, which itself remains unaltered. Dr.
Landois mentions the case of a German printer whom he attended, at a
hospital, in the summer of 1865.

This man had long been intemperate in his habits, in consequence of which
he was seized with delirium tremens. The delirium, as is usual in such
cases, was of an extremely terrifying nature, and lasted four days. On the
evening of the fourth day the hair was unaltered, but on the morning of
the fifth the delirium had disappeared, and his hair, which previously was
fair, had become gray. It was examined with the microscope, when it was
found that the pigment was still present, but that the central streak of
each was filled with air bubbles.

How this superabundance of air finds its way into the hair in these cases
of sudden blanching, physiologists have not yet been able satisfactorily
to explain.--In this connection, however, it may be observed that air
bubbles exist, more or less, in all hair, mingled with the pigment
granules.

The feathers of birds owe their bright colors to an oily secretion
corresponding to the pigment in hair, and microscopical observation has
revealed the fact that when these colors fade the oily secretion
disappears, and is replaced by air. That extreme terror may blanch
feathers as well as hair is shown in the case of a poor little starling,
which upon being rescued from the claws of a cat became suddenly white.

THE NAILS (p. 54).--The nails are mere modifications of the scarfskin,
their horny appearance and feeling being due to the fact that the scales
or plates of which they are composed are much harder and more closely
packed. The root of the nail lies embedded, to the extent of about the
twelfth part of an inch, in a fold of the sensitive skin, and, as may be
observed from an inspection of the part, the scarfskin is not exactly
continuous with the nail, but projects a little above it, forming a narrow
margin.

The nail, like the scarfskin, rests upon, and is intimately connected
with, a structure almost identical with the sensitive skin; this is,
however, thrown into ridges, which run parallel to one another, except at
the back part, where they radiate from the center of the root. On
examining the surface of the nail, a semicircular whitish portion is
detected near its root; its color is dependent upon the fact that the
ridges there contain fewer blood vessels, and therefore less blood, and on
account of its half-moon shape it is called the _lunula_.

The nail is constantly increasing in length, owing to the formation of new
cells at the root, which push it forward, while the increase in its
thickness is due to the secretion of new cells from the sensitive layer
beneath, so that the farther the nail grows from the root, the thicker it
becomes. Its nutrition, and consequently its growth, suffers in disease,
the portion growing during disease being thinner than that growing in
health; and accordingly a transverse groove is seen upon the nail,
corresponding to the time of an illness. It will thus be seen that by a
mere examination of the nail we can astonish our friends by telling them
when they have been ill; and it has been estimated that the nail of the
thumb grows from its root to its free extremity in five months, that of
the great toe in twenty months, so that a transverse groove in the middle
of the former indicates an illness about two and a half months before, and
in the middle of the latter, about ten months.

The culture of the nails, which when perfect constitute so great a beauty,
is of much importance; but the tendency is to injure them by too much
attention. The scissors should never be used except to pare the free edges
when they have become ragged or too long, and the folds of scarfskin which
overlap the roots should not, as a rule, be touched, unless they be
frayed, when the torn edges may be snipped off, so as to prevent their
being torn further, which may cause much pain, and even inflammation. The
upper surfaces of the nails should on no account be touched with the
knife, as is so often done, the nailbrush being amply sufficient to keep
them clean, without impairing their smooth and polished surfaces.--HINTON.

BATHS AND BATHING (p. 65).--_Physical Cleanliness Promotes Moral
Purity_.--The old adage that cleanliness is next to godliness, must
have had its origin in the feeling of moral elevation which generally
accompanies scrupulous bodily purity. Frequent bathing promotes purity of
mind and morals. The man who is accustomed to be physically clean shrinks
instinctively from contact with all uncleanliness. Personal neatness, when
grown into a habit, draws after it so many excellences, that it may well
be called a social virtue. Without it, refined intercourse would be
impossible; for its neglect not only indicates a want of proper self-
respect, but a disrespect of the feelings of others which argues a low
tone of the moral sense. All nations, as they advance in civilization and
refinement of manners, pay increased attention to the purity of the
person.

What, then, shall we say of people who, after all that has been said and
written upon the subject, seldom or never bathe, who allow the pores of
the skin to get blocked up with a combination of dust and perspired
matter, which is as effectual in its way as plaster to the walls of a
building? Could they but once be tempted to taste the delights which arise
from a perfectly clean and well-acting skin: the cheerfulness, nay, the
feeling of moral as well as physical elevation, which accompanies the
sense of that cleanliness, they would soon esteem the little time and
trouble spent in the bath, and in the proper care of the surface of the
body, as time and labor very well spent--DR. STRANGE.

The feet, particularly, should receive daily attention, if it be no more
than a vigorous rubbing with a wet cloth, followed by a dry one. After a
long walk, also, nothing is more refreshing, especially in summer, than a
generous footbath in cool or tepid water, followed by an entire change in
shoes and stockings. This is really a necessary precaution, if the feet
have become wet from the dampness of the ground; and if the walk has
heated the body so that the stockings are moist with perspiration, it is
not only an act of prudence, but an instinct of personal neatness.

_Ancient Greek and Roman Baths_.--From the earliest historic times
the necessity for frequent and thorough ablution has been recognized by
artificial provisions for this purpose. The Greeks had "steaming baths"
and "fragrant anointing oils," as far back as Homer's time, a thousand
years before Christ, but the Romans surpassed all preceding and subsequent
nations by their magnificent and luxuriously equipped Thermæ, in which a
bath cost less than a cent, and was often free. A full Roman bath included
hot air, dry rubbing, hot, tepid, and cold water immersions, scraping with
bronze instruments, and anointing with precious perfumes.

_The Modern Russian_ and _Turkish baths_ are the nearest
approaches we have to the Roman bath. These are found in nearly all our
larger cities.

_The Turkish Bath_ is conducted in a modified form in this country,
generally with hot air instead of steam. Its frequent use not only tends
to keep the body in a state of perfect cleanliness, but it imparts a
clear, fresh color to the complexion which is hardly attained by other
means.

"Its most important effect," says a writer in the _Popular Science
Monthly_, "is the stimulation of the emunctory action of the skin. By
this means we are enabled to wash as it were the solid and fluid tissues,
and especially the blood and skin, by passing water through them from
within outward to the surface of the body. Hence, in practice, one of the
most essential requisites is copious draughts of water during the
sweating."

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