A great many cannot see why it is they do not take a cold when exposed
to cold winds and rain. The fact is, and ought to be more generally
understood, that nearly every cold is contracted indoors, and is not
directly due to the cold outside, but to the heat inside. A man will
go to bed at night feeling as well as usual and get up in the morning
with a royal cold. He goes peeking around in search of cracks and
keyholes and tiny drafts. Weather-strips are procured, and the house
made as tight as a fruit can. In a few days more the whole family have
colds.
Let a man go home, tired or exhausted, eat a full supper of starchy
and vegetable food, occupy his mind intently for a while, go to bed in
a warm, close room, and if he doesn't have a cold in the morning it
will be a wonder. A drink of whisky or a glass or two of beer before
supper will facilitate matters very much.
People swallow more colds down their throats than they inhale or
receive from contact with the air, no matter how cold or chilly it may
be. Plain, light suppers are good to go to bed on, and are far more
conducive to refreshing sleep than a glass of beer or a dose of
chloral. In the estimation of a great many this statement is rank
heresy, but in the light of science, common sense and experience it is
gospel truth.
Pure air is strictly essential to maintain perfect health. If a person
is accustomed to sleeping with the windows open there is but little
danger of taking cold winter or summer. Persons that shut up the
windows to keep out the "night air" make a mistake, for at night the
only air we breathe is "night air," and we need good air while asleep
as much or even more than at any other time of day. Ventilation can be
accomplished by simply opening the window an inch at the bottom and
also at the top, thus letting the pure air in, the bad air going
outward at the top. Close, foul air poisons the blood, brings on
disease which often results in death; this poisoning of the blood is
only prevented by pure air, which enters the lungs, becomes charged
with waste particles, then thrown out, and which are poisoning if
taken back again. It is estimated that a grown person corrupts one
gallon of pure air every minute, or twenty-five barrels full in a
single night, in breathing alone.
Clothes that have been worn through the day should be changed for
fresh or dry ones to sleep in. Three pints of moisture, filled with
the waste of the body, are given off every twenty-four hours, and this
is mostly absorbed by the clothing. Sunlight and exposure to the air
purifies the clothing of the poisons which nature is trying to dispose
of, and which would otherwise be brought again into contact with the
body.
Colds are often taken by extreme cold and heat, and a sudden exposure
to cold by passing from a heated room to the cold outside air. Old and
weak persons, especially, should avoid such extreme change. In passing
from warm crowded rooms to the cold air, the mouth should be kept
closed, and all the breathing done through the nostrils only, that the
cold air may be warmed before it reaches the lungs, or else the sudden
change will drive the blood from the surface of the internal organs,
often producing congestions.
Dr. B. I. Kendall writes that "the temperature of the body should be
evenly and properly maintained to secure perfect health; and to
accomplish this purpose requires great care and caution at times. The
human body is, so to speak, the most delicate and intricate piece of
machinery that could possibly be conceived of, and to keep this in
perfect order requires constant care. It is a fixed law of nature that
every violation thereof shall be punished; and so we find that he who
neglects to care for his body by protecting it from sudden changes of
weather, or draughts of cold air upon unprotected parts of the body,
suffers the penalty by sickness, which may vary according to the
exposure and the habits of the person, which affect the result
materially; for what would be an easy day's work for a man who is
accustomed to hard labor, would be sufficient to excite the
circulation to such an extent in a person unaccustomed to work, that
only slight exposure might cause the death of the latter when
over-heated in this way; while the same exercise and exposure to the
man accustomed to hard labor might not affect him. So, we say, be
careful of your bodies, for it is a duty you owe to yourselves, your
friends, and particularly to Him who created you. When your body is
over-heated and you are perspiring, be very careful about sitting down
to 'cool off,' as the custom of some is, by removing a part of the
clothing and sitting in a cool place, and perhaps where there is a
draught of air passing over your body. The proper way to 'cool off'
when over-heated is to put on more clothing, especially if you are in
a cool place; but never remove a part of the clothing you have already
on. If possible get near a fire where there is no wind blowing, and
dry off gradually, instead of cooling off suddenly, which is always
dangerous."
Many colds are taken from the feet being damp or wet. To keep these
extremities warm and dry is a great preventative against the almost
endless list of disorders which come from a "slight cold." Many
imagine if their feet are not thoroughly wet, there will be no harm
arising from mere dampness, not knowing that the least dampness is
absorbed into the sole, and is attracted nearer the foot itself by its
heat, and thus perspiration is dangerously checked.