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Classic
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page 432
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.
Clothing that has 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
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