OCR Text |
Show HOW TO BATHE. lie Clean and in All Likelihood Yon Wilt he Healthy. The first and common object of the bath is cleanliness. The great importance import-ance of abstersion, and the necessity of keeping the skin clean and in its normal activity will be more fully appreciated when we consider tho importance of tho function which the skin has to perform. One-third of all the morbid matter in the system arising aris-ing from tissue change is thrown off through the skin, the other two-thirds being excreted by the kidneys apd lungs. The excretion through the skin is accomplished by the action of about 2,500,000 of little sweat glands. Each of these glands is surrounded by a plexus o"f blood vessels, and has a duct extending to the surface, the average length of which is one-fourth of an inch. The aggregate length of these ducts as computed is about ten miles. Think of it. A system of human sewerage ten mile in extent! The doleterious effect upon the organism caused by a stoppage of this great Bystem of drainage will be perceived at a glance. The effete matters of the body, which in a state of health are excreted by the skin, nature now endeavors en-deavors to get rid of through the kidneys and lungs. The effe.-t on these organs of the great increase of functional activity necessary to maintain the harmony between be-tween tissuo waste and tissue repair results in their disease, and the entire system becomes deranged from the poisonous effects of this accumulated matter. Then, too. In health inspiration inspira-tion is carried on, in a measure, through the skin by the absorption of oxygen and the giving off of carbonic acid, thus aiding the lungs in their interchange of gases; in this manner a direct effect is produced upon these organs by a checking of the normal activity of the skin. |