Morning Bath

The proverbial cold morning bath is one of the most powerful of all known tonics. It should be taken immediately on rising. The temperature of the water should be as cold as can comfortably be borne. A minute or two, or even less than this, is sufficient time for cold water applications, which should always be followed by vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel, or brush, until a strong reaction is produced. This may take from five to fifteen minutes, especially where the circulation is sluggish. Daily cold bathing is one of the very best preventives for those who catch cold readily, not only this, but as a nerve tonic nothing else equals the effect of cold bathing. The baths must be short, say one half minute, best taken in a warm room, followed by vigorous rubbing and exercise, so that the reaction be prompt. A valuable aid to excite friction is the flesh brush and the loofah, both of which may be used either moist or dry. The benefits of cold baths are not confined to the skin alone. All the organs of the body are excited to increased activity. Special mention must be made of the really wonderful and transforming effects which cold applications have in their effect upon the Nervous System in Nervousness, Nervous Prostration or Neurasthenia.

Scrub Bath

The daily scrub bath, aided by the dry-friction bath, far exceed the curative effects of any drugs in the treatment of nervous conditions. The scrub bath should form part of one's daily toilet. It may be performed by scrubbing the entire body with brushes or coarse towels, using hot water to begin with, finally ending up with a cold dash, sponge, or shower, followed by vigorous rubbing or exercise until complete reaction ensues, the skin being in a healthy glow. Cold water can be used in place of hot by those who are accustomed to bathing. For those who have a dread of water, a substitute for bathing is provided by taking a dry or friction-bath. This may be used at any time, once, twice, or even three times a day, and is not followed by any feeling of depression.

Friction Bath

For a friction bath a flesh brush is desirable, but coarse towels, loofahs, or other friction-producers, answer. The entire body from head to foot should be thoroughly rubbed, a procedure which should take from five to ten minutes. Many persons take a bath as a routine matter, while others do so only under compulsion. The dry or friction-bath is one which takes but little time, is less inconvenient than the usual method, and for those persons who have a fear or dread of water, it is one that should recommend itself as a hygienic measure of the greatest importance. The friction-bath is particularly adapted to individuals who suffer from poor circulation, cold hands, cold feet - those who dread the winters.

Baths may be varied to suit the fancy.

A hot scrub bath one day, or a series of days in succession, a sweating bath once or twice a week, the friction-bath morning and evening, or in the evening alone before going to bed; all summed up, however, in the necessity of every individual thoroughly exercising the skin at least once every day.

The buoyancy, vigor, vim, vitality and exhilaration produced by a hot scrub bath, followed by a cold shower with subsequent rubbing and drying, can only be appreciated by those who have experienced it. One feels as if he could "run like a deer."

Cold Bathing

Cold, applied either as cold air, cold water, or in any other manner, has a wonderful stimulating effect upon the entire organism. When applied to the skin its effect is to produce marked contractility of the vessels and this, through a chain of physiological circumstances, awakens every organ of the body. This stimulating effect is especially marked on the Nervous System, hence the value of sea-bathing, cold air baths, etc.

One not accustomed to cold bathing, especially if in indifferent health, should begin carefully. Better have the water a trifle warm than too cold, 75° F. or thereabouts, and let the bath be brief, not to exceed one-half minute. There should be good reaction after vigorous rubbing and exercise. The bath should not be followed by languor, headache, or tire. The feet especially must be rubbed till reaction in them is good. It may be necessary to put them in hot water or alternately in hot and cold water, and follow this with brisk friction, using coarse towels, hand scrubs, or fibre brushes to facilitate warmth. In some instances, instead of the general immersion of the body, a towel dipped in tepid or cool water is wrung out of cold water and applied to the body, or the cold mitten friction is employed, in which a rough cloth, mohair, canvas or fibre mitten is used for the purpose of friction. Each part of the body may be bathed separately and then dried : the chest first, then the feet, less, arms, or vice-versa.