The skin plays an important part in eliminating waste products from the system. It does this by means of the sweat-glands, which are found scattered all over the body. These glands have small ducts, ending in minute apertures on the surface of the skin. If these apertures are allowed to become blocked up, either by dirt or by the natural grease of the body, the skin cannot carry out its duties. The result is that a certain amount of this waste matter is kept back, and the health suffers in consequence sooner or later.

Neither cold baths nor outdoor bathing can get rid of this grease, so that a hot bath occasionally is essential, even in the case of people who bathe regularly every morning, either at home or out of doors.

The usual objection to hot baths is that people take cold unless they go straight to bed as soon as they have dried themselves. Otherwise, so they say, they go on perspiring and take a chill. Now this is due, not to their having had a hot bath, but because the water was not hot enough when they got out of it. Hot water has the same effect as cold in bracing up the sweat pores, and preventing them from continuing to pour out unnecessary perspiration. Lukewarm water, on the other hand, leaves the skin lax and moist, and it is then that people are liable to chills. Hence the popular idea of running in some cold water before the bath is finished is a mistake, as it brings about the very conditions we are anxious to avoid.

An indispensable adjunct to every bathroom is a thermometer, by which the temperature of the water can be accurately gauged. The common plan of testing it by the hand is fallacious, as the result depends largely on the state of the hand at the time. If the fingers are cold when dipped in, the water feels warmer than it usually is, and vice versa.

The best temperature at which to take a hot bath is 100°F. or just below that. If more water is added afterwards it should be hot, not cold, so as to maintain the temperature at the same level. With the aid of these precautions it will be found that drying is a simple process, and the skin is left in a delightful state without any undue perspiration to follow. So far from causing a liability to chills, it is perfectly safe to emerge from a bath of this sort and take a walk immediately after dressing, even on a winter’s day, without suffering from any ill-effects. People sometimes complain that a hot bath makes them feel faint. This is due to the steam, not to the water itself. If the windows are kept open this discomfort may be entirely avoided.

There is nothing more refreshing than a bath of this sort, not only in winter, but in hot weather also, as many athletes are beginning to find out. After a hard walk or game it effectually relieves the aching of the limbs, and helps to prevent the stiffness which is apt to follow. The good effect of the bath may be increased by massaging the limbs while they are under water. The proper way to do this is to grip the muscles between the two hands, and squeeze them with a sort of sliding movement towards the extremities, afterwards kneading them a bit at a time.

Hot baths are an excellent remedy for nausea or biliousness. A quarter of an hour in a bath at a temperature of 100°F. will often be found to remove all unpleasant symptoms and restore the appetite and digestion. They are also a boon to rheumatic persons, helping to banish the muscular pains and general feeling of malaise.

All this they do by causing the blood to circulate more freely, and dilating the vessels on the surface, and in so doing relieving the congestion in the muscles and internal organs. In this way they promote the elimination of the waste products which cause tiredness, fatigue and most of the other aches and pains from which tired humanity is liable to suffer. It is not necessary to wait until bedtime before having a hot bath. Its most beneficial effects can be obtained by taking it in the evening on returning from work. It is then that it is most refreshing, and if made use of at this time of day, will enable many a man who has come home fagged out to spend an enjoyable evening, when otherwise he would be sitting down too tired to read or take part in any amusement.

Cold baths do not suit everyone. In fact, there are comparatively few people who derive any benefit from them. Many persons find that if they have one in the morning before breakfast it leaves them tired, and with no appetite for the meal. They only take them because they are popularly supposed to be invigorating. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If a man feels well, in a comfortable glow, and ready for his breakfast after them, they are good for him. If he feels otherwise, and does not enjoy the bath while he is in it, they are bad for him. There are some people who dread cold baths, and yet go on having them from a mistaken sense of duty. The only explanation is that they must think they do them good just because they are so unpleasant, in the same way that some people have more faith in medicine if it tastes nasty.

Of one thing there is no doubt. Rheumatic persons and those liable to bronchial affections should never take them under any circumstances. Nor should delicate or elderly people make use of them.

The disadvantage of a cold bath at home is that the feet are chilled before the head. And wetting the hair with cold water does not get over this inconvenience. A shower bath, however, does away with this objection altogether, and on this account there is no form of cold bath equal to it. The head can be held under the water first, and after that the bather steps in and the body and limbs receive the shock at the same time, so that the lower extremities are not chilled before the rest. The unfortunate part of it is that so few houses are fitted up with shower baths.

Whatever form of cold tub is used, it is advisable to stay in for a very short time only. Even robust people can rarely stand more than a few minutes of it.

It is generally supposed that a cold bath should be taken when the stomach is empty. Such is not the case, however. While no one would be so foolish as to take it immediately after a meal, yet a drink of hot tea or water just before going in will enable many persons to enjoy and get benefit from them, who could not do so otherwise.

Outdoor bathing, either in sea or river, does not agree with everyone, although some people can enjoy a bathe who are unable to take a cold bath at home. The common mistake is in bathing before breakfast, when the system is at a low ebb, owing to the long abstention from food. It may be all right for strong young people, but for many others it is unsuitable and even dangerous. The best time, as a rule, is about two hours after breakfast, when the body has been fortified by the morning meal, and has had time to digest it.

The great point is to get thoroughly warm before entering the water. A brisk walk is the best way of accomplishing this, or if that does not produce the wished-for result, take a hot drink. The body heat falls rapidly whilst in the water, and hence it is advisable to be in a glow before going in.

For the same reason do not waste time over your undressing, and always remove the upper part of the clothing first, leaving the stockings to the last. It is the feet which are specially liable to be attacked by the cold, and it is therefore necessary to keep them warm as long as possible.

Before taking the plunge, pour cold water over the head; simply dabbing the hair with it is not sufficient. After that, get the whole body under water without any delay, and keep it under all the time you are in. It is the evaporation from the surface of the skin which lowers the temperature, rather than the contact of the body with the water.

Do not stay in too long. If you remain until you feel you have had enough, it generally means that you have had too much. Then dry yourself rapidly, using two towels, the first to take off the greater part of the moisture, reserving the second to dry yourself with thoroughly. Just as you began undressing from the upper part of the body downwards, so dry and dress in the inverse order, rubbing the feet and legs and putting on the stockings and nether garments first. After that, if you are feeling chilly, have a hot drink and some biscuits or other light food.

Of all forms of baths there is none so refreshing as Turkish baths. The hot air which produces the perspiration also causes it to evaporate. The sweat-ducts are cleansed from within as well as from without by means of the profuse perspiration, and the relief to the system is very great.

The patients who benefit most are those suffering from kidney trouble or rheumatism. In the latter case the complaint is due to the presence of excessive waste matter in the tissues; in the former to the fact that one of the outlets is more or less deranged. Free sweating is of untold advantage in both, as it enables the skin to do double duty and help to eliminate the poisonous material.

Of late there has been a tendency to treat common colds and influenza by means of these baths, but in many cases they only increase the catarrh, instead of relieving it. Considering the infectious nature of colds of all sorts too, it is hardly fair to other people to contaminate the air in the bathing-rooms.

People with weak hearts, and full-blooded persons with any tendency to apoplexy, should avoid Turkish baths, as they are not suitable in either of these conditions.

The proper way to take them is to devote plenty of time to the process. On entering, stay in the first room, the moderately hot one, until all feeling of oppression has passed off. Then move on into the second, the hot room as it is called. The third one, called the oven, should never be used, as the heat is too intense to be safe.

It is best to be content with a mild perspiration at first, and to stay in too short a time rather than too long. People are apt to think that the more they perspire the better they will be. But that is not the case, and, what is more, there is an element of danger in prolonging the process. So much liquid may be abstracted from the system that the impure matter circulating in the blood becomes too concentrated, and instead of being thrown off may be deposited in some muscle or joint, giving rise to an attack of rheumatism. In this way the very mischief is precipitated that we are anxious to avoid. Taken quietly and with discrimination, Turkish baths are one of the greatest boons to suffering humanity.

One of the most important details is the rest afterwards. This should never be less than half an hour, and an hour or more is preferable when it can be managed. The whole system needs this period of rest in order to get back to its ordinary routine, and without it much of the benefit of the bath is lost.

Once a week is quite enough, and in many cases once every two or three weeks is sufficient to keep the system active and healthy.

One other point should be kept in mind. Seeing that so much liquid is lost in the form of perspiration during the process, it is advisable to sip water freely, both during the process and after it.

If these precautions are observed these baths will prove beneficial to mind and body alike, eliminating the impurities, improving appetite and digestion, and restoring the sense of vigour and well-being.

In these ways both Turkish and plain hot water baths are of the greatest service in preventing the onset of neurasthenia and its successor, breakdowns. The time spent in taking them will be repaid a hundred times in an increased enjoyment of life and powers of work.