just possible that by a resolute and determined effort of will the
habit may be overcome; breathing by day through the nostrils only and
pursing up the mouth firmly will help much towards it. It is well
to urge upon all parents and nurses the absolute necessity of their
training all young children to sleep with mouth shut. Never allow an
infant to get the contrary habit. Watch it in early life, and close
its lips when it is falling off to sleep, which can easily be done
with thumb and finger, holding them together for a few seconds. The
habit thus acquired wards off consumption in after-life. Coughs and
colds contribute to the tendency to snore by stopping the nostrils
wholly or partially, thus rendering breathing through the mouth
imperative. In this case, clear your nose well at night, using snuff
if necessary, and keep your mouth closed.
SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.
Lady Barker: ‘The Bedroom and Boudoir.’ London, 1878. 2_s._ 6_d._
_THE DRESSING-ROOM._
=The Toilet.=--Beyond the advice to avoid all cheap scented soaps,
the following notes will be useful:--
_The Hands._--A little ammonia or borax in the water you wash your
hands with, and that water just lukewarm, will keep the skin clean
and soft. A little oatmeal mixed with the water will whiten the
hands. Many people use glycerine on their hands when they go to bed,
wearing gloves to keep the bedding clean; but glycerine does not
agree with every one. It makes some skins harsh and red. These people
should rub their hands with dry oatmeal and wear gloves in bed. The
best preparation for the hands at night is the white of egg with a
grain of alum dissolved in it. Quacks have a fancy name for it; but
all can make it and spread it over their hands, and the job is done.
They also make the Roman toilet paste. It is merely white of egg,
barley flour, and honey. They say it was used by the Romans in olden
time. Any way, it is a first-rate thing; but it is a sticky sort of
stuff to use, and does not do the work any better than oatmeal. The
roughest and hardest hands can be made soft and white in a month’s
time by doctoring them a little at bed time, and all the tools you
need are a nail brush, a bottle of ammonia, a box of powdered borax,
and a little fine white sand to rub the stains off, or a cut of
lemon, which will do even better. To soften hard water use Maignen’s
“anti-calcaire.” If a man works at any mechanical business, or any
which involves muscular exertion, the hands will always, do what he
may to them, show signs thereof. But some men’s hands show work much
more than others. In some the epidermis does not seem to get callous
and horny, nor the muscles thicken nor swell much, while in others
the least contact with tools makes the hand look as if the owner
had worked as a day-labourer all his life. It seems to me that the
thinner the skin, the more, as a rule, the hands show the effect of
work. The only palliative is working in gloves, but this is a great
nuisance. Sandballs or pumice soap will remove horniness. Now, as to
the care of the nails. The great beauty of the nails is being long,
the “quick” coming close to the extremity of the fingers, and the
“half-moon” near the root being as large as possible. The best chance
of cultivating these merits is, first, never to touch the quick with
a penknife and to press back with a towel, on drying the hands, the
skin which grows over the half-moon. This skin ought never to be cut,
as that only stimulates and increases its growth. In some, however,
it seems to show no tendency to do so. Nothing more than this can
be done by art towards obtaining delicate finger nails, which, of
course, are a great attraction in either sex; and, as they show
personal cleanliness and niceness, are a laudable object of ambition.
Removing a Tight Ring.--A novel method of effecting the removal of a
ring which has become constricted around a swollen finger, or in any
other similar situation, consists simply in enveloping the afflicted
member, after the manner of a circular bandage, in a length of flat
indiarubber braid, such as ladies make use of to keep their hats on
the top of their heads. This should be accurately applied--beginning,
not close to the ring, but at the tip of the finger, and leaving no
intervals between the successive turns, so as to exert its elastic
force gradually and gently upon the tissues underneath. When the
binding is complete, the hand should be held aloft in a vertical
position, and in a few minutes the swelling will be perceptibly
diminished. The braid is then taken off and immediately applied in
the same manner, when, after another 5 minutes, the finger, if again
rapidly uncovered, will be small enough for the ring to be removed
with ease. This plan need only be resorted to when wetting and
soaping the fingers have failed.
_The Hair._--Baldness comes chiefly of the artificial determination
of blood to the head, and to the heat and perspiration thence
arising. The result is a relaxed condition of the scalp and loss of
hair. If the skin of the head be kept in a healthy state the hair
will not fall off. To keep it healthy, the head-covering should be
light and porous, the head kept clean by washings with water, and the
hair cut short.
Ladies are often in trouble about their hair between the ages of
17-30. The hair may be unruly; it may come out; the scalp may be at
fault, or the fat-glands act improperly. The hair may be too dry,
and get brittle; this arises sometimes from the too free use of
spirit washes of various kinds, or from dyes. The remedy is plain.
The great complaint is that the hair gets thin. If there be any
debility present the hair will mostly thin out. In these cases it is
as well, for a time at any rate, to keep the hair rather shorter than
usual, and to take general tonics. If there be indigestion present
this must be remedied; if neuralgia, quinine should be taken. The
most troublesome instances of loss of hair follow in the wake of
violent attacks of neuralgia of the head, brought on by some mental
excitement or depression. In these cases very much may be done by the
use internally of remedies that give tone to the nervous system, such
as nux vomica, bark, quinine, and steel. After these have done good
service, local applications, especially ammonia, are serviceable.
It is a fashion with very many young ladies to wear their hair
in different styles, that necessitate frequent variations in its
length. This is productive of much harm. At one time nature has to
furnish a large, at other times a small crop, and lapses into a
state of indifferent weakness in consequence. The one great cause
of thinning of the hair is unquestionably general debility. In the
majority of such cases 1 teaspoonful tincture of gentian, with about
10 drops diluted hydrochloric acid, should be taken twice a day in
a wineglassful of water, and the scalp rubbed with some such as
the following lotion night and morning: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.;
tincture of nux vomica, 3 dr.; tincture of capsicum, 7 dr.; otto of
roses, 2 drops; and rosewater, 4 oz. It is almost identical with
the nux vomica lotion of Corbyn and Co., Bond Street, the very best
preparation of its kind.
The heated and crowded rooms at balls and parties are in some
cases very injurious to a good state of the hair. The gas acts
very hurtfully in those cases in which the hair and the scalp are
very dry. The only plan here is to use to the scalp such a simple
preventive as the glycerine lotion already recommended.
At no time is general thinning of the hair more marked or more
frequent than after confinements, or in mothers who are nursing when
in a somewhat debilitated condition. Here general tonics are needed.
The following lotion, of a stimulating character, may be employed
with great advantage at the same time: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.;
rum, 1 oz.; glycerine 2 dr.; tincture of lytta, 4 dr.; elder-flower
water, 4 oz.; or tincture of bark, 4 dr.; cherry-laurel water, 4
oz.; glycerine, 2 dr. It will be seen at once that the treatment of
almost all cases of general thinning of the hair is not merely local
but constitutional, and that we may pour and besmear tons of the
most nutritious liquids and pastes, pomades, and the like upon an
unfortunate head without doing much good. It is necessary that the
machinery itself be given the power to work healthily and happily,
and such power is given from the nutritive organs in the centre
of our bodies, and by the vital fluid that flows in our veins and
arteries.
As a remedy for dandriff, a French physician recommends that a
solution of chloral hydrate, containing 5 per cent., should be
applied to the scalp by means of a sponge every morning. The quantity
employed should be ½-1 oz. A slight burning sensation and reddening
of the scalp occurs, disappearing after 2 minutes. If the hair has
fallen off in consequence of the dandriff it will be renewed in about
a month.
A teaspoonful of ammonia, added to 1 qt. of water, is the best
possible agent for cleansing hair brushes.
_Shaving._--(_a_) Soreness from shaving may be cured by anointing the
part with glycerine every night before going to bed, and dusting it
with precipitated Fuller’s-earth after shaving.
(_b_) Before you begin, study the grain of your beard in the glass,
and do not shave against the grain. In some beards the grain runs
from one ear to the other, instead of both shaping to the chin. In
others the grain runs half way down the neck, and then half way up.
Next wash very thoroughly before you shave in warm water, which will
be lathering No. 1, rubbing the beard with the lump of soap and
fingers with good perseverance. Then commence lathering No. 2, using
the brush with really hot water, aiming to produce as thick a soapy
composition on the skin as possible to fill up the spaces between
the hairs. Dipping the fingers in a little oil softens the beard,
and prevents the lather drying so quick. You cannot lather too much.
Strop your razor on your own hand, and preserve it from damp by
wiping it only on chamois leather. Never lay a razor down open, and
put it away safely in its case. If you will take extra trouble in the
lathering you will get an easy shave. Hairdressers set razors better
than cutlers.
_Toothbrushes._--Tap the brush before using it, to see if you can
jerk out any loose bristles. Tap the brush after using it, to shake
out the water, and put it away fairly dry. Do not keep it closely
shut up in a brush tray or dressing-bag bottle. Loose bristles may
be found in a new brush in consequence of the wire having cut the
bristles in half while drawing them into the hole, the knot being too
full. Bristles may project beyond the level of the serge, the knot
being too slack; clip them off; do not withdraw them, and thereby
make the knot still more slack. Bristles will perish if brushes are
put away thoroughly wet, and left for days to get thoroughly dry;
after a time, even with the greatest care, this will happen. Brushes
will smell offensively if closely shut up when wet; they will also
become discoloured. Some people select a brush too soft for their
requirement, and make it harder by pressure, breaking down the
bristles, which they would not do if their brush was sufficiently
hard.
_Dressing-jackets and gowns._--Under the term “combing jacket,”
people often include, not only the loose garment thrown over the
shoulders while doing one’s hair, but the warm, becoming jacket
required by an invalid sitting up in bed. It is best to distinguish
between the two, and to call the latter a camisole. The combing
jacket should always be of some washing material. A three-quarters
length loose-fitting jacket, with long open sleeves, is best. White
muslins and percales in summer, and white flannels and serges in
winter, are the most suitable materials; but ordinary prints, if the
pattern be pretty, will answer every purpose of home wear. If meant
for invalid wear, they should be made as coquettishly as possible--of
pale-blue cashmere, with jabots of cream-coloured lace falling down
the front.
A very showy little dressing gown, in which one can see servants,
tradesmen, and even friends, is made as follows: Run up a crimson
quilted sateen walking skirt. As this is to form part of the
dressing gown, it must be cut up in front from hem to waist, and
fastened together in the ordinary way with buttons. Then choose some
pretty chintz or Pompadour material and make up a loose polonaise,
separating into two side curtains in front, and bunched up behind.
Fasten the band of your quilted petticoat securely to the waist of
your polonaise, and you are then able to put on the whole arrangement
as you would an ordinary dressing gown. If you make, in addition,
a muslin mob cap, trimmed with crimson ribbon, you will present a
marked contrast to the usual slovenliness of ordinary dressing gowns.
_Undressing._--A certain amount of organic matter gets into the
outer clothing, and, therefore, when these garments are taken off
they should always be hung up in a current of air. It is a common
practice to spread clothing upon the bed, to give additional warmth
during the night; but this practice is really very pernicious, as
the woollen clothes get charged with organic matter, that slowly
putrefies, and gives off not only a nasty fusty smell, but also
dangerous poisonous fumes. Clothes should always be hung upon pegs.
=Dress.=--_Requirements of clothing._--The object of clothing in cold
climates is to retain and economise the heat which is constantly
being produced within the body by vital processes, such as digestion,
respiration, muscular exercise, and brain work. In hot countries the
body must be covered as a protection against the rays of the sun. A
secondary object of clothing among women is adornment.
All clothing should be as light as is consistent with sufficient
warmth, and should be so fashioned as not to interfere with the
proper movements of the body. Easy clothes are much warmer than tight
ones, and, paradoxical though it seems, are cooler in warm weather.
Admitting of more perfect ventilation, they do not so readily become
moist with perspiration, and then cling unpleasantly to the wearer.
Some materials permit heat to pass too quickly through them, and do
not sufficiently impede evaporation. Of the various substances which
only admit of gradual radiation or escape of heat from the body,
wool of many different sorts is most generally suitable; and this is
produced in such abundance and at such a price that all can obtain
clothes made from it. In this we only copy the lower animals which,
being exposed to great alternations of temperature, have a loose open
fleece or hairy covering; so a loose, open-wove porous material makes
the warmest garment. Hence knitted underclothing and fleecy or thick
soft cloth for outer wear are cosiest, though it must be admitted
not in all cases the most durable. The warmth of the dress depends,
too, on the way it is manufactured. It is an established fact that
the weight of a material may be largely diminished without destroying
any of its heat-preserving powers, and this may even in some cases
be increased by manufacturing it very loosely, so as to contain a
quantity of air in its meshes, stationary air being a bad conductor
of heat. It is in this way that the silk and cotton-netted vests,
with meshes ½ in. in diameter, which have been lately introduced,
are so warm and sanitary, as, with the aid of the linen and other
garments worn over them, a stationary layer of warm air is kept
continually next the skin. In warm weather the clothing should be
loose, so as to admit freely of currents of air passing over the
surface of the body; in winter it should be moulded to the figure,
but without being tight. Colour, too, has an influence. If equally
thick, dark stuffs are warmest, because such absorb more of the sun’s
rays. Light coloured articles of dress reflect more of these rays,
and hence are cooler. Grey presents a medium tint which suits our
climate well.
Underclothing.--Underclothing should always be of wool, and every one
ought, in this climate, and even in India, at all seasons, to wear
woollen materials next the skin. This is even more imperative at the
two extremes of life; in the cases of infants and aged persons, whose
powers of reducing heat are less active than those of individuals in
the vigour of middle life or of youth, and who are therefore less
able to resist cold. In winter, either hand-knitted under-vests and
drawers, or machine made, in imitation of hand-knitted, are the
best. In summer these woollen under garments should on no account be
entirely laid aside, but when the warm season has fairly set in, here
scarcely ever till June is well advanced, thinner and lighter ones,
made of merino, should replace the thicker worn in winter and spring.
If any article of underclothing is to be thrown off in summer, it
should be the drawers, the under vest never during the day. Clothing
worn in the daytime should invariably be put off at night, to be
replaced by cotton or linen night dresses. Many wear under-flannels
night and day, but the good effects which result from wearing flannel
next the skin are thus much lessened. Flannel is worn by day when one
is actively occupied (and the perspiration is thereby increased) to
prevent becoming suddenly chilled. This is unnecessary, as a rule,
during sleep. Flannel night dresses are preferable for children
to linen or cotton. Children have less heat-producing powers,
and are apt to throw off the bed-clothes. For them a night dress,
made somewhat like a bathing costume, suits best, as it is then
impossible that, though the bed-clothes are tossed off, the child
can be entirely exposed. In old persons, and in those with strongly
developed rheumatic tendencies, flannel is also the best material for
night dresses; but in all these cases there must be special garments
for day and night, each to be reserved for its proper time and use.
At night the feet must be kept warm, warmed artificially if cold on
going to bed, since, unless they are warm, it is not possible to
sleep soundly--in many instances even to sleep at all.
Underclothing for use in the day should not extend farther down the
arms than half-way to the elbow, for healthy men, as this permits
much greater freedom of movement for the arms; in women and children
it should reach from wrists to toes and be cut with a high neck. It
should never be allowed to become too dirty before being changed,
since this renders it both unwholesome to the wearer and unpleasant
to those around him. It gets loaded with perspiration and particles
cast off from the skin, which, being animal products, tend readily
to decompose. A week is the limit to the time they should be worn
before being changed, and thus an endeavour should be made to have
a sufficient number of underclothes to allow of this necessary
frequency of change. There is no special virtue in coloured flannel.
One often hears red or blue flannel, especially when new, credited
with surprising qualities; but it has a doubtful advantage in that it
does not show dirt so soon as white or cream-coloured, is assuredly
not warmer, and brightly dyed wools are often the cause of eruptions
on the skin.
Intermediate clothing.--The material of which this is made, varies
in the two sexes. Whatever its component parts, it should not be
tight. Were the strict underclothing, that worn next the skin, made
warm enough, perhaps worn double, there would be less need for the
multiplicity of skirts and heavy petticoats still used by some. One
woollen under-garment is not so warm as two, even though the one
be as thick and as heavy, as the two are separated by a layer of
air, and so heat is less rapidly transmitted and lost. Something
of what is known as the Bloomer, or rather the modern combination
dress, might very well replace all but the gown proper. A very warm
material, and not heavy, is found in chamois leather. An under-dress
of this has really reason, besides elegance, on its side.
Much has already been said on the subject of stays and tight lacing,
but with little real effect. Many women complain that they cannot
walk uphill or upstairs without feeling short of breath. This is
largely due to the natural expansive movements of breathing being
limited to a minimum by stays. Their effect, bad in all cases, is
worst in growing girls, whose ribs are still yielding and elastic,
and thus more easily compressed. Parents are now becoming somewhat
more alive to the fact, that there must be for girls as well as
boys a due proportion of free out-door exercise associated with the
lessons at school. In too many girls the natural supports of the
spine, the muscles of the back and chest, have partly been left
undeveloped by want of exercise, partly been wasted and cramped by
the pressure and the artificial support of hard, unyielding, and
too often tightly laced stays. Hence it is that far more girls than
boys have twisted spines. Girls would be as straight as boys are
usually had they only fair treatment. The muscles of the back being
weak, the girl sits habitually to one side or the other, and what
was at first merely an awkward habit, becomes very soon a decided
curvature. If something must be worn to support the figure, a softer
and more pliant article than ordinary stays might easily be devised.
The corset recommended and used at the Girton Ladies’ College is
reported to be such. Though the stays may be loose and easy, or
absent altogether, dresses are often made or become too tight across
the chest. When unbuttoned or unhooked, often a considerable space
exists between the buttons and the button-holes, when the shoulders
are held only properly back. This should not be. Such dresses prevent
the lungs from expanding in the movements of respiration, interfere
with easy and full breathing, narrow the chest round the shoulders,
and favour if they do not directly lead to, consumption. Dresses for
grown up persons should be full across the chest, for growing girls
specially so; and when first made they ought to have enough cloth
laid in to admit of ready enlargement, for a dress often becomes too
small before it is worn out.
Here a few words are needed as to the place from which to hang the
clothing--whether it should be supported from the shoulders or the
hips (not waist). We heartily endorse Dr. Bernard Roth, when he says
that Dr. Richardson is quite wrong in recommending that ladies’
dresses should be made to hang from the shoulders, and not from the
hips. Many cases of spinal lateral curvature may be attributed to
hanging an excessive weight of clothing from the shoulders. Growing
girls and weakly women have sufficient difficulty as it is in holding
themselves erect while carrying the head, neck and trunk, and upper
extremities, without unnecessarily dragging down the shoulders by the
weight of the long and heavy skirts exacted by fashion. It is much
more sensible and scientific to attach the skirts to bands round the
pelvis, where only the solid hip bone is pressed upon. Another great
objection to suspending the skirts from the shoulders is that the
respiratory movements of the upper part of the chest are unavoidably
impeded by this arrangement.
For similar reasons braces are not so beneficial as Dr. Richardson
believes, even for men who are not over-strong, and who would stoop
less and find their chests freer by wearing braceless trousers fitted
with an elastic band round, but not above the hip bones. Who among us
would do heavy work or exercise in braces and no belt? Every labourer
and every athlete discards braces for a waistbelt when actively
engaged. At the same time the belt must not compress the inside--the
trousers should hang from the hip bones. There is an additional value
in the waistbelt, if it take the form of a woollen or silk sash, that
it protects the viscera from sudden chills, and this is deemed of
high importance in fever and cholera countries.