Connected with cleanliness of clothing, as a means of health, is
personal cleanliness. Perfected action of the skin, so essential to the
perfect life, can only be obtained by thorough ablution of the whole
body. The ablution ought, strictly, to be performed once in every
twenty-four hours. It is best to train the body to the use of cold water
through all seasons, so that the requirement for water of raised
temperature may not become a necessity. The simplest and best bath is
the ordinary sponge-bath. Plungings, splashings, showers, and the like
are mere pastimes. The occasional use of the hot air or Turkish bath is
an important adjunct to the means of maintaining health.