Civics and HealthAllen, William H. (WIlliam Harvey)
Science
Civics and Health
Allen, William H. (WIlliam Harvey)
Hygiene; Public health
Most of us know what uphill work it is to live hygienically in an
unhygienic environment. I remember how hard it was to eat happily when
sitting beside a college professor who took brown pills before each
meal, yellow pills between each course, and a dose of black medicine
after the meal was over. Mariano, an Italian lad cured of bone
tuberculosis by out-of-door salt air at Sea Breeze, returned to his
tenement home an ardent apostle of fresh air day and night, winter and
summer. His family allowed him to open the window before going to bed,
but closed it as soon as he was asleep. Lawrence Veiller, our greatest
expert on tenement conditions, says: "To bathe in a tenement where a
family of six occupy three rooms often involves the sacrifice of
privacy and decency, which are quite as important to social betterment
as cleanliness."
To live unhygienically where others live hygienically is quite as
difficult. Witness the speedy improvement of dissipated men when
boarding with country friends who eat rationally and retire early. It
must have been knowledge of this fact that prompted the tramways of
Belfast to post conspicuous notices: "Spitting is a vile and filthy
habit, and those who practice it subject themselves to the disgust and
loathing of their fellow-passengers." It is almost impossible to have
indigestion, blues, and headache when one is camping, particularly
where action and enjoyment fill the day. Our practical question is,
therefore, not "What shall I eat, how many hours shall I sleep, what
shall I wear," but "How can I manage to get into an environment among
living and working conditions where the people I live with and want to
please, those who influence me and are influenced by me, make healthy
living easy and natural?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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