Principles of Public Health: A Simple Text Book on Hygiene, Presenting the Principles Fundamental to the Conservation of Individual and Community HealthTuttle, Thomas Dyer
Science
Principles of Public Health: A Simple Text Book on Hygiene, Presenting the Principles Fundamental to the Conservation of Individual and Community Health
Tuttle, Thomas Dyer
Public health
Damp clothing chills the body very rapidly and kills many cells.
Indeed, if a single one of the germs that cause pneumonia were to
enter your lungs while you were wearing damp clothing, it would
grow so rapidly that you might have pneumonia in a very little
while. That is why it is important to change your shoes and
stockings as soon as you get them wet, and to take off immediately
any clothing that becomes damp. It is hard for boys and girls to
keep their feet dry in the winter and spring months, and rubbers
are a nuisance; but if you expect to grow into the strong man or
woman you picture yourself becoming, you must take care to wear
your rubbers. Otherwise you may become weak and sickly, and never
be able to do the things you hope to do.
The feet are not the only part of the body that needs to be kept
dry. A wet coat is just as harmful as wet shoes and stockings;
hence, you should always carry an umbrella or wear a raincoat when
you go out into the rain. Umbrellas are unhandy for boys and girls
to carry, but if you will remember that thousands of little cells
in your body are being injured when you get wet and chilled, you
will be willing to take your umbrella.
[Sidenote: When to wear an overcoat]
In cold weather the same amount of clothing should not be worn in
the house and outdoors; for this reason, we have overcoats. If you
wear your overcoat in the house, you will become overwarm and your
underclothing will then become damp with perspiration; when you go
outdoors into the cold air, this dampness will have just the same
effect as would dampness that comes from outside.
[Illustration: FIGS. 7 and 8. If you keep your overcoat on in the
house, your underclothes become damp from perspiration, and when
you go outdoors your body becomes chilled.]
As soon as the weather gets cold, put on your overcoat every time
you go outdoors, and take it off as soon as you come into the
house. This is troublesome for boys and girls to do, because they
want to run in and out of the house so often; but on the other
hand, think of all the cells you will kill if you do not do this,
and you will certainly consider it worth while to take off your
coat and put it on again.
=Questions.= 1. How does keeping the body equally covered protect
the cells? 2. Give reasons for not wearing too heavy clothing. 3.
When is it safe to sit in a draft, and when dangerous? 4. What
is the danger of keeping on wet shoes or other damp clothing? 5.
When and why should overcoats be worn?
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