up in the morning, and then rub yourself with a cloth till you feel all
of a glow. It takes but a few minutes, and you will feel more vigorous
for it all day. Cool water is more healthy to wash in than warm water.
It makes a person feel stronger, and it is not attended with any danger
of catching cold afterward. But water directly from the well is too
chilly; it is better to use it when it has been standing in the house
some hours. Garments worn next to the skin, and the sheets in which you
sleep, imbibe something of the fluids all the time passing from the
body; therefore they should be washed every week. I am aware that, as
slaves, you had no beds or sheets; but as free men I hope you will
gradually be able to provide yourselves with such comforts. Meanwhile,
sleep in the cleanest way that you can; for that is one way to avoid
sickness. When the skin is hot and feverish, it does a great deal of
good to wipe the face, arms, and legs with a cloth moistened with cool
water, changed occasionally. Headache is often cured by placing the feet
in cool water a minute or two, and then rubbing them smartly with a dry
cloth. Sitting in cool water fifteen or twenty minutes is also a remedy
for headache or dizziness. A cut or bruise heals much quicker if it is
soaked ten or fifteen minutes in cool water, then wrapped in six or
eight folds of wet rag, and covered with a piece of dry cloth. The rag
should be moistened again when it gets dry. This simple process subdues
the heat and fever of a wound. When the throat is sore, it is an
excellent thing to wash the outside freely with cold water the first
thing in the morning, and then wipe it very dry. A wet bandage at night,
covered with a dry cloth, to keep it from the air, often proves very
comforting when the throat is inflamed. Indeed, it is scarcely possible
to say too much in favor of using cool water freely, at suitable times.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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