Ethical hygiene : solid facts boiled down : six live books on the laws of health : physical hygiene, mental hygiene, moral hygiene, sex hygiene, maternal hygiene, and social ethics

Front matter

ETHICAL HYGIENE

| By BL. RECTOR

WW ll | |

Preface

A normal man or woman is the grandest, most beautiful being of God’s creation. How we all admire the person with a strong physique, good nerves, will power, and intellect; who has the passions under control, and possesses a conscience void of offense toward God and man. But to develop a normal man is not an easy task.

To produce a good loaf of bread requires a sound grain of wheat, and it must be planted in good soil, carefully tended, harvested at the right season, properly threshed, milled and baked. From first to last during the entire process it must be carefully guarded and protected against disease and insect enemies. Likewise, to produce a strong man requires that the parent stock be healthy and the environments carefully guarded to protect the growing child from destructive habits, disease, and enemies which are trying to pervert or hinder the development of a normal man.

All true parents desire that their children become stalwart men and women; and if rightly instructed in youth all children have an ambition to become ideal citizens. We believe that a lack of proper information on the part of parents and growing youths is to blame for the lament-

6 PREFACE able number of physical and mental failures to be found in every community; and to supply a reliable and comprehensive guide for vigorous health, sound intellect, and good morals is the object of this volume.

The writer is under obligation to so many books and friends that he can not attempt to enumerate them. Special acknowledgments, however, are due to Rev. W. Guy Cheatham, an untiring minister and social reform worker, whose valued assistance has made the general excellence and high moral standard of this work possible.

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION :

A FACTORY

Did you ever look upon the home as a factory for the production of houses in which the souls of the next generation are to dwell? The physical man is only a dwelling house for the soul. What would you think of the management of a factory in which half of the finished product has to be thrown in the scrap pile as worthless, while three-fourths of the remainder must be disposed of as seconds owing to defective workmanship? In the homes of America half the children born die before ten years old. Of the twenty million children in our schools, fifteen million are physically defective, and only four out of a hundred adult persons live to be sixty years old. Let us now compare each physical being to a manufacturing establishment. This factory is most beautifully located, as it is situated upon both banks of the alimentary canal, which affords good shipping facilities both for the reception of needed material and the disposal of waste product. The factory is well equipped, having many machines of special construction so grouped that each works in unison and so united together they form one complete unit. The engine or heart, located upon the left bank of the canal, is of ample power and durable construction, and is guaranteed with proper care to give continuous service twenty-four hours each day for one

8 INTRODUCTION ne hundred years. CIRCULATION: Connected with this engine is a complete railway system, which traverses every nook and corner of the establishment, and along these numerous lines run millions of little cars (corpuscles), each helping to collect, carry, and distribute material between the several divisions of the establishment. A complete and well-equipped telephone system (the nerves) gives instant communication between each department and the head office (the brain), and everything depends upon competent management by it. If one department is overloaded or allowed to neglect its duty, the other machines in the factory are overworked or hindered in their proper functions. For instance, if the canal ds allowed to become choked by constipation, the digestive tract is flooded with refuse product. The blood absorbs this poisonous material and carries it through the system, and in order to get rid of it the sewer (kidneys), the filter (skin pores), and the purifier (lungs) must work overtime ; and they sometimes break down on account of the extra load thrust upon them.

When the physical organs are working in unison, the blood is properly nourished and purified, and the mental, moral, and spiritual man is afforded ideal conditions, in which to attain supremacy.

Book One Physical Hygiene The Blood

Many people speak of bad health as being caused by bad blood. In one sense this is true, but strictly speaking it is bad health which causes bad blood. ‘The blood is only the medium which carries material through the system. By digestion the blood is supplied with energy which it carries to all parts of the body. After they are used, the waste parts are again taken up by the blood and carried to the skin, kidneys, lungs, or liver, to be expelled from the system. When the blood is filled with life-giving energy, we recover quickly from any small accident, and are prone to say that it was because the blood was good. When the blood is filled with impurities of different kinds, and has but little life-giving energy in store, a wound heals slowly, and we say it is because the blood is bad. To live with the blood in this condition is to live on the danger line. It is then that we are liable to contract almost any disease imaginable, while if we have a surplus of vitality stored in our blood and keep it free from poisons and impurities, we are immune from almost all diseases. We may carry the germs of tuberculosis or even typhoid in our system and feel no ill effects from them. Our health depends upon four elements: nutrition, purification, protection, and conservation.

10 PAYSICAL AYGIENG

NUTRITION

There are three avenues through which we receive nourishment: ‘The stomach and intestines, the lungs, and sometimes the skin.

The lungs absorb oxygen from the air and it enters directly into the blood, to be used in all parts of the system. The stomach and intestines absorb a portion of the food we eat and it enters the blood. The skin also absorbs many ‘substances when brought in contact with it. Medicines, stimulants, and even nourishment are often administered through the skin. The skin of two persons when kept in contact transmits nourishment from one to tthe other, from the younger to the older, or from the well to the sick one. It is for this reason that a child should never sleep with an older person, or a well person with a sick one. This truth was known in the days of King David. (I Kings 1.) All of the organs of nutrition are also organs of purification and will be studied more extensively in that class.

DysprpstA.—Many persons are starving with a full or overloaded stomach. A failure to digest food causes a lack of nourishment and the blood is impoverished, causing hunger. Dyspepsia is often caused by the lining of the stomach and intestines being injured by strong medicines or narcotics. The most frequent cause, however, is fast eating and over-eating. Fast eating is an American failing, and its results are serious. Nature intended that all food should be thoroughly masticated by chewing and mixed with the saliva or spittle in the mouth before swallowing, in order that the chemical changes of

RUTREPFTON II digestion may proceed in the stomach. When half chewed and washed down the throat with some form of drink, the food reaches the stomach in poor condition to be digested ; ‘and when this habit is continued, dyspepsia is inevitable. The dyspeptic seldom has any trouble digesting a lunch eaten on the road where drink is unprocurable, as he must eat slowly. Our system requires water, but it should be drunk at least thirty minutes before eating, and never during or immediately after meals. Dry food eaten slowly is moistened to just the right consistency for digestion by the saliva of the mouth. In fast eating we fail to taste much of the food swallowed, and the appetite is unsatisfied, and over-eating is the result. Most dyspeptics are always hungry and their stomachs are usually overloaded. Fast eating calls for rich, highly-concentrated food, highly seasoned in order that we may get some taste of it as swallowed. A piece of dry bread is palatable, if eaten slowly so the saliva can moisten it, and it is then in condition so the stomach can digest it. A horse will not over-eat if given access to a stack of hay; but when he gets to the more highly-concentrated food in the grain bin, he is certain to injure himself. If we were confined to coarse, plain food, fast eating and over-eating would not be a temptation, and dyspepsia would be as scarce as it is among the peasants of Europe or the savages of Africa. Good food, however, is not to be condemned if it were only eaten slowly and the quantity governed in accordance with the concentrated strength of the food. .

Drer.—The proper selection of food has much to do with the health at all times, and is especially important

12 PHI SICAL HYGIENE where dyspepsia or intestinal troubles are present. When we go to study diet we meet an endless confusion of ideas. One eccentric specialist recommends a milk-andegg diet, another all vegetables or all fruits, and another says no meat. The people in Greenland live almost entirely on meat and oil, while those in torrid countries live on fruits. Nature has provided each with the food his climate requires. In the temperate zone nature furnishes both fruits and meats, and in addition the, cereals. Here man, if temperate, is stronger and longer lived than in either the hot or cold regions. Variety is the essence of life. A child thrives on milk, but can not digest the same chemical elements when provided in meat or vegetables. If confined to milk as it grows older its stomach fails to develop, and then the child does not grow as it should. It must have its diet gradually changed from milk to cereals, butter, vegetables, and meat, as the growth of the stomach permits. The dyspeptic, like the child, will find he is unable to digest some of the more difficult foods. The man of sedentary occupation will find it takes but little meat, butter, or beans to cause him trouble; while the man at hard. physical work will find a reasonable amount of these strong concentrated foods conducive to his health and strength. It is impossible, therefore, to conform to ironclad rules of diet. We must notice the effect of different foods and select our diet to suit our individual requirements. In winter or when at hard work we will need cereals, vegetables, and some meat; and in summer or when idle, less meat and vegetables with more fruit. We believe meats-are eaten to excess by a large number of persons. We have omitted

NUTRITION 13 the chemical terms usually employed in discussing foods, as their use is confusing to the average person.

MINERAL MATTER is one thing we should not lose sight of, as the modern methods of preparing foods rob us of most of these necessary elements. They are found principally in the outer hull of cereals and in the rind of vegetables. They are removed to give the food a finer appearance. They are needed to make bone, sinew, and nerve; and unless supplied from some source the growimg child especially must suffer. A good way to procure these elements is in the use of graham bread, bran bread, or a mush made of shorts or middlings —a by-product of the flouring mills usually sold for stock food. It contains the inner hull of the bran and the germ of the grain of wheat. It is inexpensive, and when made into mush and served with milk and a little sugar is very palatable. Fruit juice can be used as a substitute for the milk if desired.

Spices.—Did you ever think of the results when you eat raw onions, horse radish, prepared mustard and spices, Or season up your potatoes with pepper until it almost makes you sneeze? When such articles burn the mouth, where they only spend a few seconds, what of the stomach and intestines, which have to hold them until absorbed ?

Do you think you can treat the delicate lining of these organs to a mustard plaster or a raw-onion poultice without producing irritation? When often repeated such measures can not help but produce serious stomach troubles, and then the kidneys and liver must try to get these impurities out of the system. Medical authorities claims that “gin liver” is as often brought on by eating pepper as it is by alcohol. The celebrated Dr. J. H. Kellogg says: “Such spices have in the system the effect of the most virulent poisons, and defying the already overworked liver and kidneys, circulate at will through the body and irritate the arterial walls, preparing the way for the worst form of hardened arteries.”

REGULATION OF THE Diet.—We may pity the drunkard, or despise the libertine, because he can not exercise self-control, but how many of us are too weak to conquer the appetite and regulate the diet? God has arranged it that we should experience pleasure by the performance of the different ‘bodily functions, so that we could enjoy this life; and he has arranged it for us to develop a strong character and a good physique by the exercise of self-control. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (I Cor. 3: 17). “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God™: (1 Gors-1t+-3t),

Many rules have been given by different writers to aid the overeater in regulating his diet, but in all our - experience we have never found a better one than the rule given by Dr. Dio Lewis: “On sitting down at the table take on your plate all that you are to eat, and when that is finished stop.” This rule gives one something definite to adhere to, and does not attract attention when practiced in public. If, with this rule, care is taken to eat very slowly, so as to thoroughly masticate the food and allow it to be mixed with the saliva, using no drinks at meal time, the dyspeptic will notice a wonderful im-

NUTRITION 15 provement in a few days. The slow eating allows one to get the pleasure of tasting what is eaten, and with the superior nourishment that comes with better digestion there will be less hunger.

Starvinc.—On the other hand, dyspepsia is often caused, or made worse, by underfeeding. The gormand suddenly discovers that he has been over-eating and changes his diet to almost nothing, and for a few days he improves wonderfully. The stomach soon accommodates itself to doing nothing, and loses much of its power of digestion. Soon the least increase in the amount of food eaten, or any unusual exercise, causes a feeling of faintness and usually suffering. This condition is much more difficult to overcome than over-eating; but by a gradual increase in the amount of nourishment taken, the stomach can be induced to regain its tone. Like the muscles, the stomach will become weak through lack of exercise.

PROPER QUANTITY.—The amount of food required varies greatly with different persons. A hard-working man should eat two or three times as much as a student or office clerk, and a growing child requires more in proportion to its size than an adult. A hearty man can digest more than a dyspeptic. Judgment is required, therefore, to determine just how much any one should eat. The hard-working man, who for any cause spends a few days in idleness, will find himself suffering with engorgement or indigestion if he continues to eat his accustomed amount.

Wuen WEAK.—The man recovering from a fever can eat but little, and that of the most easily digested foods, because his system is so weak that the stomach can not muster vitality enough to digest what the ravenous appetite calls for. The same rule holds good with the person who has worked to the point of exhaustion. The appetite is nearly always ravenous at such times, and the natural inclination is to eat heartily in order to regain the exhausted strength; but if even the accustomed amount of food is eaten at such times, indigestion is certain to result. The stomach shares the exhausted condition of the system. A lack of food for any great length of time causes the stomach of a hearty man to become too weak to digest even a moderate quantity. In the famous Hunter’s Raid, when the Union Army was cut off from supplies for five days, a full ration was issued upon reaching the provision train, and within an hour several hundred had died of over-eating.

Not to the swift the race, not to the strong the fight; Health is the goal to reach — govern the appetite.

PURIFICATION

The organs which carry away waste or undesirable material from the system are the lungs, skin, kidneys, liver, and intestines, and in extreme cases the stomach is called upon to assist in expelling poisons by disgorging. THe Sxrn.—Did you ever think of the skin as one

of the vital organs of the body? It not only furnishes a covering to protect the delicate organs within, but it filters from the blood a large amount of poisonous material, and is also the governor which regulates to a nicety the temperature of the body. Let us notice what happens when the skin pores become partly closed by the accu-

PURIFICATION 17 mulation of refuse or exposure to a cold wind. If the obstruction is slight, we may have a cold, the headache, toothache, or rheumatism, with a dry skin and some fever. If the obstruction is more complete, the mucous membranes of the lungs and intestines become inflamed, the head aches, and there is a high fever. In such cases the closing of the skin pores may be the primary cause of the fever by preventing perspiration. Now let us notice a healthy skin: it is soft, moist and warm; the millions of little pores are throwing off the poison from the blood; and as the heat is increased in the body, these pores open a little more and the perspiration or sweat increases until the surface of the body is damp. The air striking the damp skin helps to cool it, just as the Indians of Mexico wrap a jug of water in a damp cloth and hang it in the wind to cool As the body becomes cool, the skin pores again close a little to check the escape of heat. In health our bodily temperature will change less than one degree, regardless of whether we are working in the sun or sitting in the shade. BATHING.—When we notice what an important office the skin holds and remember it is throwing off large quantities of poisonous matter even when we can not see the perspiration, we can see at once how important it is that we wash the accumulation of refuse matter away from over the skin pores at frequent intervals. I know there are many persons who do not bathe once a year and it does not kill them, but that is no reason why we should try to follow their example. If these persons would bathe, they would be heartier; and certainly they would not have need of so much perfume to hide the 2 odor of their filthy bodies when they went in public. I have heard many persons give as an excuse for not bathing that they had no bathtub. There certainly is no one but can afford a washtub or at least a pan and a quart of water. To plunge in a tank of water, and then allow the skin to dry would be of little value, as the skin pores would still have the gum adhering over them. To bathe, the skin should be rubbed with a sponge or wet cloth and soap, after which the soap should be rinsed off, and then the important part is to rub the skin briskly with a coarse towel until the skin pores are open and all foreign matter removed. Bathing or, as they called it, purification was an important part of the Jewish religious ritual.

THE Luncs.—Every time a muscle moves a certain amount of burned material or waste matter is produced. This material, called carbon, is carried by the blood to the lungs, where it is liberated, and another material called oxygen is taken from the air and returned by way of the blood to take the place of the destroyed tissue. The lungs, therefore, serve a twofold purpose. They help to purify the blood by taking out waste material, and they nourish the system by taking oxygen from the air and supplying it to the blood. This change is carried on so rapidly by the lungs, and it is of so much importance, that if we quit breathing for only a few minutes death will result. Not all the oxygen is taken from the air during one trip to the lungs ; but if we confine an animal, and compel it to breathe the same air six times in succession, it dies from an accumulation of carbon dioxide and a lack of oxygen. Trees and plants breathe through their leaves, but work opposite to the animals, in that _

PURIFICATION 19 they use up carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. In the green fields or woods is a healthful place for us to live, because there the air is rich in oxygen. When we shut ourselves up in a tight room, we soon use up part of the oxygen, and if there is a fire burning in the room it also uses up oxygen. One oil lamp uses as much oxygen as ten persons.

THE ScHoor Room.—Suppose a school room was shut up tightly with several scholars in it, and possibly a fire also is burning in the stove. Soon the oxygen becomes scarce in the room and we feel short of breath. We soon get drowsy, feel languid and can not remember. what we read. If no fresh air could get into the room, we would soon have a headache, the eyes would become bloodshot, and in a few hours every person in the room would be dead. This last extreme seldom happens, because but few rooms are entirely airtight.

THE Brep Room.—Now suppose we try to sleep in a close room containing other persons and a burning light. At first we will notice nothing wrong, but soon we will get restless, we can not sleep and a dull headache sets in. We roll and toss until morning and get up feeling tired, cross, weak and dizzy. Our eyes are bloodshot. Instead of a night’s rest we have taken a dose of poison. A few

' hours in the open air will help us recover to some extent, but we can not repeat this offense against nature night after night and remain strong. We will soon become so poisoned that tuberculosis, pneumonia or some other germ disease will get a foothold in our system. Many persons shut up their rooms at night for fear of night air. This is a mistake. The night air in the room soon gets more dangerous than the air out of doors. The air at night is some damper than during the day, especially on low ground, and this makes it more difficult for persons suffering with some forms of throat and lung trouble to breathe; but it is much more wholesome for them than air poisoned by being shut up in the room with many persons breathing it. Malaria and ague were once believed to be in the damp air of low ground, but these troubles are now known to be contracted by the bite of a mosquito, and not from breathing damp air. The sanitariums for throat and lung troubles are located on high elevations, because the dry, light air is easier for such persons to breathe.

Mustin Winpows.—After experimenting with sleeping bags, tents, screened porches, and all such inventions imaginable, the ideal sleeping and living apartment has been found to be a room with southern exposure, and having thin muslin substituted for the glass in the windows. This gives good ventilation without drafts, and also keeps out much of the dust and dampness.

SYMPATHETIC OrGANS.—The lungs, skin, kidneys, liver and intestines all work in sympathy; and in case of an emergency, each attempts to assist the others in reducing the amount of impurities in the blood. Let the skin of a large part of the body be scorched, so as to prevent it from doing its share, and the kidneys, liver and lungs at once become more active. The urine becomes thick and fetid, the breath smells rancid, and the discharge from the bowels is offensive. When the kidneys are stopped by stricture or the presence of gravel, the breath at once becomes offensive, the sweat profuse, and

CONSERVATION 21 there is usually purging and vomiting. All of these discharges smell of the uric acid which they contain. When constipation or engorgement occurs in the intestines, the breath becomes loaded with these impurities, and the kidneys and liver attempt to throw off the extra accumulation. It is this overwork which brings on kidney and liver troubles.

CONSERVATION

No fortune ever accumulated was so vast that it could not be quickly squandered, and no man was ever so strong that his strength could not be quickly exhausted by misuse or dissipation. Venereal excesses devour energy, revelry exhausts the system, and dissipation breeds disease. A careful study of the habits of life and their effect upon the health are necessary if we would conserve our energy and maintain our strength.

EXERCISE.—It is necessary that every person either work or take a certain amount of exercise. Absolute inactivity would in a short time cause every organ in the body to become sluggish, weak, and tender, and liable to contract disease at the first exposure. Exercise quickens the action of every organ in the body; and as it toughens a muscle, it also toughens the organs. I have heard many - persons complain of having broken their health down by hard work. It is not work, but abuse that injures the health. While it is possible to destroy the health by overwork, to do so would require an extreme of which few persons are ever guilty.

Oxp-AcE Statistics.—An investigation of the lives and habits of six hundred and fifty men and women whose ages were above ninety years — one hundred and thirty-

22 PHYSICAL OWY GENRE five being above one hundred years of age— revealed the astonishing fact that all had worked hard all their lives, including the millionaires. Other astonishing facts brought out by this canvass were as follows: Practically none of these old people had ever indulged in tobacco, alcohol or other stimulants of any kind except that coffee was used in small quantities by a few. All had used but very little medicine. All had always been cheerful and great laughers. They had always been great sleepers, the average had been more than eight hours of sleep out of twenty-four. They were careful and moderate eaters, and constipation had no place in their lives. The results showed that marriage is conducive to old age, and that having a large family of children is no drawback to either men or women. One fact particularly conspicuous was that all had lived much in the open air and had always had fresh air in their sleeping rooms.

ATHLETICS.—The hotly-contested athletic matches so much encouraged by our colleges are most injurious and dangerous to health. Competitive games such as tennis, _golf or basketball, when not followed to extremes, are splendid exercise, and are highly beneficial to the student or office man who is in need of recreation. The light, quick action is ideal for developing muscle and health. In severe physical contests, such as boat racing and foot races, where the heart and lungs are taxed to- the utmost, injuries are certain. to result; and in many instances valvular heart trouble puts a speedy end to the athletic career. Those who attempt excessive muscular development usually pay dear for their physical prowess. A large per cent. die within five years after their athletic

CONSERVATION 23 career, usually of heart or lung troubles; and among those that live, few ever again enjoy sound health. Gymnasium work to benefit the mind worker must be of- such a nature as to divert the thoughts from the daily grind. The student may swing Indian clubs by the hour, but if lhe keeps his mind on vexing problems he will fail entirely to get that diversion of mind so essential in athletics for health.

FaticuE—The organs of the body are very busy during active exercise or heavy work. The blood quickens its pace in an effort to carry away the waste material produced by the muscular action. The heart must work faster and harder, the breathing becomes deep and labored as the lungs attempt to throw off the accumu- | lation of carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen. The skin becomes active, throwing off the extra heat and poisons produced until perspiration often saturates the clothing. All this is beneficial to quicken the many organs of the system, give tone to the muscles, and life to the nerves; but when the work is overtaxing, or is followéd to the point of exhaustion, the toxins of fatigue are not carried out of the system as fast as produced. This accumulation of toxins or waste material is injurious and, in excessive amounts, highly dangerous. “In -extreme instances of overexertion, as when hunted animals drop dead in the chase, they die not from overstrain of any particular organ, such as the heart, but from chemical poison due to the unexpelled toxin of fatigue.” (Goldmark, “Fatigue and Efficiency,” p. 13.) Anger, worry, rage, fright and excitement also produce toxins in the system. Fright has often produced enough toxins to cause death. It is toxins in the blood that cause us to feel tired and weak. They may be caused by mental or physical exhaustion, the poisons from a sore in the flesh, or by breathing poison gases.