Health in the home; a practical work on the promotion and preservation of health

Front matter

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Preface

" Our lives are albums written through With good or ill, with false or true ; And as the blessed angels turn

The pages of our years, God grant they read the good with smiles And blot the ill with tears."

— Whittier.

T^HIS work is written at the request of many earnest women who realize the great need among our people of a better knowledge of the body and of the natural laws that govern it, and who realize that such knowledge can come only through physical education in the home. Most of the ills that afflict the human body are the outgrowth of insufficient knowledge of one's self; and, in this my first volume, I shall lay a foundation of such knowledge as will go far toward teaching self-preservation, the prevention of invalidism, both physical and mental, and the restoration to our people of their birthright of health.

X PREFACE

No one chapter is independent of the others. They form together a system of primary instruction intended as a base for broader reading and study. I have avoided technicalities. This book is not intended as a text-book on anatomy, physiology, and hygiene. It is one of rational suggestions for health culture in the home and the school. We have able writers on the science of health, but not one on practical self-preservation, which is my aim in this volume.

No effort has been spared to make the work accurate, and I have inclined toward the safe side in advice where there could be the slightest doubt of accuracy. I submit the book with no misgivings as to its absolute safety and practical utility. If it leads any one to more extensive self-study, or to follow out the instructions contained in its pages, its mission will be complete.

In sending this volume upon its mission of life, I desire to gratefully acknowledge my obligations to the different writers whose ideas I have endeavored to follow. The book is based largely upon the writings of Claes J. Enebuske, Baron Nils Posse, Hartvig Nissen, and Dr. Edward Mussey Hartwell, in their

PREFACE works on physical education and Swedish gymnastic exercise ; Gray's ''Anatomy," and Potter's "Quiz on Anatomy;" and Dr. Yeo, Landois and Stirling, and Michael Foster on physiology. Hare's "System of Practical Therapeutics" contains contributions of great value, by Dr. I. Burney Yeo, on " Nutrition and Foods; " Dr. Simon Baruch, on " Hydrotherapy;" and Dr. Benjamin Lee, on "Massage."

Most of the chapters have been submitted to the able criticism of Dr. Yeatman Wardlow of New York, whose aid has been invaluable, through his large and successful experience in diseases peculiar to women.

The children who have posed for the pictures have never had access to the gymnasium, and not even the advantage of school gymnastics, but have followed prescription exercises, under their mother's supervision, as bed-time practice. Although of delicate tendencies, their development of health and figure are faultless, except in the case of the child whose spine shows curvature. This curvature was the result of a fracture of the arm, and has already almost disappeared under careful massage and exercise. It was purposely exaggerated some-

Xll PREFACE

what for the picture, and there will soon be no trace of it left. This should be an encouragement to children, and should stimulate mothers to follow out similar home practice exercises with their own children.

E. Marguerite Lindley:

New York, Jan. 28, 1896.

Chapter I The Body A Machine

" The proper study of mankind is man." — Pope.

F^vESCARTES says: "If it be possible to *~^ perfect the human race, it is in medicine we must seek the means;" and explains that the term medicine is used in its broadest sense, as a science devoted to care of the body.

The body as a machine is less understood by the mysterious being styled the individual than is any other feature of evolution or creation that has yet coma into our possession. Except in rare cases, it has been so mysterious a presence that no one but medical authorities have been allowed to fathom it. Indelicacy has been the apology for rearing past generations in dark ignorance of themselves ; and, even now that the dawn of intelligence seems near, it is still considered necessary by many parents and teachers that an impenetrable wall of propriety, adjusted, in ages past, through mistaken ideas of civilization, admitting no daylight beyond respiratory, circulatory, and digestive organs, shall stili remain, and that the youth of both sexes must seek other instructors for a complete knowledge of their bodies, which it is their right to possess. We must now demand for the health of our rising generation a true knowledge of the body and mind, and of the laws that govern them, to supplant the wrong ideas that have grown out of the imperfect education formerly given, and consequent stolen information many have obtained from wrong sources.

The body was favorably introduced to the world a few years since by a sensible writer's calling it " the house we live in." That appellation seemed to break the ice. The remark found favor with thousands who had wondered what there was so mysterious about the body that it had been locked up from average ken all these generations, and they began to explore its hidden recesses.

It is certainly the dwelling place and vehicle of ego. It consists of a framework perfectly joined, covered with other building material,

THE BODY A MACHINE 3

and spaced off into cavities ; each cavity is furnished with a system of organs for use of the individual, whose throne is the brain. But the body is more than a house or a vehicle ; it is a machine. According to the dictionary meaning of the term, we may understand the word machine as " a body used to transmit and modify force and motion ; especially a construction consisting of a combination of moving parts, with their supports and connecting framework, by which power is applied or made effective, or a desired effect produced." This covers all the possibilities of the body, except the element life, and the definition of this word is yet beyond all human power.

The body is divided into four cavities — cranial, chest, abdominal, and pelvic. Each contains an individual system of organs that is of itself independent, working its purposes for the individual, yet entirely dependent on other systems of organs, and having no functional power if isolated from the others. The body itself expresses the functional unit made up of the many systems.

The body is often called " the human engine," and as such we had best consider it, except that it is possessed of organism and needs rest ; while cleanliness, fuel, and water cover the requirements of the inorganic engine. An engine seems almost to possess intelligence. It eats and drinks, and converts the resources thus gathered into force, which is generated by combustion and supported by oxygen. The human engine is still more wonderful. Organs more intricate than those of the internal structure of the steam engine work ceaselessly night and day, through sickness and health, converting food and drink into force, which is generated by combustion and dependent upon oxygen.

The human engine is composed of a framework of bones, fastened at movable points by sinews, ligaments, and muscles which are controlled by the individual. We speak of such as voluntary muscles. The internal organs are controlled by involuntary muscles ; but, like the voluntary, they are of and for the individual. Nerves are the mediums between mind and matter.

The nervous system consists of brain, spinal cord, and nerves. The brain consists of gray matter and white matter. The gray matter is the seat of manufacture of nerve power; the white matter is continuous with the nerves,

THE BODY A MACHINE 5

which are the messengers through which sensation is made thought, and thought is made action.

The brain is divided into the cerebrum, the seat of intellect — or perhaps we had best say the individual — and the cerebellum, the seat of finer coordination.

Ganglia are supply stations of gray nerve matter, located at convenient intervals, so that the nerves may gain force other than from the brain direct. Important among them are the chains situated on each side of the spine, extending its entire length, and known as the sympathetic nerve system. It controls involuntary muscles and internal organs.

Without nerve force we are devoid of all power, and nerve force is entirely dependent on power obtained from the functions of the organs controlled by the nerves. This emphasizes the remark that the body is the functional unit. We speak of paralysis when nerve action is in some. way or to some extent impaired. It is not a condition of weak muscle tissue, but lack of power in the nerve centres that control the affected muscles, or some lesion in the course of the nerves themselves. We improve the conditions by stimulating the circulation, either by means of passive exercise (as massage) or electricity, and by this means the nerve centres will gain strength, providing complications are not serious, and influences of an unfavorable nature do not overrule the good results of the treatment.

Chapter II

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING " My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." — Hosea.

PHYSICAL training is a subject which has * been forcing itself more and more upon the attention of American people for many years, not only because of the increasing popularity of athletic sports, to which it necessarily appertains, but also because a conviction has grown up in thoughtful minds that it is an essential to correct living.

The object of physical training is twofold — health of mind and of body — and the last must be first. Now, as in the old days of Greek glory, the development of the perfect physical type should be considered more important than mental training, since mental vigor is based wholly upon physical resources. But we will consider both as well-fitting halves of a balanced whole, and refer to the body as a unit consisting of these two parts.

Health is dependent upon laws which govern the body ; and the physical condition of the individual depends largely upon his knowledge and observance of these laws.

It is therefore most important that he should know himself; that he learn the anatomy and chemistry of his own body — the curious and wonderful structure as a whole, and the various organs, tissues, and component parts severally, in their individual use, and in their relation to each other, and to the entire mechanism of the human form.

One having this knowledge of the structure and use of the body will realize the necessity for harmony of strength, and will strive to develop and conserve, not dissipate, his forces.

Having established health, he is j then equipped and fortified for longevity in ! its completest sense, and for a useful and noble career.

The body is trained by exercise of the voluntary muscles in obedience to the will, and such exercise must be regulated by a thorough knowledge of the influence they are likely to exert, not only upon the muscles, but upon the internal organs and the nervous system.

Bodily development, good posture, and flexibility of muscle are all essentials of ideal health ;

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING 9

but muscular power is by no means of paramount importance, as the athlete might insist.

To be sure, practice of certain movements recommended in this book is calculated to increase strength of muscle, but that is only a secondary consideration; the chief aim is to promote health of the internal organs and flexibility of muscle.

Enebuske, an eminent Swedish authority on movements, says: " Those who labor to enrich the muscles only, often make piteous beggars of the heart and lungs. Theory and experience show that a system of training may be followed which, while it develops muscular strength to a considerable degree, at the same time causes dilatation of the heart and lung cells, consequently making their walls thinner and weaker. Upon such training common sense stamps the seal of disapproval."

It is unnecessary for a man to be able to support a piano on his chest to demonstrate good lung power. Such phenomenal strength is rarely possible, and never necessary in physical training. Neither do horseback riding and the more vigorous work of rowing, bicycling, etc. j or one-side games, as tennis and croquet, take the place of any systematic physical train-

IO HEALTH IN THE HOME

ing; and in many instances these are not even desirable recreations for women and girls. In any case they should only be indulged in with moderation, as hygienic diversions, by those of good pelvic health. Women and girls need rational physical exercises, arranged to meet their individual conditions and requirements, for the development of unused muscles, and for strengthening their internal organs.

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the vital importance of having such a course of exercises intelligently prescribed. There was a time when all miscellaneous motions possible to the human being were accepted as physical culture. The teacher of such "exercises" held her own through the dark days of fads, by posing gracefully, and showing movements, unexplained, which her pupils imitated without understanding, and which were a caricature of the noblest of arts — body building. To meet the present demand for skilled labor, whether of the hand or brain, the director of physical culture must now be prepared by a course of study not inferior to that required for a medical diplome. The knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology, therapeutics, dietary, practical hygiene, and emer-

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING II

gency work is as indispensable to a proper application of the means of physical culture in relation to the vital and other internal organs, to defective organs, and to complications of defects, as it is to the physician in his study of the relation of drugs to health and disease.

One needs as thorough an equipment for the responsible task of developing and preserving the health as does the doctor for his mission of healing the sick.

Self-knowledge should begin for the little child in the kindergarten. When he is taught about the spine of a leaf, let him at the same time learn of his own spine, and, similarly, of his organs and their functions, which correspond to the organisms of plants and flowers.

In this way comes a reverent comprehension of what life means; and the body is not a mysterious belonging, to be abused in ignorance and degraded by disease, but a beautiful part of the great, wonderful harmony of creation, which must sound no false note, create no discord. The little child has begun to respect himself.

Let a good foundation of organic health and muscular control be established by careful progressive training, and then gymnastical athleticism need not be the calamity which it often proves to our too-rapidly trained girls and men. This requires fuller explanation — such exercise should be reached by years of preliminary training. Instead, many enter the gymnasium for their first lesson, and seek to accomplish, at once, results which tax them too severely, thereby exhausting their powers to an extent which handicaps them for the rest of their lives, if it does not make them downright invalids.

It is the same sort of overstrain which, in our restless business and social life, is filling our homes and hospitals with invalids, and our institutions with insane and feeble-minded.

From the cradle to the grave proper care of the body should be the first consideration, and all other things desirable will then be added.

Fresh air, correct diet, systematic exercise, hygienic bathing and dressing, and a sufficient amount of rest are the basis; these, if instilled from infancy, may become second nature.

That our ancestors seemed to do quite well without paying any special heed to such matters, can be no argument for us in this age of rapid, exhaustive living; yet it is not doubted that if they had lived more rationally, the

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING 13

present generation would be much better off. Had they cared wisely for bodily health and development, their descendants would not so easily succumb to the influence of colds, fatigue, contagion, and the encroachments of disease as they now do, and they would have more resistive power, greater staying power, and an all-round better physical heritage.

Heredity and environment are strong names to conjure with; but it is wonderful how far they may be controlled, and their influence obviated, through a rational comprehension of them, and by means of applied physical training.

Heredity is more strongly traced in mental than in physical characteristics. Fortunately, physical defects are transmitted as tendencies only, and inheritance of disease is rarely possible. From successive generations of unhygienic living, tendencies to certain diseases have been handed down, and they in turn have developed into actual disease, for want of a strict observance of the laws of health on the part of the descendants. This has been long looked upon by the hopeless victims as an inevitable law of heredity, which has been fulfilled by a dispensation of Providence, either in grudge or punishment for some sin of ourancestors — as if Providence ever generated an individual merely to consign him to a useless career, or an early and painful death!

Weak conditions of body or of mind are visited upon successive generations not as a punishment, but as the consequence of abuse of nature's laws; and these consequences may be to a great degree mitigated, and occasionally averted, if the operation of physical laws and of environment be made as careful a study as are the various mental sciences.

Again let me urge, know thyself. Study from the best accepted authorities the structure of the human body, the use of its many organs, their relation to one another, the harmony of their functions. Learn how to use, and, what is of equal importance, how to rest the body; how to feed, clothe, and bathe it. Ascertain the amount of its reserve force, and then keep a nicely adjusted bank account of resources and expenditures, and you will find it possible to balance the disadvantages of unfavorable heredity, and to adjust your environment to the end of health, longevity, and happiness, exceeding, no doubt, that of the individual who boasts more favorable heredity.

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING 15

We crave length of days only when our powers are well preserved ; when the body is exhausted, and we are doomed to drag out existence, a slave to infirmity and disease, living becomes labor and sorrow, and it is a release to pass away.

The physical ailments most common among American people are consumption, catarrh, rheumatism, scrofula in its various forms, neuralgia and other nerve diseases, and indigestion — the root of most of our bodily ills. It would be wiser to aim for the prevention of these maladies than to wait until they are present, and then seek their cure. If taken in their incipiency, their cause ascertained, and their conditions subjected to as skilful and faithful treatment as is acute suffering, in the majority of instances the enemy might, even if not wholly routed, be at least kept at bay for many happy, useful years of the victim's lifetime.

It is too Common a practice to disregard the signs of approaching disease until its development is too far advanced to be controlled, and then to bemoan " the hand of Providence," which has laid the sufferer low. It is not Providence ; it is ignorance and neglect and l6 HEALTH IN THE HOME

custom. They, especially custom, which underlies the whole fabric of our physical, social, and, alas, also our spiritual lives, are responsible. Custom has for a long time overlooked the necessity for education of the body, and, therefore, except in rare cases, experience andi observation have had no chance to argue. A woman beholding frail health resulting from imprudence in others, will still persist in her own similarly imprudent ways, not reasoning that she must surely be called to account for these wrongs done the flesh — wrongs that may not revert to her personally, but cannot fail to be visited upon her children. This is not her fault, it is merely her misfortune in having followed customs that are unhygienically adjusted. Parents continually do their children the great wrong of mistaking the true aim in their education — physical perfectness. They do not realize that a child is only fortified for intellectual adult life when health is so thoroughly established that no concessions need be granted to ills or ailments., j Instead, they struggle to equip their offspring with overcrowded brains, toppling above weak* poorly developed bodies, and education is for them a sort of incubating process. ?.:

ON PHYSICAL TRAINING 17

The strength of every nation depends upon its women, and this strength emanates from the home. How, then, can men live and thrive when the women that make those homes are semi-invalids ? What can be expected for the future when we see only frail, emotional girls being reared to fill the places of the present generation of delicate women ? For men not properly reared are a discredit, a dishonor, to the women whose influence shaped their lives. ■ ■ The woman's cause is man's. They rise or fall, dwarfed or god-like, bond or free. If she be ill-shaped, how can men thrive?'*

Chapter III

" The child is father of the man." — Wordsworth.

T^HIS chapter would probably better claim attention of the progressive woman were it headed " Heredity and Environment ; " but for the practical, every-day suggestions it contains, this simpler title seems preferable. Heredity is too broad a subject to find foothold in any introductory volume on health preservation, and in this it will be mentioned only as a guidepost to posterity. We will consider environment as an influence possible of adjustment for weal or for woe, and, confining the argument within these limits, allow the " sins of the ancestors " to rest with their bones.

The environment of the child should be a leading study with women. The child of today is the man or woman of the future, the law-maker and law-breaker of our country, and the responsibilities incumbent upon the rearing of that individual are enormous.

Holmes says: "The physical training of a child should begin two hundred years before it is born." While the truth of this is strikingly apparent on every hand, in the spectacle of undesirable citizens one meets every day, we will render the argument more practical and possible and near, by saying its training should begin two years before it is born. For the sake of propagating the highest types of our race, physically, mentally, morally, the parents themselves should be in the highest possible condition and possession of these. We have but to look into the history of crime, poverty, and imbecility to find this truth strongly emphasized.

In the present struggle for the advancement of women, let us not forget that woman's sphere is in the home, and that motherhood is her privilege, not her curse. Her life is not necessarily narrowed by a realization of these facts, however. She must broaden, not ignore, her sphere.

The mother's first duty is self-preservation, else she is but a poor altruist. In the execution of mistaken ideas of duty, her stamina is too often reduced to a pitiable stage. She should study to spare herself frivolous care.

What matter if Mrs. Grundy's house possesses a few more tinselled draperies, and the table is furnished with more bits of useless china than hers? She should possess the true moral independence which is conceded to American women, and live within her own conscience, if not always within her own desires. A plain house, a plain table, and plain clothing, if such are in accord with her resources of health > she would best accept, and not fritter away her vitality with care of frivolous belongings, such as her neighbor may be better able physically to superintend. Bodily health, freedom from excessive emotionalism, and a clear conception of real from mistaken duty, will preserve every mother from continued fatigue, except in emergency or misfortune. Some emotional women seem to consider it their fate to look tired, unmindful of their privilege and duty to keep as rested, fresh, and cheerful as possible. Let such women look into other homes, and observe the misery which results from invalidism of the mother, and they will be glad to strive to prevent it in their own case.

Specific physical training for the baby should begin from the first moments of his life, in the rational care given his little body. Dress, food, baths, and proper handling constitute the main features of this care.

Dress should be of light weight and of few pieces, so that baby is not disturbed to any extent by the process of dressing and undressing. His clothing should be of soft wool fabrics. These are seamless, porous, and elastic ; sympathetic to the skin, neither overheating nor chilling it. Air should always be permitted to reach the child's skin and give its aid in promoting vigorous growth. Four Jersey wool garments constitute the baby's hygienic dress; viz., the knit abdominal band (this should be worn during at least the first ten years of the child's life, to prevent intestinal disturbances from cold), high-neck and longsleeve shirt, sleeveless skirt made in one piece, and dress. The skirt may be placed inside the dress so that the two may be adjusted at one and the same time, or the shirt, skirt, and dress be arranged together for but one adjustment. Neither skirt nor dress should exceed three-quarters of a yard in length. Dainty mull gowns may be used outside these, to please the artistic eye, if desirable, but volume should be avoided. Baby, like any other little animal, is happiest and healthiest when his limbs are free. Stockings, not kick-off-able socks, constitute the leg and foot gear. What is known as the " Dorothy System " will be found very helpful to young mothers. The napkin should also be of soft Jersey wool, and should be gored and fitted to the shape of the hips and lower back. Too much bulk should not be allowed in this garment. Good authorities affirm that many cases of curvature, bow legs, ungainly posture, knock knees, pigeon toes, and awkward gait have their origin in its incorrect use.

The baby's diet is apt to be an experimental affair, and the conditions of mother and child are so necessarily varied that little can be said on general principles regarding it. Artificially fed children are more liable to disease than those nourished naturally by a healthy mother. Still, artificial feeding can be safely managed if proper care is observed.

Mothers often ask me regarding the different food preparations for infants. It is the physi'- cian's province, rather than mine, to recommend these, as he would decide from baby's conditions and tendencies what would be most nourishing and permanently beneficial. The decision is usually in favor of Lactated Food, or Mellin's Food, as a staple. The latter has been the longer on the market, but the former is quite on a par in general approbation. In many instances no other food is given during the first two years. Such food should always be at hand, to serve for adult as well as child, when the appetite refuses heavier nourishment. When dentition begins, hard breads of gluten, not graham flour, should be given the child. This is not entirely for nutrition, but to strengthen the organs of mastication as well. It should appeal to thinking mothers as a preventive of early loss of deciduous teeth, which we frequently find the case with children who are fed entirely on liquids and cereals.

The quantities of food allowed in any case should be moderate, and at intervals corresponding to the age and condition of the child. An able English writer says: " During the first month of a child's life there should be no fixed time for giving nourishment. In one of slow digestion the intervals should be longer than in one of more rapid digestion. The cry of hunger should be met with a moderate amount of food. Too large a quantity at any one time brings about malassimilation just as surely as deficiency of food does."

This fact should be impressed strongly on the mind of the indulgent mother. Her baby can be starved from overfeeding, by the digestive powers becoming overtaxed, and gastric juices wasted in consequent nausea. Give baby little sips of cold water sometimes when he clamors for what he doesn't really seem to need, and it will calm his restlessness quite as effectually as food will, and without harm.

Sir James Clark points out forcibly how imperfect nutrition from mismanagement of diet in the early days of life lies at the root, or very near the root, of the development of scrofula, consumption, and other diseases which appear in later years. Other authorities locate the germs of intemperance in the nursery, from overindulgence in eating, and consequent lack of self-control throughout the growing period and in adult life.

Bath habits should be adjusted from a rational comprehension of the use and abuse of bathing. (See chapter on Baths.) It is a great error to bathe the baby immediately after feeding. At least an hour should elapse before the bath. Baths should be given early in the day, before the first feeding, if possible. The little body is prepared for good results from its food, by having its circulation stimulated in this way.

Baby should never be allowed to grow chilled by his bath ; have the room at suitable temperature ; seventy-five degrees is a fair average for the healthy child. In cases of nervous or delicate children, bathe the body in sections, keeping all other parts covered, and covering what has been bathed before exposing more surface to the air. Or, bathe under a blanket, if necessary. The temperature of the bath should be gradually lowered from warm to tepid, as the age and condition of baby decide. Warm baths are not invigorating, and do not give firmness to tissues as tepid or cool baths do. If the warm bath is necessarily continued, follow it with massage (see chapter on Massage; also, Passive Work for Infants); this aids greatly in improving conditions of circulation, and had best always follow the bath until vigorous growth is established. The bath hour is a favorable one for moulding irregular features and for giving massage treatment for poorly developed muscles. (See chapter on Massage.)