SUNBATHING COMFORT

The sun-bath should be pleasant and, if it is taken progressively, will never cause discomfort. Care must be observed in the employment of sunbathing, in cold or damp weather. Only the hardy can enjoy them or profit by them under such circumstances. Those in poor health should avoid them during such weather, although these need them most. If a warm room is available for sunbathing the weakest may continue them.

WHERE TO SUNBATHE

Medical circles, in writing about sunbathing, frequently stress the Alps and how certain sections of these are especially favored with sunshine. Not only is this largely inaccurate, but there is the more important fact that we cannot all go to the Alps and are forced to make use of the sun where we are.

In most parts of the earth inhabited by man there is sufficient sunshine to meet his needs and the needs of the teeming flora and fauna about him. There are sections in which there is little winter sunshine and from which the sick will do well to retreat when winter comes.

It is cooler in the high mountains, there are more ultra-violet rays and, if one is above the clouds, there are more sunny days, but the fact still remains that there is sufficient sun and favorable conditions for sunbathing in the valley or at the sea-shore.

A WAY CAN BE FOUND

The excuse often offered for not getting sunbaths, that there is no place to take them, is a lame one. Some day all cities will be equipped with solaria. There will be solaria on the roofs of tall buildings in the larger cities. Homes will even be so equipped. In the meantime, there is no lack of places for sun bathing for those who really desire to secure its benefits.

Where the will exists there is no lack of possibilities and facilities for sun-bathing in any spot where the sun shines. Balconies, flat-roofs, apartment house roofs, open verandas, a sunny place in the garden or park, offer splendid sun-bathing spots and require little or no ingenuity to shut them in for this purpose. The beach and secluded spots in the country offer possibilities for sun-bathing.

A sunny room, with the windows opened from the top, offers a chance for sun-bathing even in winter. Milo Hastings says he took sun-baths through two winters in Tarrytown, N. Y. If you do not have a sunny room in which to take a sun-bath, you may be able to find a friend who has such a room, which you may use. The chemical rays of the sun do not pass through ordinary glass. For this reason, a sun-bath taken in a room where the sun is forced to enter through glass, is of but little value. The sun should come through an open window or door.

A sun-bath may be taken on the front lawn, in the back yard, on an adjacent or nearby vacant lot, or other open space by donning shorts or bathing suit. Much benefit may be derived from sitting or lying in the sun while wearing a thin white gown.

SIGNS OF EXCESS

Excesses in sunbathing are usually quick to make themselves known. If headache, fatigue or upset stomach follow a sunbath, this indicates an overdose. Harm results from over-sunning just as it does from over-eating or any other form of excess.

Erythema (redness) and dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), both of which are painful and distressing, result from excessive exposure before pigmentation has occurred. Fever, headache, weariness, loss of appetite, languor, sleeplessness and such, result from too much exposure, or exposure to the hot mid-day sun. Such undesirable results prove the bath to have been carried to excess. Wherever possible, secure the sun-bath in the early morning or late afternoon, except during the cooler seasons of the year.

Burning and itching of the skin, erythema, aches and pains, and feelings of over-excitement or of depression and, sometimes insomnia result from over-stimulation and indicate that the bath should not be prolonged.

If any part of the body becomes burned or inflamed, due to too much exposure, wait until the burn is healed and the swelling gone before taking another sun-bath.

Sun-stroke is a very remote possibility. Heat-stroke may occur in weak individuals who stay too long in the sun when the weather is hot. If proper precautions are observed, this can never occur.

If, after a sun-bath, you should suffer from nose bleeding, congestion in the head, vertigo (dizziness), this is evidence that you took too strong a dose. In such a case, wait until you have fully recovered before taking another sun-bath and do not take so much next time.

PRECAUTIONS FOR INVALIDS

Sick and weak individuals need sunbaths most; yet these must observe greatest care in taking them. A headache, indigestion, or any other evidence of impaired health means that resistance is low and one so impaired may easily suffer from heat prostration from over-exposure, even where there is sufficient tan to prevent burning. Heart patients must be careful not to over-do the sunning.

The sun-bath often excites weak or nervous patients to such a degree as to prevent sleep. Sometimes after the bath they complain of a feeling of weakness which distresses them. Such symptoms are always the results of too frequent baths or of too prolonged baths. Nervous patients should exercise special care in avoiding over-exposure. Victor Dana, in The Sunlight Cure, also cautions against the over-stimulating effects of long exposure in neurotic subjects.

If pains increase, this suggests fatigue and over-stimulation. The sun-bath should leave one feeling better, not worse. If it leaves you weak or depressed or with an increase of any of your symptoms, you have had too much--take less next time.

Sufferers from asthma and tuberculosis may experience a slight difficulty in breathing after a sun-bath. These should shorten the bath next time. Pulmonary patients, especially those inclined to hemorrhage, those exhausted by nerve "disease," and heart subjects should be cautious in taking sun-baths. Hemorrhage of the lungs must be avoided.

In some quarters fear of sun-bathing in pulmonary tuberculosis persists. I have found it very beneficial in these conditions and have not seen any harm come from the practice. In this connection Rollier says: "Twenty years of experience has convinced me that patients with pulmonary tuberculosis do not suffer in the least from exposure to sunlight. Not once has there been a mishap of any kind; on the contrary, a striking improvement under the influence of the correctly administered sun-bath has been the rule in every case."

Fat women often complain that even a few minutes, as little as three to five, in the sun-bath, makes them sick. They complain of nausea, weakness, headache, and dizziness. These women must be handled with care. I have seen such developments in but one thin woman and none in normal individuals.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 998