Sensible Bathing

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 10, 27 January 1937, Page 14

Sensible Bathing

11 1 1 WA at To Do With Children (By a Masseuse.) ^LTHOUGH bathing and Bwimming a^e now, generally popular, many mothers are still terrified of letting their children bathe. Phey picture them getting out of their depth, catching colds, swajlowing pints of water and a hundred and one other horrpts. The pjiehsiness amongst parents is increased by the. in* fluence of the recent infantile pmralysiji "odt* break in New Zealand, and. subeequent warii« ings and advice. V .• I have often heard children, cautioned" by their mothers not to go into the water abovo their knees. The result is that, under a blazing sun, more often than not hatless, they put their feet and legs into cold water. Sun-stroke, fever, colds and other ailments fojlo W, . but ftill mothers insist that no harm can ,come feeni paddling, whereas bathing is "dangerous. " One little patient who comes to my clinie in a seaside town begged her mother, encouraged hy me, to let her bathe "just once.^ The plea was ref used— the mother wasn 't going to take risks after the child's long illness. The girl had to be taken to see a specialist a few weeks later. He charged his hsual fee, but his advice was simply "carry on as you are, but if you can alford to get the child to the. sea for a fortnight so that she can bathe every day, do so"! Cold Fright. There is no more distressing sight than father, himself a strong swimmer, pulling a poor, unwilling, fearful little son into the. waves with unmerciful splashings. If Children do not feel the desire to bathe, do not force them. It is eruel and, hecause nothing chiUs so mueh .as fright, it usually meank that no healthy reaction takes place when the "child leaves the sea and a severe «oH develops in consequence. ' • No harm can come to children when bathing if hormal care is taken. The first bathe of the season should not— however warm the day and the water— last for more than ten mimites. One bathe a day for the first week is a good rule. After that, if the water is warm, as many as three can be taken, so long as twe hours elapse between a meal and the bathe. " "When the child comes out make him remove his bathing suit at once. Do not allow; him to "hang about" tintil he is shivering* So many children do' this. They also dress very slowly, standing still and not. attempting • to get up warmth by exercise. Rub the bather down. Pnt the 'towel over your hand, like a glove, and rub thoroughc ly until the body is pink and glowing. A good reaction should be the result in normal ehildren. If a child turns very pale, tremfiles and shivers, his body is not strong enough to beai; the shock of cold water and the efforfc of teying to swim. In this ease it is hest to postpone bathing nntil almost the end of the holiday, when, if the rest and the change of air hav# done their work, a good reaction will he ohtained and bathing will be qnite safe said benefieial. Safe Sun-Bathing. Sun-bathing is excenent, but never allow a child to come straight from the sea and He under the fieree rays in his wet bathing suiV Apart from almost eertain chill, the effect of heat on the salt water is similar to that of brine on meat— the child's skm will he pickledi Large areas will blister, and, instead of the healthy nltra-violet rays being ahle to penN trate the. body, the child will have to he kept covered, handaged, and, in severe cases, sent to bed. After a hathe change into a tnm-bathlng garment or a dry bathing suit, Bub a little oil on the exposed parts, if the sun is too fieres, but if the full benefits of ultra-Tiolet rays are desired, leave the skin nntouched as the slightest film of oil, it has been proved, defieets ihe rays. Ten minutes of ' sun-bathing is enough for the first day, .gradually increasing as Ihe holiday proceeds. Bathing under proper supervision is benefieial to health in every way. Bathing as h is often carried out by the uninformed sends thousands of patients into inedical surgeries every years,