Spring Trouble
Sources:
Papers On Health
Many persons are distressed by some form of eruption
or inflammation in the skin in spring. The change of atmosphere and
temperature at this time greatly increases the demands made upon the
skin as an organ of perspiration, and this strain it is in many cases
unable to stand--hence the trouble referred to. To prevent this, the
skin must be brought into a better state of health and fitness for any
extra work, so that it
can bear without injury even very great changes
of air and temperature. This may be done by regular application of soap
lather (see Lather and Soap) to the entire skin each evening for
three or four days, and then twice a week through all the season. Good
olive oil may be rubbed on before and after the lather, or even mixed
with it in rubbing on; if the cooling effect is found too great, two or
three thick coats of lather should be put on, and then gently wiped
off, and the oil applied. This, continued during the later winter and
spring, should entirely prevent eruptions. But if these do appear, or
have already come on, the irritation is apt to be so great that only
very fine and carefully made lather can be used. It is better then to
use buttermilk instead of lather. But the BUTTERMILK (see) must be
new, and if necessary weakened by addition of sweet milk; if old and
strongly acid buttermilk be used, harm may be done. Do not rub the
milk on: soak it into the parts by gentle dabbing with a pad of
soft cloth. This done frequently, even twice or three times a day, will
almost always effect a cure.
It should be remembered that no amount of washing or bathing will do in
this state of the skin. Water somehow, especially hard water, fails to
produce this fine state of the surface. When spring trouble has set in,
we would keep water entirely from the skin. Nothing does so well as
good buttermilk. In some forms of spring eruption, a strong mixture of
salt and water may be freely applied with great advantage. If this
irritates, it should at once be discontinued, but in many cases the
eruption will disappear under a few applications. The salt solution
should be gently rubbed on, and left to dry on the skin (see Skin,
Care of; Underwear).
With the increasing warm weather the body ceases to require as much
food as in the cold days. Heavy stimulating food in warm weather will
certainly cause an unhealthy skin.