Underwear
Sources:
Papers On Health
There is a common and very popular error, namely, that of
putting too much clothing on our bodies, under the mistaken idea that
additional weight means additional warmth. The fact that the main
object of clothing is to preserve the natural heat of the body is lost
sight of, and little attention is paid to the selection of proper
garments for wearing next the skin. Every day the skin of an average
healthy individual giv
s off so many pints of moisture, which must not
be allowed to settle on the body if health is to be maintained. After
long and exhaustive trials, we have come to the conclusion that the
best material for wearing next the skin is knitted linen, and the best
knitted linen of the kind, and in fact, the only pure linen mesh
material which we have seen, is known as Kneipp linen, and can be
obtained from all leading retailers and outfitters in this and other
countries. The name of the nearest agent may be had by sending a card
to the Kneipp Linen Warehouse, 2 Milk St., London, E.C. In winter light
woollen underwear can be worn over the linen if desired, thus retaining
the hygienic advantages of the linen, as well as the warmth of the
wool. As the wool does not touch the skin, it will not require frequent
washing, and so will not become felted up.
Linen is the symbol of cleanliness, the priests of old, as we read in
Ezekiel, being commanded to wear it, and not wool or any garment
causing sweat.
Our reason for specially naming Kneipp linen is that we know it is
pure linen, whereas we know that what is sold as linen mesh is
frequently half linen and half cotton.
Linen is the most absorbent material for underwear. It soaks up
moisture very rapidly, and dries with equal rapidity. Hence linen is
always preferred for towels and bandages. Those who use it for
underwear will not require to change the clothes after exercise, as
they would if wool were worn next the skin. The ordinary woven linen is
clean but cold: Kneipp linen is so constructed as to be clean and warm.
This material retains air in its meshes, and a layer of dry air next
the body is the best method of preserving an even temperature, and thus
avoiding colds and chills, which are so prevalent in a climate such as
ours. Wool is entirely unsuited for wearing next the skin. It does not
absorb the perspiration rapidly nor radiate it freely, and after
several washings it becomes felted, and in that condition is absolutely
injurious to health. It is the material par excellence for outer
clothing, but all inner garments coming in contact with the body should
be composed of pure linen. (See Skin, Care of).