A great many cannot see why it is they do not take a cold when exposed to cold 
winds and rain. The fact is, and ought to be more generally understood, that nearly 
every cold is contracted indoors, and is not directly due to the cold outside, but to 
the heat inside. A man will go to bed at night feeling as well as usual and get up
in the morning with a royal cold. He goes peeking around in search of cracks and 
keyholes and tiny drafts. Weatherstrips are procured, and the house made as tight 
as a fruit can. In a few days more the whole family have colds.

Let a man go home, tired or exhausted, eat a full supper of starchy and vegetable 
food, occupy his mind intently for a while, go to bed in a warm, close room, and 
if he doesn't have a cold in the morning it will be a wonder. A drink of whisky or a 
glass or two of beer before supper will facilitate matters very much.

People swallow more colds down their throats than they inhale or receive from 
contact with the air, no matter how cold or chilly it may be. Plain, light suppers 
are good to go to bed on, and are far more conductive to refreshing sleep than a 
glass of beer or a dose of choral. In the estimation of a great many this statement 
is rank heresy, but in the light of science, common sense and experience it is the 
gospel truth.

Pure air is strictly essential to maintain perfect health. If a person is accustomed 
to sleeping with the windows open there is but little danger of taking cold winter or 
summer. Persons that shut up the windows to keep out the "night air" make a 
mistake, for at night the only air we breathe is "night air," and we need good air 
while asleep as much or even more than at any other time of day. 

Ventilation can be accomplished by simply opening the window an inch at the 
bottom and also at the top, thus letting the pure air in, the bad air going outward 
at the top. Close, foul air poisons the blood, brings on disease which often results 
in death; this poisoning of the blood is only prevented by pure air, which enters the 
lungs, becomes charged with waste particles, then thrown out, and which are 
poisoning if taken back again. It is estimated that a grown person corrupts one 
gallon of pure air every minute, or twenty-five barrels full in a single night, in 
breathing alone.

Clothes that have been worn through the day should be changed for fresh or dry 
ones to sleep in. Three pints of moisture, filled with the waste of the body, are 
given off every twenty-four hours, and this is mostly absorbed by the clothing. 
Sunlight and exposure to the air purifies the clothing of the poisons which nature 
is trying to dispose of, and which would otherwise be brought again into contact 
with the body.

Colds are often taken by extreme cold and heat, and a sudden exposure to cold 
by passing from a heated room to the cold outside air. Old and weak persons, 
especially, should avoid such extreme change. In passing from warm crowded 
rooms to the cold air, the mouth should be kept closed, and all the breathing done 
through the nostrils only, that the cold air may be warmed before it reaches the 
lungs, or else the sudden change will drive the blood from the surface of the internal 
organs, often producing congestions.

Dr. B. I. Kendall writes that "the temperature of the body should be evenly and 
properly maintained to secure perfect health; and to accomplish this purpose 
requires great care and caution at times. The human body is, so to speak, the 
most delicate and intricate piece of machinery that could possibly be conceived 
of, and to keep this in perfect order requires constant care. It is a fixed law 
of nature that every violation thereof shall be punished; and so we find that he 
who neglects to care for his body by protecting it from sudden changes of 
weather, or draughts of cold air upon unprotected parts of the body, suffers the 
penalty by sickness, which may vary according to the exposure and the 
habits of the person, which affect the result materially; for what would be an 
easy day's work for a man who is accustomed to hard labor, would be sufficient 
to excite the circulation to such an extent in a person unaccustomed to work, 
that only slight exposure might cause the death of the latter when over heated 
in this way; while the same exercise and exposure to the man accustomed to 
hard labor might not affect him. So, we say, be careful of your bodies, for it is a 
duty you owe to yourselves, your friends, and particularly to Him who created you. 

When your body is overheated and you are perspiring, be very careful about sitting 
down to "cool off," as the custom of some is, by removing a part of the clothing 
and sitting in a cool place, and perhaps where there is a draught of air passing 
over your body. The proper way to "cool off," when over heated is to put on more 
clothing, especially if you are in a cool place; but never remove a part of the clothing 
you have already on. If possible get near a fire where there is no wind blowing, 
and dry off gradually, instead of cooling off suddenly, which is always dangerous.

Many colds are taken from the feet being damp or wet. To keep these extremities 
warm and dry is a great preventative against the almost endless list of disorders 
which come from a "sight cold." Many imagine if their feet are not thoroughly wet, 
there will be no harm arising from mere dampness, not knowing that the least 
dampness is absorbed into the sole, and is attracted nearer the foot itself 
by its heat, and thus perspiration is dangerously checked.

Water

All beings need drink as much as they need food, and it is just as necessary to 
health as pure air; therefore the water should be boiled or filtered before being drank. 
Rainwater filtered is probably the best attainable. Boiling the water destroys the 
vegetable and animal matter, and leaves the mineral matter deposited on the bottom 
of the vessel containing it; therefore it leaves it clear from poisonous substances. 

1900's How To Keep Well

Don't sleep in a draught.

Don't go to bed with cold feet.

Don't stand over hot-air registers.

Don't eat what you do not need, just to save it.

Don't try to get cool too quickly after exercising.

Don't sleep in a room without ventilation of some kind.

Don't stuff a cold lest you should be next obliged to starve a fever.

Don't sit in a damp or chilly room without a fire.

Don't try to get along without flannel underclothing in winter.







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