Volume 1

The standard physician : a new and practical encyclopaedia of medicine and hygiene especially prepared for the household / edited by Sir James Crichton-Browne [and others].

Date:: 1908-1909

Credit: The standard physician : a new and practical encyclopaedia of medicine and hygiene especially prepared for the household / edited by Sir James Crichton-Browne [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

397/430 (page 363)

$Dreas of light, cntciing the slccpei s looni may cause dream impressions in him. Any other light -for instance, a lamp light—has the same effect. The inteipi etation of dreams has always ])layed an imjiortant role in the history of mankind ; particularly the interpretation of such dreams as piesage sickness oi death. Supeistition has had lull sway in this domain, hnt theie is neveitheless some tiuth m the poj^ular notion. Sometimes certain physical disturbances are felt while dreaming which have not been noticed while awake. For instance, a hitherto unnoticed disturbance of circulation in the leg may appear in a dream to be an intlannnation, this latter condition actually occurring a few days later. However, it is wise to be cautious about such prophecies ; and even more so regarding dreams premonitory of coming misfortune, etc. Chance and a fallacious memory may be important factors. DRESS.—The principal object of dress is to jirovide the body with a necessary amount of heat. Although this object of dress has ever been the most essential and the original one, it is scarcely ])ossible at the present time to separate the question of utility from that of adornment ; and it is only too often the case that usefulness is made subservient to the dictates of fashion. Changes of the weather, especially those of temperature, compel us to direct our attention to a rational mode of dressing, thus to assist the heat-regulating activity of the skin. With respect to this it is true that great differences exist in different individuals. Some ])eople, for instance, may feel comfortable in clothes which others could not wear without danger of catching cold. The elementary materials of our dress are derived from the animal kingdom (wool, silk) or from the vegetable kingdom (linen, cotton). These can be distinguished readily by the eye alone. The simplest method to distinguish between wool and silk on one hand, and linen and cotton on the other, is by the test of burning. Wool and silk, when ignited, smell like burnt horn ; linen and cotton more like burnt ])aper. \\ ith the aid of'a microscope and of certain chemical expedients, it is easy to distinguish the. chief textile fabrics. The most important object of dress from a hygienic standpoint is to regu- late the amount of heat that is given off from the skin. Clothing limits the amount of heat lost in cool surroundings, and allows the ready passage of the heat which is constantly formed in the body. But the human body not only gives up heat to the surrounding air, but water, in the form of invisible vapour, as well. The amount of aqueous vapour given off varies with the temperature, the muscular activity, and the amount of humidity of the atmosphere. If large quantities of water are given olf, it appears, not in the form of vapour, but in drops, as perspiration. The clothing should not offer any resistance to this giving off of water ; and for this reason it should be porous, so as to allow the passage of air. Undoubtedly great ditfeiences are to be noted in the heat-retaining properties of the various fabrics.$