How to Live | Page 6

these are
actually used, we do not benefit thereby.
[Sidenote: Features of Ventilation]
The most important features of ventilation are motion, coolness, and
the proper degree of humidity and freshness.
[Sidenote: Drafts]
There is an unreasonable prejudice against air in motion. A gentle draft
is, as a matter of fact, one of the best friends which the seeker after
health can have. Of course, a strong draft directed against some
exposed part of the body, causing a local chill for a prolonged time, is
not desirable; but a gentle draft, such as ordinarily occurs in good
ventilation, is extremely wholesome.
[Sidenote: Air and Catching Colds]
It goes without saying that persons unaccustomed to ventilation, and
consequently over-sensitive to drafts, should avoid over-exposure while
they are in process of changing their habits. But after even a few days
of enjoyment of air in motion, with cautious exposure to it, the
likelihood of cold is greatly diminished; and persons who continue to
make friends with moving air soon become almost immune to colds.

The popular idea that colds are derived from drafts is greatly
exaggerated. A cold of any kind is usually a catarrhal disease of germ
origin, to which a lowered vital resistance is a predisposing cause.
The germs are almost always present in the nose and throat. It is
exposure to a draft plus the presence of germs and a lowered resistance
of the body which produces the usual cold. Army men have often noted
that as long as they are on the march and sleep outdoors, they seldom
or never have colds, but they develop them as soon as they get indoors
again. See SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES, "Avoiding Colds."
Of course, one must always use common sense and never grow
foolhardy. It is never advisable that a person in a perspiration should sit
in a strong draft.
[Sidenote: Windows]
The best ventilation is usually to be had through the windows. We
advise keeping windows open almost always in summer; and often
open in winter.
One should have a cross-current of air whenever practicable; that is, an
entrance for fresh air and an exit for used air at opposite sides of the
room. Where there can not be such a cross-current, some circulation
can be secured by having a window open both top and bottom.
[Sidenote: Window-boards]
In winter, ventilation is best secured by means of a window-board. This
is a board the edge of which rests on the edge of the window-sill, the
ends being attached firmly to the window-frame. It affords a vertical
surface three or four inches high and situated three or four inches in
front of the window, so as to deflect the cold air upward when the
window is slightly opened. The air will then reach the breathing-zone,
instead of flowing on to the floor and chilling the feet, which is the
usual consequence of opening a window in winter. It seems tragic to
think that for lack of some such simple device, which anyone can make
or buy, there is now an almost complete absence of winter ventilation

in most houses.
[Sidenote: Air-fans]
Air should never be allowed to become stagnant. When there is no
natural movement in the air, it should be put in motion by artificial
means. This important method of practising air-hygiene is becoming
quite generally available through the introduction of electric currents
into dwellings and other buildings and the use of electric fans. Even a
hand fan is of distinct hygienic value.
[Sidenote: Heating Systems]
A wood or grate fire is an excellent ventilator. A heating-system which
introduces warmed new air is better than one acting by direct radiation,
provided the furnace is well constructed and gas-proof.
[Sidenote: Cool Air]
The importance of coolness is almost as little appreciated as the
importance of motion. Most people enervate themselves by heat,
especially in winter. The temperature of living-rooms and work-rooms
should not be above 70 degrees, and, for people who have not already
lost largely in vigor, a temperature of 5 to 10 degrees lower is
preferable. Heat is depressing. It lessens both mental and muscular
efficiency. Among the employes of a large commercial organization in
New York who were examined by the Life Extension Institute, some of
the men in one particular room were suffering from an increase of body
temperature and a skin rash. On investigation it was found that the
room in which they worked was overheated. There was no special
provision for ventilation. A window-board was installed, with the result
that the men recovered and no other cases of skin rash occurred in that
room.
[Sidenote: Dry air]
As to dryness of air, there is little which the individual can do except to
choose a dry climate in which to live or spend his vacations.

Unfortunately, there is not as yet