Healthful Dress by L. J. OTIS

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jan 2, 1908

Healthful Dress

By L. J. OTIS

L. J. OTIS, M. D.

Dress reform is an important part of the reformatory truths that were given to be proclaimed by this people. These truths bear the same relation to the third angel’s message as the right arm to the body.

Aside from the material from which clothing should be made, there are two things that should be borne in mind: first, clothe the body uniformly; second, avoid tight clothing that constricts or compresses any part of the body.

Don’t allow fashion to cause you to go with bare forearms during the cold winter weather. If the feet are cold when wearing a single pair of stockings, wear two pairs. A combination of an inside cotton next the feet, surrounded by woolen stockings on the outside, often gives excellent satisfaction.

Personally, I have found that this is the proper place to wear a chest protector. Most colds result from congestion in the lungs, due to constriction of vessels in the extremities, brought on by their becoming chilled.

Keep the extremities and spine well protected. A chest protector worn to cover the back is next essential after protecting well the extremities. There is, though, little need of anything extra over the chest. Be sure that the young girls wearing short dresses, have special protection to feet and limbs.

Avoiding tight clothing would include avoiding tight bands, as neck and waist bands, also corsets, which constrict and misshape the natural waist, and skirts, suspended from the hips, which, in effect, are similiar to the corset.

The circulation must not be hindered, and wearing such garments very materially does hinder the circulation in many different ways. The surface circulation is hindered by compressing the surface vessels. But in constriction of the waist, we find, besides this, a pressure on the large abdominal vessels, especially the vena cava; and pressure on the kidneys, which is sometimes sufficient to bring

on some of the symptoms of Bright’s disease, as swelling of the feet. The pressure on the liver also interferes materially with the circulation, since the liver is a vascular organ receiving the blood from the entire portal circulation. The pressure here often brings on misshape and deformity of the liver, produces a prolapsed condition of the stomach, transverse colon, and spleen, and displaces the kidneys. Later this prolapsed condition of the abdominal viscera causes malposition of the pelvic organs.

The result of errors in dressing are not always apparent at the time. It is quite common to find those who violate these principles of proper dress, claiming immunity from the results of such transgression, and later developing varicose veins, or some other more remote disorder, as the result of the continued interference with the circulation.

The diseases that might arise from improper dress are numerous. It is one of the half-dozen causes that are responsible for all the common diseases. Some of these are directly due to improper dress, while others are indirectly due to the same errors. Those who say it never hurts them, too often awake to the fact that they are victims of certain disorders which may make them miserable the rest of their lives. In other cases there is a premature exhaustion of vitality, so that we find them old in appearance while they are yet young in years.

The remedy for all such errors, is to work to bring the body back to its natural form, clothing one’s self for health; giving special attention to strengthening the muscles of the abdomen and back by means of proper gymnastics. The strengthening of these muscles tends to bring the organs back to their natural position. Thus the normal action of all the organs is re-established.

Grand Rapids, Mich.