In the cold winter, it is a rather pleasant thing to have a comfortable hot bath, but it is not necessarily a good thing to wash for a long time.
When people feel fatigue, a typical performance is muscle soreness, while taking a bath is indeed a simple and effective way to recover from fatigue. Once hospital professor once pointed out that there are three taboos about winter bathing:
First, the water temperature should not be too heated.
Appropriate water temperature( close to body temperature, namely, 37-41 ℃) can accelerate the body metabolism, while on the contrary, if the temperature is too high, it will cause weariness due to large consumption of energy. Meanwhile, the hot water will wash out the secreted grease and the protective bacteria normally parasitized on the skin surface, hurting their cuticle and causing itching, dryness and other symptoms.
Second, the bathing time should not be too long.
According to a report, tap water is usually disinfected with chlorine; and researches have shown that prolonged bathing with chlorine water will irritate the airways, causing various diseases. In addition, if people take a long-term bath, then the blood supply to head will relatively decrease, which can easily lead to cerebral ischemia and arouse accidents, especially the elderly. Besides, it’s easy to cause cardiac ischemia and hypoxia, resulting in coronary artery spasm, thrombosis, and even inducing serious arrhythmia and sudden death.
The right time should be 20-minute bath, 10-15 minutes’ shower.
Third, room temperature must not be too high. Many people are afraid of catching a cold in winter, so they always adjust the bathroom at a very high temperature. On the contrary, it will result in a large difference between inside and outside the room, which is easier to get cold instead.
In addition, after eating too full or on an empty stomach, people are not suitable to take a bath; otherwise, it will bring on hypoglycemia or even faintness. And immediately washing after a meal will cause muscle blood vessels to expand, but the gastrointestinal blood to decrease.
In view of the above, people can drink a cup of hot water before bathing, so as to supplement systemic blood volume, and have another cup of warm water after finishing bathing, in order to complement water; meanwhile, people had better choose a neutral soap or shower gel, so as to avoid the dryness of skin owing to the excessive removal of sebum.
With regard to some special groups, experts suggest that pregnant women should take shower; and the elderly and children’s resistance is relatively bad, so their bathing frequency should be appropriately reduced. What’s more, people suffering from severe coronary diseases and high blood pressure should take drugs to prevent accidents before taking a bath; as for children, parents need to stay around to take care of them while bathing.