![\"Frontispiece](\"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2015\/01\/25104837\/takingcold.jpg\")
<\/a>Frontispiece from Taking Cold<\/em>, 1873<\/p><\/div>\n A little text entitled Taking Cold: The Cause of Half Our Diseases<\/em> (1873) by Dr. John Hayward outlines ways to maintain warmth and health. To the author, “Taking Cold” referred to being exposed to cold air, while catching “A Cold” was one of the many diseases this exposure could cause. In fact, the following preventative methods were\u00a0vitally important as Hayward determined the origin of half the known 19th century diseases was such an exposure. Additionally, cold-caused diseases accounted for\u00a0half the cases of illness and death the author attended to as a physician.\u00a0Granted,\u00a0Hayward only recognized ninety different diseases at the time his book was published.<\/p>\n Preventing “Taking Cold”<\/strong><\/p>\n Caricature by George Cruikshank (1800)<\/p><\/div>\n Clothing:<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Hayward\u00a0warned readers that wearing improper or insufficient clothing could result in ill-health or death. For example, wearing \u201cmuslin and low-bodied dresses by ladies and thinner neckties, vests, and boots by gentlemen for evening parties\u201d could leave an individual at risk for various maladies, such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, headache, or neuralgia.<\/p>\n To be safe in cold environments,\u00a0the author advised adults and children constantly wear winter flannels, particularly at night. He specifically cautioned against exposing a child\u2019s bare skin to changes in temperature. Unfortunately, the doctor was sure most people did not heed his clothing advice as \u201cmany a lovely child has been sacrificed to its mother\u2019s pride and her tyrant, Fashion.”<\/p>\n Food:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>To avoid the dangers of cold, Hayward advised all individuals consume “flesh” once or twice a day and to never be exposed to the cold when hungry as the system was then “less resistant to evil influences.”<\/p>\n Etching by Cruikshank depicting the types of baths used in the “The Cold Water Cure.”<\/p><\/div>\n Baths:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Interestingly, Hayward recommended daily cold<\/em> baths to prevent the damaging effects of exposure to cold air. Following the principles of Hydropathy, these invigorating baths steeled the system against the perils of temperature variations and provided a variety of other health benefits. In fact, Joel Shew, author of Hydropathy, Or, the Water Cure<\/em> (1851) recommended cold baths for the treatment a huge number of ailments,\u00a0including rickets, gout, cancer, tuberculosis, and ague.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>