the escape of heat is seen in the results that follow
sensations either of chilliness or of heat at the surface.

*Effects of Heat and Cold Sensations.*--Sensations, or feelings, of heat
and cold are made possible through the nerves which connect the brain with
the _temperature corpuscles_, found in the skin (page 343). As the warm
blood recedes from the skin, a sensation of cold is felt, but when the
blood returns, there is again the feeling of warmth. The sensation of cold
prompts one to seek a warmer place, or to put on more clothing; while the
sensation of heat, if it be oppressive, leads to activities of an opposite
kind. Prompted in this way by the sensations from the skin, one
voluntarily supplies the external conditions, such as clothing and heat,
that affect the body temperature.

*Alcohol and the Regulation of Temperature.*--Alcohol, through its effect
upon the nervous system, interferes seriously with the regulation of the
body temperature. By dilating the capillaries, it increases the
circulation in the skin and leads to an undue loss of heat. At the same
time the excess of blood in the skin causes a _feeling of warmth_ which
has led to the erroneous belief that alcohol is a heat producer. If taken
on a cold day, it deceives one about his true condition and leads to a
wasting of heat when it should be carefully economized. Not only is
alcohol of no value in maintaining the body temperature, but if taken
during severe exposure to cold, it becomes a menace to life itself.
Arctic, explorers and others exposed to severe cold have found that they
withstand cold far better when no alcohol at all is used.(92)

HYGIENE OF THE SKIN

Much of the hygiene of the skin is included in the problems of keeping it
warm and clean. It is kept warm by clothing; bathing is the method of
keeping it clean.

*Clothing* should be warm and loose-fitting. Woolen fabrics are to be
preferred in winter to cotton because, being poorer conductors of heat,
they afford better protection from the cold. But wool fails to absorb the
perspiration rapidly from the skin and to pass it to the outside where it
is evaporated. This, together with its tendency to irritate, makes woolen
clothing somewhat objectionable for wearing next to the skin. This
objection, however, is obviated by woolen underwear which is lined by a
thin weaving of cotton.

*Bathing.*--The solid material from the perspiration, which is left on the
skin, together with