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Itchy-scratchy holidays
They are pretty smart people. For instance, Col. Robert Lyons, a prominent dermatologist with the U.S. Air Force in Europe, just recently came up with some pretty startling information. He ways too much washing is just plain unhealthy. The most common skin complaint among U.S. military personnel and their families, according to Dr. Lyons is "winter itch." Chief cause of this kind of itch, he says, is that Americans rub all the natural body oils off the surface of the skin and a skin eruption develops as a result. What Causes Itch "In cold weather, oil glands don't function as well as they do in summer," Dr. Lyons explained. "When people scrub away at their arms and legs the oil comes off, the skin dries and produces an eruption. Skin trouble is too often intensified by too much soap and water. People develop a tiny dermatitis that they notice when bathing, so they try to scrub it off with hot water and soap. The result is often a major inflammation that requires medical care. "Unfortunately, we grow up with the idea that to get clean we must scrub and this just isn't true." After months of study Dr. Lyons reports that the average person invariably takes too many baths. "If you feel dirty during the week you should take a shower, which is faster and hence removes less body oils. It's also cleaner to shower, because in a bath one is just as likely to wash germs onto the skin as to wash them off." Already Knew It That's what the doctor says, and it's mighty good to see a recognized authority come around to my way of thinking, although I'm more than 40 years ahead of him. I started preaching the same thing at the age of 4, but as all small children know, parents are mighty set I their ways. They scrubbed and scrubbed on me and I itched and itched. They thought I had the seven-year variety but now I know what it was was the winter itch" Dr. Lyons is talking about. Of course, the long-handled horribles they made me wear might have aggravated the itching to some extent. I reckon they scrub children now more than ever on account of television. The soap commercials are so convincing that Mamas get confused about what brand of soap will get Junior the cleanest and they probably wash him three or four times a day. Poor Junior must itch something awful. Middle Ground Maybe there is a kind of middle ground in this washing business. Some people do too much of it and some people sure don't do enough. As the great pop off, Confucius, said, "When a man gets where he can smell himself everybody else has been smelling him for 3 days." Naturally, a man could wash often enough where his friends aren't thankful for a head cold every time he comes around, but on the other hand, he shouldn't be going around scratching his itch, either. When you get right down to it, had about as soon smell a fellow as to watch him scratch. There's something contagious about scratching that gets me started doing it and you can't hardly "catch" a smell unless….well, you can't hardly do it.
Well, if I keep on talking about washing I won't get around to wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, which I certainly hope you have to the fullest. And, don't wash yourself into an itchy Yuletide. You can't enjoy a turkey let if you have to pause to scratch.
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