EASTBOURNE, AND THE ADVANTAGES WHICH IT POSSESSES WITH GENERAL REMARKS UPON SEA-BATHING, BY WM. ABBOTTS SMITH, M.D., MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, LONDON; SENIOR PHYSICIAN TO THE AND CHARLES C. HAYMAN, M.D., LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, EDINBURGH; FORMERLY VISITING LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 1861. Two Shillings and Sixpence. PREFACE. THE very rapid advance which Eastbourne has made in general estimation during the last twenty years, and the fact of its being the most healthy town in the kingdom, as shown by the valuable returns of the RegistrarGeneral, render it desirable that some professional explanation should be afforded of the circumstances to which that watering-place owes its present pre-eminent reputation for salubrity; and we have, therefore, endeavoured to place the subject in a clear light before the reader, through the medium of the following pages. At the same time, having frequently known considerable pecuniary loss, disappointment, and even severe illness to occur in consequence of an injudicious selection by invalids of a part of the coast which is unsuitable to the individual case, we have introduced a special chapter upon the diseases in which a residence at Eastbourne will be found most advantageous, together with some plain advice upon sea-bathing, and other important points to which this consideration naturally leads. We have felt, as indeed medical men must always feel when adapting the language of scientific knowledge to ordinary use, some difficulty in divesting of profes sional technicality, without depriving of their force and delicacy, the terms employed in the delineation of diseases; but we confidently trust that our readers will make a due allowance for us in this, as in other respects. Whilst acknowledging, by anticipation, the courtesy of our readers, we must not fail to record our grateful recognition of the assistance and counsel which we have received from many quarters: we must especially mention our obligations to Mr. Dexter, whose long residence at Eastbourne, and position as a member of the Local Board of Health, have given him peculiar opportunities for noting the sanitary conditions to which is attributable, in great measure, the salubrity of the town; and to Mr. Hopkins, who has kindly placed at our disposal the excellent meteorological observations which we have appended. In conclusion, we may state, without laying ourselves open to a charge of affectation, that we are fully conscious that many imperfections must, almost inevitably, exist in a work of this nature, upon its first publication, and that it will be our earnest aim to diminish these, and to increase the utility of our practical suggestions, in future editions. CHAS. C. HAYMAN, M.D., WM. A. SMITH, M.D., Grand Parade, Eastbourne. September, 1861. 38 Doughty Street, London, W.C. CONTENTS. GENERAL REMARKS UPON CLIMATE AND OTHER LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES The importance of a change of air in the treatment of disease- Persons for whom it is especially indicated-The effects of good or bad sanitary arrangements upon the salubrity of a place-Lord Palmerston's speech upon sanitary matters-The noxious influences always at work in large towns-The neces- sity for proper drainage-Effects of suitable sanitary regula- tions in diminishing the rate of mortality-The death-rate at Croydon, Bradford, Liverpool, and Gloucester-The action of the atmosphere upon the surface of the body-The relative death-rates in urban and rural districts-The excessive mor- tality from preventible diseases-Eastbourne the most healthy REMARKS UPON SEA-AIR, SEA-BATHING, AND EXERCISE. Exercise. Its importance in the preservation of health or in the cure of disease-The functional disorders occasioned by indolent habits-The manner in which exercise does good-The negli- gence of exercise by a large section of the community-Fuller's remarks upon this point—The kind of exercise suitable to indi- B |