Tip: Keep your hair dry and your feet warm and you will never be sick!
I like for the Tip of the Week to be practical, applicable and usable. So, this week I want to share with you a secret I learned growing up which pertains to staying well and healthy. And by the way … not to brag, but I am never sick and there is a reason why!
My father was from the “old school” of information. He believed in so many unusual practices that very few others did. I remember many times thinking to myself that some of the information he shared with me was, at best, odd, and at worst, bizarre! Fortunately I have lived long enough to see that most of it was actually wise counsel.
He taught me important concepts such as: keep your word, be on time, pay your bills, do not talk badly about other people or talk behind their backs, always be respectful of women and treat them as you would want another man to treat your mother. You might ask, “What is wrong with that advice?” And, the answer is, “Absolutely nothing!” I am just saying that you do not hear much good advice and wisdom like that any more. He was a “unique bird.”
The advice that he gave me about my health was very simple. He said, “When you finish washing your hair, towel dry it thoroughly and then blow it dry with a hair dryer. Keep your hair dry at all times.” The only exception would be in the summertime while at the beach or if the weather were hot and the sun shining down on my head. Otherwise, his advice was to keep my head warm and my hair dry.
The other piece of wisdom my father shared with me was the importance of keeping my feet warm as well. He said, “If you want to walk around the house without shoes on, be sure to at least put on some socks or slippers. It is never wise to walk around barefooted and let your feet get cold.” Again, the only exception would be in the summertime when the ground is warm. (Many health care professional now believe parasites can enter the body through the bottom of your bare feet. But who am I to question them!)
I asked my father why those two issues were so important to him. He told me that your head and feet are where a person’s body temperature, for the most part, is regulated. If I would take care of the top and the bottom of my body, the middle would take care of itself. That’s why I could not help but laugh when I saw the movie, “Forrest Gump”. When Bubba and Forrest arrived in Viet Nam, the first person they met was Lieutenant Dan. What was the great advice Lieutenant Dan gave those two young soldiers? “Be sure to take care of your feet.” I thought to myself, “Did Lieutenant Dan go to the Morris Rohm School of Instruction for staying healthy?”
I can just hear some of you laughing and saying, “That is amazing! My parents told me the same thing when I was growing up!”
Now, I know that I cannot make anyone keep their hair dry and their feet warm. I tried for about twenty years to convince my own children to do that. But, do you know what is amazing to me? I must have gotten through to them because to this day they keep their hair dry and their feet warm and they are never sick. Now I hear them telling their children, my grandchildren, the same good advice! I can die a happy man!
If you think all this is silly, please, be my guest. Go ahead and let your hair be wet and your feet be cold and bare. You are free to live your life any way you please, but have you noticed how difficult it is to be totally committed to something when you have a bad cold? I have discovered that good health is vital to my daily success.
I hope this week’s Tip is practical and usable. If you have trouble with sickness in your family, maybe this is the solution. After all, it works for me and I am never sick!
Tip: Keep your hair dry and your feet warm and you will never be sick!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
