HEALTH HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 101, 27 April 1912, Page 15

HEALTH HINTS.

THE MODEENT DISEASE iNEURASTHENIA. An interesting article by a medical man on neurasthenia, "the modern disease," appears in the February number of the "\London Magazine," from which it appears that "probably half of the patients who come to doctors for advice are sufferers from this all-invading complaint. "Although modern neurasthenia covers a large number of ailment*, where nerves are not the chief part affected. lit is a fair working rule that if you j notice in yourself any gradual increase in nervousness or unusual fatigue at

the end of your day's work, it i* well worth while stopping to consider whether or not you are developing neurasthenia.

"The years between 25 and 40 seem to be particularly favourable for the development ot the disease. The occupa tions which most conduce to neurasthenia are, in general, those that entail an indoor sedentary life, and in particular employments such as clerkships, dressmaking, office work, etc._ where the individual sits in one position all day long with the mind closely concentrated on the work in hand.

"Heredity plays a not unimportant part in neurasthenia. A generally lowered vitality of the mother has much to do with "the undoubted greater tendency younger members of very large families show to neura-sthenia. as compared with their elder brothers and sisters.

"The last and perhaps the most important predisposing cause of all is malnutrition. Whether as the result of some prolonged serious illness or simply from insufficient or unsuitable food, the ensuing lowered vitality of the body in general reacts elirectlv on the nervous system, leaving it in an unusually vulnerable state.

"Overwork does not necessarily bring on neurasthenia; when acting in conjunction with one or more of the predisposing causes, particularly hereditary pre disposition or unsuitable feeding, neurasthenia will sooner or later almost surely [i:t in an appearance.

"Lack of sleep, whether from too few hours in bed or from insomnia, i< an otheft powerful exciting cause.

"The experience of specialists in neu rasthenia is that ill not a few cases all the nervous symptoms found in the confirmed neurasthenic may ho traced back to the local nerve irritation set up by some slight abnormality of one of the special sense organs.

""Two very important exciting causes, which until recently had been practically overlooked, are dyspepsia and unsound teeth, in fa-ct, one of the most far reaching results of the modern recogni'ion of neurasthenia as a disease in itself, apart from more nervousness 01 hysteria, is the close relationship which has now been established between <tomacli and teeth disorders and tho disease.

"The late Dr. Thomas Savill, who knew more, perhaps, than anyone else about neurasthenia, was on,e of .the Jirst tv note that a disordered stomach wa.s a certain forerunner of disordered nerves "To prove his point lie followed up some hundred and fifty consecutivecases under treatment for neurasthenia at the Hospital for Nervous Diseasein Welbock-street. He found that twothirds of them suffered from some form Or other of stomach trouble while in practically half of the cases the stomacli symptoms had preceded the actual ncr vous symptoms by anything from a few months to several years. "When inquiring into the origin ol the dyspepsia in these cases. Dr. Savill was particularly struck with the frequency with which this was due to dclec five teeth.' .