HEALTH AND THE SUN.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19731, 23 September 1929, Page 13

HEALTH AND THE SUN.

fO rsi eurroa of tub fiicss valuable suggestion coni D "Heliotherapy's" letter, that ggt Up* fH! utilised therapeutiIs « welcome sign of the awakening 0 f public Interest in this important matte- if thi' Arthur's Pass hutmtr». could bo utilised for deli, ate .ad tttbercularily predisposed children JL, W ould serve an exceedingly useful Italy has proved the sound of providing small colonies for iffliiar cages. I 'r. Gordon Rich's letter tl al*o a helpful contribution to this lObjeft. but lie deals with cases of disease. lie, like all New Zea i land doctors who have visited Leysin /Dr. Valintine, Dr. Molntyre, anil Dr. 4%oßiaa' t is enthusiastic as to the relilita obtained there by Dr. Ilollier. Although lev.sin was carefully chosen m one nt tin* most sheltered positions in tt"' Swiss Alps, it has often however bail weather conditions to MB tend with, in regit rd to fog and also to wind. If Dr. Rich had been in Leyfin lait January or February, he would agree, 1 think, that for strength and intense l.tttermj**, Swiss winds could mor« than hold their own with New Zealand winds. However, when the spoils weather stopped, tho patients immediately recommenced their sunbathing, Interruption in treatment is not ot much consequence, in fact in some •MM it may be beneficial, for instance wbwu treating children with rickets by ultra violet light one clearly KM great benefit result when a rest is gjveo between two courses of light Iftfttajent. Tho necessity of au X-ray plant when Staling with active disease is pointed IHt by Dr. Rich. At the Coomeroy Children's Home the practice of motortag the children 40 or 60 odd miles to t>e in Nydney has been adversely lOnmeated upon. Perhaps when public interest is finally aroused, and if the fmvls bequest trustees became inter«tted, some philanthropist may follow the noble example set Dy Mr Chapman, Mr McDougall, and Mr Edmonds, and might come to tho rescue in regard to | tho essential X-ray plant. Another nalnt which I>r. Kich rightly emphasises ii the necessity of having u skilled aithopieilic doctor in charge. Though it may be aome time before anything eventuates towards this naUsation, tho preliminary step is to find the right spot. The essentials for it are that:— (1) It must bo in a sheltered situation away from the prevailing east and ■euth-west wind. Would someone enlighten your readers as to Castle Bock in this respect? (8) It must be able to register .. rich •apply of ultra-violet rays. In Switzerland, even in places within comparatively close distances of each other, the register greatly differs. Professor Laoaard Hill, F. 8.5., has davised a simple apparatus for measuring ultraviolet light by noting tho fading of acetone and methylene—blue solution. "A silica tube of standard siae is filled with the standard solution, and exposed en the top of a pole so that it receives the light from the sky on all sides down to the horizon line." There are other more complicated and perhaps more exact methods when the spectrum is iiied, and also a photo-electrical cell vnd galvanometer. "The Times" publisher the register of ultra-violet light in thirty of England's leading watering place®, of which Bog nor holds one of the highost records, It might be interesting to try Professor Hill's apparatus at two or three possible placet) m the Alps and to compare the jtiuiffttt j# ultra-violet they each regis"the same fixed period. (S) The third essential is that the rwjuired spot must dry, and have a Tttinim im amount of mountain fog. Abo in spite of its altitude, it must not he too inaccessible. The country in the vicinity of the Crown range in Ontrnl Otaeo has been suggested. a«d the Mackenzie Country near Mt. Cook, also Castle Rook. Can anyone »ii<tgest u more suitahle position, fulmlwt all three requirements, or add tO the constructive suggestions contained in "Heliotherapps" and Dr. Rich's letters? The time must come •ventnaHv. when enlightened public oomion demands the utilisation of our All*. and will no longer allow our tubercular bone and certain other tMw to be nursed in the foggy, damp atmosphere surrounding City hospitals.—Yours, etc., VIOLET RAT. tibptooiber 21st, 1929. i