THE TREATMENT OF COLDS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 588, 17 August 1909, Page 3

THE TREATMENT OF COLDS.

Very often the primary ca,«se of colds is found .within the body and not .without'(says an-.;Au'straliah writer).'' Daily attention to thoigenerai .health, and plenty of exercise will more frequently than not keep colds off. Unfortunately, colds are too often caiight. in croivcled halls and rooms, where the voutila-tion.-is bad; and impure air. is -.breathed and rebreathed. the, result being ai very bad cold, caused by. the foul- air; Sleeping in bedrooms - that arc.too much closcd up at night is a common cause of taking cold. Then, again, often colds, aro produced by damp feet. Not through the feet "getting? wet, but through allowing thb .body, to get .cold for want of. exercise. . As long as the circulation is kept up there no fear of taking cold; it is- only when one-sits down in damp feet and clothes that chill domes on, then there-is danger. The best treatment, for the latter stato ; of : things-is: a' good hot bath, with plenty of.\ common salt in it, and bed,afterwards, foriftt'i least twenty-four hours. In .nine cases out of I ten the' danger of a cold will have passed away. -,- '. -''1

The old-fashioned idea of "stuffing a cojd. and .starring a fever" no longer holdsrgood, for a cold js'really au<inward fever, and the more it 'is stuffed the worse it will become. Far better to starve it, and'dr'iiik only hot water for a night and a*day;'with hot milk in between times. The latter'is especially .good, as the digestive organs have little power to digest solid food in the early stages of a cold. The cold that starts '•witli.'i. raw.throat is a very uncomfortable: oiio. Frequent gargling with an antiseptic.sol n?. tiori will dp much to give relief; for,a head, cold drawing hot- water into tho nostrils-! is. g00d.. . It should bo drawn in and then' blown out.-several' times. In this way tho nose is thoroughly cleansed, and the membranes are strengthened. ■ This should be dono three or four times a dav.

•The salt-water ; remedy Us one of the very best in the early stages of a cold in .the licaci. Even martyrs to cold in tho head liavo found this simple remedy satisfactory.lt can be drawn up into, the nostrils, out of the hollow of the . hand, but is much moro effectual if a 'bottle-spray is , used. Tliis should be . filled with half a tumbler--, ful, of rather warm water,-in which is dissolved a teaspo.onf.ul of tablo salt.. ; Sot .the. spray working, and then, spray nostril once or twice, keeping, the other closed, ami breathing- in . gently -while spraying, -un- ; - til the, salt and water has reached'tho,innermost part of the' nostril. Then repeat the -same treatment to the other nostril. - Much care' is required; in breathing, which must not be done too deeply, or tho'water will go too'high -up, and- thus, perhaps, cause a headache. If this, is done as. soon as tho cold in the head, is felt the germs will be killed,, or at least dispersed, and the cold will soon disappear. Should it come on again, \ repeat ...the . remedy. Such simple remedies, oft^n'-'do all that is needed'in the early stages , of 'cold. But when the drug stage lias arrived tliey should be left in the doctor's hands. • The hot-water footbath should not be forgotten when a chill is first felt,. and a headache starts; For the latter alone tho foot-bath is, very good. The head often -aches when the blood vossels in the brain are t-oo full, and putting the. feet.in hot water draws the blood' from: tho head, and at once gives relief. For a nervous headache there is nothing better than heat applied to the nape of the neck by means of hot flannels; care being taken to keep tile neck warm after relief is obtained.. ': To -avoid cold-taking, over-heated rooms should be avoided, for there is nothing more enervating, than sitting-in hot, and as they always are,- stuffy apartments. No ipatter how low the temperaturei may be, one can always secure sufficient warmth by'wearing light'woollen articles of clothing. Too many garments aro not goodthey add weight, and cause exhaustion, •' because the. undergarments hecomo damped with perspiration, and thus cause greater -sensibility to. chill.