PERSONAL SPRING-CLEANING

Evening Star, Issue 17792, 14 October 1921, Page 7

PERSONAL SPRING-CLEANING

HOW MAN PR BP A KBS BIS DEATH POTION. Many business men speak enthusiastically of tho annual cure they take at ono or other of our watering places (writes tho medical correspondent of tho London ‘Times’). They call it their personal “spring-cleaning,” and testify to its rejuvenating influence on their whole outlook on life. Undoubtedly there is a great deal to bo said for their view. Men die not, as a rule, because their bodies wax old in tho accepted sense, but because the tissues of their bodies ;iro insufficiently cleared of waste product®. Tho adage that friction and gravity wear ns all down iu the long run is not strictly accurate. Wo poison ourselves. Like the yeast, plant that manufactures tho alcohol which finally brings its activities to an end and kills it, we prepare our own death potions. This may seem far fetched enough. Yet a. 1 title consideration of many of tho socalled “killing diseases” shows that it ja a simple statement of ascertained truth, Bright’s disease of the kidneys, far example, and tho mysterious and much-dreaded artcrio-sclcrosis, are, after nil, only instances of the overgrowth of that scaffolding tissue on which the delicate fipeoial structures of our bodies are built up. This is called “ connective tissue,” because it binds organs together as the ribs of a. loaf bind together the subtle groon matter which is the active structure.

The poisons our bodies produce cause this connective tissue to swell up, to grow in bulk. Thus the scaffolding, instead of serving a purpose, falls in on the house and destroys it. The active cells of tho kidney arc strangled in that death grip and waste and perish,' and organs of vital importance coaso to function.

In (he case of arterio-seterosis it is tho walls of the blood vessels which are affected, and, elasticity being lost, those lend to burst. Tho-patient very likely dies from apoplexy—i.e., a burst blood vessel in the brain. This is the last end result of chronic self-poisoning or auto-intoxication. Other poisons, however, will produce similar effects. Thus several of the minerals and sonic vegetable poisons, if the use of them is persisted in, sot up changes iu tho body similar to those which are common in late middle life and old age. ilven moro so the poisons of bacteria. Tho reason why a certain secret disease is killing is not its _immediate but its rcraoto poisoning effect. Many other diseases, notably the rheumatism group, produce similar results. Ono may not bo able to get rid of a disease. One may certainly assist Nature to set rid of poisons, whether theso arc produced by tho body itself or by gems living’ as parasite,;; in the body. This is tho philosophy of the “cure.’’ It need scarcely be said that; every day each ono of us gets rid of a. great deal of poison. It L on that condition that we hold tenure of life. And lu youth and early middle life elimination, as it is called, is probably equal to production. But after the zenith is passed there comes a change. There is, bo to speak, a small debit balance each night. Bach night a little poison remains iu the system. The adding of little to little produces iu course of months a general lowering of vitality. Tho ovil process is helped, of course, by lack of exercise and hindered in proportion to physical activity. But even in favorable oi.reiunstanc.es few middle-aged men escape altogether. Most of them would therefore do well to usa such precautionary means ns arc available.

The* ''euro" at tho spa is valuable in several quite distinct directions. In the first place life is lived at a healthy level. I'atients go early to bed. They are free from business cares of all kinds. They arc not p. nniKed to receive letters nor to write tiicm. Mild recreations replace the anxiety of tho daily routine.

This, with the comfortable sense that the restrictions have been voluntarily imposed and arc only temporary, is most soothing, and many men find that they regain their sleep almost at once. In addition, food is srr.iot.ly regulated and kept at a low level of richness. Alcohol in all its lornis usually disappears from tho bill of faro., and plain dishes replace the cunning of restaurant iiK-nns. The gastric organs therefore also obtain, a rest. This rest means, translated into physiological terms, that the production of waste matter is sharply reduced. Tho process of polling rid of if is as sharply increased m force. The merit of spa waters is that they help this proai-ss of elimination. There if) sonic mystery attached to their value because, tliougfi tho composition of most of them' is well known, artificial substitutes arc not usually equal to the, natural product.

Moreover, there are tho bathing and tho nia;sago establishments. These are olirriina.. tors par excellence. Having ones muscles thumped and pounded may not always be the most agreeable sensation, but there is no question whatever as to the effect of tho process. The body is cleansed. A weight of poison is lifted from it. After a good “ cure. " a man should return homo feeding fresh and strong and rigorous. Needles? to say, “euros" should always be directed by a medical man with practical and special experience of the locality. This is of great importance if Iho full benefit is to Iw obtained. It is also well to take them about the same period each year, Rome fix this at the end of winter, oilier? at its beginning. This docs not scorn to mutter very much.