TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 May 1927, Page 11

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR.

After Influenza.

I find that one of the dangers of influenza is a premature return to duty. It pays to take three days to get your strength back. The days are not lost if they are spent in a sensible attempt to cultivate healh. A special watch should be kept for cough, spitting of phelgm, or a pain in the side, and a doctor’s advice must be sought if any of these signs persists. I have constantly preached, in season and out, that fresh air is one of the finest antidotes to influenza and every other form of disease. I hope this good advice will not be overlooked now. The garden makes the best sick-room in warm weather. Place the chair in the sunniest and most sheltered spot; put a blanket, spread open, on the chair; then let the pa--tient sit down and wrap the blanket round him. He will come to no harm so long as he is kept warm.

Importance of Fresh Air.

I am sure you will understand that the last thing we want the influenza patient to do is to breathe his own infected air over and over again. If it is impossible to get the convalescent patient into the air, keep the ventilation of the room as sweet as you can. Once or twice in the day cover up the patient warmly and open every door and window in the room so that the fresh air can rush through every corner of the room. Breathed air is exhausted air; exhausted air gives’ death, not life. The proper place for an influenza patient is sitting astride of the cock on the church steeple in a stiff breeze, so that all the bad breath is swept away and a new gust of air comes along for the next intake. Do not believe grandma when she says every crack in the window should be stuffed up with rags. Food and Drink. In the first feverish days of influenza no solid food can be taken. Barleywater into which fresh lemon-juice has been squeezed is a very pleasant drink. The free drinking of fluids helps to make the skin act, and promotes the free action of the kidneys. When the fever begins to subside, egg and milk, thin bread and butter and jelly may be given. There is no special reason to force the appetite; the natural desire for food will return _of its own accord. Children recovering from influenza should be allowed a generous supply of milk. Let me cheer vou un by saying that very few people die of influenza. It stands to reason that any pre-existing disease makes the outlook worse. Elderly folk with old-standing heart disease or chronic bronchitis must be treated with special care, the chief point being to keep them in bed for at least a week after the feverish symptoms have subsided. The Morning Cure. If you suffer from constipation do not immediately rush to some aperient medicine. You will find, as the years go by that the more medicine you take the more you will need. Do not hesitate to take medicine when it is really necessary, but try the following method of cure first. When you get up iii the morning, after you have cleaned your teeth, drink a large tumbler of water while you are dressing, and after you have had your morning tub and a good rub down, spend ten minutes doing exercises, particularly those that compress liver and stomach. Stand upright with the arms above the head, and then bend down, keeping the knees straight, until the tips of the fingers touch the toes; repeat this eight times. Then put the hands on the hips and bend first to one side, then to the other, pressing the hands into the sides. Fresh Fruit and Fresh Air. At breakfast take porridge and brown bread, and never omit to take a little fresh fruit. See that your habits are regular. During the day, get as much fresh air and exercise as your business allows. Above all things, do not eat fast. Nowadays life is such a scramble we have scarcely time to breathe, and meals are eaten — or, rather, gobbled —in a few minutes. I expect our poor stomachs often wish they could give us a week’s notice and seek a place in the interior of someone who would treat them with more consideration. Drink tea in moderation only, and see that it is always freshly infused.. When you go to bed at night, drink a large tumbler of hot water; this flushes out the.stomach and keeps it in good condition. When it is necessary to take medicine, get the chemist to mix you equal parts of confection of sulphur and confection of senna. One teaspoonful or more is the dose, to be taken at night-time. Nasal Douche for Catarrh. The naso-pharynx is the name given to the part of the anatomy situated at the junction of the nose and throat. It is just behind the little soft curtain that hangs down at the back of the throat. It is an important part of the body, because it is so often the seat of catarrh. This catarrh cannot be treated by mouth-washes or gargles, as they do not reach the nasopharynx—it is too far back. Hence it is that the catarrh goes on for months and months, and nothing seems to cure it, because it is so difficult to get at. The only way the trouble can be reached is through the nose. If a probe were to be pushed in for about three inches, its point would then be in the naso-pharynx. The real importance of treating the naso-pharynx is sometimes overlooked. For instance, the unhealthy muscles from the back of the nose may fall down into the throat and voice-box, givingrise to hoarseness, and then the proper way to treat the hoarseness is to apply remedies to the back of the nose, and not to the throat, because if you can cure the nose, you cure the hoarseness. I find a useful prescription for a nasal douche is the following: Bicarbonate of soda, seven grains; borax, seven grains; Listerine, two teaspoonfuls; and water to one ounce. The best way to use it is to dispense with all douches and syringes and apparatus and simply sniff the solution out of the palm of the hand. It should be used twice or three times a day.