TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 July 1927, Page 10

TALKS ON HEALTH

(BY A FAMILY DOCTOR.) THE KIDNEY'S. The kidneys arc paired organs., lie right at the back of the abdo.inpn. Behind the kidneys is the"spine, and on each side of the spine is a, large mass of muscles used in keeping the spine erect and in performing the movements of bending and twisting the spine. It is a common error to call a backache a. pain in the kidneys. The pain is in the muscles of the back. Even when the kidneys are actually diseased there is often no pain. When you take a kidney pill for a pain in the muscles of the back you think you are very clever, but you uro making a great mistake. An Important Duty. . Entering one side of the kidneys is a large blood-vessel, an artery,' and by its side is a vein, which brings the blood back again from the kidney. The kidney has a most important duty. It has to examine all the blood that passes through it and throw opt poisons, and allow thp good blood to pass through. The kidney is like a wise magistrate sitting on the b.ench, who examines the people brought before him, sends the evil ones to prison, and lots the good ones free. Poisoning the System. The bad products that would poison the system if left in the blppd are in the form of crystals dissolved up, in the blood. You take a piece of sugar out of the sugar ,basin and put it in your tea,. It disappears, but it has not gone; it is there in solution. Th,?, crystal -poisons are dissolved in the water. Sometimes these crystals re-, fuse to remain dissolved, and are deposited as hard, sharp crystals inside the kidney. That is the beginning of a stone in the kidney, and from a, small beginning a very large concretion may form, blocking up nearly the, whole kidney. A little piece of stope may travel down into the bladder' ans form the nucleus of a stope i,n the bladder. There is a reciprocal action between the kidneys and the skin, or, rather, the sweat glands of the skin. In summer, when a large quantity of water is lost through the perspiration of the skin, less water leaves by the kidneys. How to Get Kidney Disease. At the present day the kidneys nrp much-abused organs. Kidney disease is very common. There are two forms: the acute and the chronic- The best way to catch an acute attack of inflammation of the kidneys is to have a. drinking bout in a hot, stpffy room, and then go out in the cold night air and get soaked through by the rain or pond into which you may happen to fall. Unless you are very lucky, you will under those circumstances get an acute attack. You will be very ill, and even when you have recovered your kidneys will have been Iparmed and made more susceptible to another attack. Every doctor has seen plenty of cases of this kind, and every one began with a chill. So, when a doctor sees a young lady going from a hot ballroom into the cold garden to ad : mire the moon, or whatever it is she does admire, the doctor warns her, gets called an old stick-in-the-mud for his pains, and retires hurt. We cannot govern the weather; we cannpt help going into the cold; but we can exercise our common sense and take a little care to avoid chills. If you do you will receive a grateful letter of thanks from, the Secretary of the Ancient and Honourable Order of Kidneys." Studying the Subject. You know how to study medicine, don’t you? We make pojst mortem examinations, not always a pleasant job, but it has to be dpne if we are to learn anything. In, every case where the kidneys are found to be diseased, we make a careful inquiry into the sort of life the patient led. in that way we can find out what habits lead to disease of the kidneys. We warn the public' against these habits, and, of course, they all obey us to a man — sometimes. That is how we banish kidney disease. It is wonderful how the dear public respond to our efforts. Overworked Organs. Well, after all the doctors in all the countries of the civilised world have collected their facts about men and women who die of kidney disease, what do we discover? As a broad general rule, they are people who have drunk too much, eaten too much, and led a strenuous life of rush and hustle. Your successful business man who has lived well —too well —and worked at high pressure of physical strain and mental anxiety, is putting a great load of work on the kidneys. lam so glad it was discovered that eating too much, was just as commonly a cause of breakdown of the kidneys as drinking too much. It gives me a good text to harp op. You see, the kidneys have to clear out of the blood all that is not wanted, and when an excess of food is taken in, far beyond what is really necessary the poor old kidneys have the heavy job of casting it out. The unfortunate organs are worked to death. At the age of forty the unfortunate kidneys feel as though they were a hundred. They have been steadily overworked, and they show it. In the museum of my hospital I was shown, in order that I might mark and learn and hand on the information to you, a kidney of a youngish man of thirty-eight or forty, and side by side the kidney of an old man of seventy; and, believe me, they had the same appearance. And why? Ah! Printed by the side of the young man’s kidney was a rough history of his case. The life he'had led had given him old man’s kidneys when he ought to have been in the prime of life. To Sum Up. In children, scaflet fever and some of the other children’s complaints may attack the kidiieys. Never get into the habit of saying, “It is only measles and that doesn’t matter.” All children’s diseases should be taken seriously, if for no other reason than because they sometimes lead to an attack of inflammation of the kidneys. To sum up,' avoid chills, eat in moderation, and especially keep clear of an excess, of meat; drink in strict moderation, and remember that if the Ijves of thousand total abstainers are compared with the lives of ten thousand average people, the abstainers live longer and are healthier. That is why insurance companies give better rates to abstainers. Kidney diseases are marked on my list as preven tible, and we are going to prevent them. Disease Carried by Animals.

in the case of infectious diseases occurring in a house, the cats and

dogs should he carefully watchpd. The fur of animals is well adapted for the carrying of infetion. Diphtheria and scarlet fever, as well as measles and chicken-pox, Inay be. carried by domestic pets. Children are fond of hugging and stroking pets, and putting their faces near them. Much as we hll love pussy," her place, is not in the sick rporu,