TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 August 1927, Page 4

TALKS ON HEALTH

(By a Family Doctor). Take Care of the Eyes. Always read in a good light. The light should fall over your shoulder or come straight down on the book. In reading, the head should be held erect; it is bad-to stoop over the book in a crouching attitude. The book should be held at a comfortable distance from the eyes. As age advances the sight becomes longer, and the book is held farther away. The print should be clear and of a reasonable size. Small print destroys the pleasure of reading. We can give you false teeth to bite with; we cannot give you false eyes to read with. It is worth while to take a little trouble to preserve the eyes. Work of the Muscles.

A telescope can be adjusted to one distant object, and it then remains fixed. The eye is constantly being readjusted to look at various objects. The little muscles inside the eye are always on the move. Not only has the eye to be accommodated to near and distant objects, but it has to adjust itself to the varying intensity of the light. A flickering light causes great irritation to the eye. Indeed, a wellknown disease, miners’ nystagmus, has been traced to this very cause. The better the mine is lighted, the less common are cases of nystagmus. It is the dull, flickering light that disturbs the little muscles of the eye until they acquire a permanent tremble or flicker themselves, and anyone looking at the eye of a miner suffering from this disease can see it jumping spasmodically from side to side.

Headaches Which are Eyeaches.

When the eye is adjusted for distant objects the muscles are at rest; when a near object, such as a picture or a book, is focused, the eye muscles are on the strain. That explains why it is so tiring to go to a picture gallery or a museum. Many people who pride themselves on their good vision need glasses for near work. It is very hard to get this fact into the somewhat thick heads of the general public. It does not follow that because you can see a distant church spire you do not need glasses for reading. Headaches are in many cases eyeaches.

Use of the Glands.

Glands are organs which secrete some juice for a definite purpose. For instance, the stomach contains glands that secrete digestive juice. Tears are secreted by glands near the eye. The perspiration is secreted by little glands in the skin. The liver is a gland that manufactures bile. Situated in the eyelids are special glands for providing moisture and a little grease for the eyes. The eyes are windows that must be kept clean. That is why the eyelids are constantly winking. They pass over the front of the eye and wipe it clean with the water from the tear gland and the grease from the glands in the eyelid. All hairs have glands at their roots to provide the natural oil, and the eyelashes are no exception. In ‘the eyelids are large glands to feed the lashes. If the eyes are sore and strained by much reading, or as the result of some defect in the lens, the gland secrete much more grease to try and soothe the eyes. This overwork on the part of the glands leads to inflammation of the glands themselves, and a lump or cyst may form on the eyelid.

Correcting Glasses.

They may form a little abcess which comes to a head and bursts, and then a second and third follow in due course. In most cases of this type the treatment resolves itself into wearing glasses that correct the defect; this clears/away the soreness and gives the glands a rest. Unfortunately, this fact is too often lost sight of; lotions are bought, ointments are applied; my old friend Aunt Maria has a special remedy of her own which has never been known to fail, and all the time the proper remedy is being forgotten.

A Pain In the Back.

For a pain in the muscles of the back, get your wife to iron you as though you were a bit of washing. Of course, the flatiron must not be applied directly to the bare skin; a nice piece of flannel must be placed over the painful area first. The iron is made as hot as can be comfortably borne. The combined effect of the rubbing and the warmth is most soothing. It should be repeated four or five times a day. At the same time, it is better to keep in bed. The diet should be light. This is rather a trial. Dear old Bill, lying in bed, thinks this is a grand opportunity to have a sort of Lord Mayor’s banquet, and mother, who is full of sympathy, likes to do her best to get him something tasty. The poor man has nothing to keep him amused while he lies in bed looking at the wallpaper, and his meals are his only pleasure. So he eats about twice as much as he usually does, and has no hard work to do to help work it off. The consequence is that the extra food congests his liver and upsets him generally, and his lumbago gets no better. Doctors are never popular: fancy ordering a man a light diet! I could make a fortune by insisting on everyone having turkey and plumpudding, with a great, bottle of port to wash it down. A light diet, indeed! Dyspeptic Ulcers.

Small white ulcers sometimes appear on the tongue, and the inner sides of the lips and cheeks. They are called dyspeptic ulcers, and they are due to some disturbance of the stomach. Keep the mouth well washed out with some tooth-wash. All septic stumps must be removed. Restrict the diet to a very simple regime; avoid butcher’s meat, pickles, acid, and anything likely to upset the stomach. Eat very slowly. Take large drinks of water, hot or cold. This treatment will soon cause the ulcers to disappear. Ulcers of a more serious nature may form on the side of the tongue in elderly folk; often the ulcer appears directly opposite a, jagged tooth; the tooth must be removed or filed down. The danger is that these ulcers originally caused by a rough tooth may become malignant in time; if they turn into cancer little can be done unless the disease is attacked early. It soon gets a hold and spreads to.the neck and to all parts of the body. Cancer is not localised to one spot when it has been given a chance to travel by, delay in treatment. I