TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 January 1929, Page 4

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR.

The Lymphatic Glands.

The circulation of the blood is now a well-known fact of physiology, but what is not so generally recognised is that there is another set of vessels called lymphatics, which pervade the whole body. At certain points there are small glands placed in the course of these lymphatic vessels, and their duty is to act as safeguards against poisons getting into the system. For instance, in a case of poisoned finger, the surgeon will always carefully watch for a swelling just above the elbow or in the armpit. The reason is that running up from the finger are to be found these lymphatic vessels, and they carry the germs to the nearest lymphatic glands. In these glands a battle royal is carried out; pull germs, pull cells. The germs may be easily defeated, and then all is well, or the germs may win and an abscess may form. This takes place when the germs are particularly virulent, or when the lymphatic glands are composed of cells of weak resistance. Keep your health up to standard: never let the germs triumph. Another example of the same thing is ■when you cut a. corn with a dirty knife; the poison gets into the wound; angry, red lines may be seen running up the leg in the exact course of the lymphatic vessels, and, in the end, an abscess may form in the groin.

Tracing Disease.

Not only do these glands try to stop the germs, but they also catch cancer cells which are trying to get into the system. Tumours are divided into two groups: (1) Simple, which do not end fatally to the patient; and (2) malignant, which always kill the patient sooner or later. In the malignant kind the little cells of which the cancer is composed get free in the lymphatic vessels, and a. secondary growth may appear at some distant part of the body. But the first sign is the enlargement of the glands. This will show you one of the methods we have for tracing disease. A patient walks in and shows me an enlarged gland; I immediately think to myself, where do the lymphatic vessels come from that drain into that gland? For instance, the glands in the neck drain the gullet, and if I find an enlarged gland in the neck I know that one of the possibilities is a growth in the gullet. That is why we always like to be given a fair chance to examine a patient all over; the discovery of a little lump which perhaps the patient himself did not notice may give a very important clue.

Strain of Sunday Work.

It may seem a hard thing to speak against the practice of engaging in Sunday work, such as teaching in Sunday Schools, preaching at open air meetings, and so forth. If a man feels he has a call to do that, I should be the last man to discourage him. I only wish to point out that it is a great strain on a man who works hard all the week to subject himself to further fatigue on Sunday. The spirit may be willing, but the tired brain has to pay the damage. A number of good men suffer from nervous breakdowns because they tax themselves to then’ utmost limit of endurance seven days a week. I feel very strongly on this matter. It is utterly mistaken conduct to work until the nerves give way. It does no good to the man himself nor to anyone else. He has his work to do, he deliberately assumes responsible posts, and then he has to leave everybody in the lurch because his doctor orders him away for a six months’ rest. It is unfair all round. I never join in the usual lamentations. When all the old ladies say “Poor Mr So-and-So, he has been looking so ill for the last three months. 1 knew he was working himself to death.” I always feel inclined to say, “Foolish Mr So-and-So, not to have sense enough to take more care of himself.” No Real Rest at All.

Of course you argue that we cannot always choose our mode of life; we are the slaves of convention and necessity; we must do the work or go, under. But I answer that you go under if you do not go on with the work. Do I not see people every day suffering from overstrain? T do not think it is reasonable for a man to say, “I worked until 1 had a. nervous breakdown for the sake of my wife and family.” A nice think it was for his pool* wife when he had the nervous breakdown; a lot of good it did his children! I have not infrequently found that a man suffering from brain-fag is undertaking work on Sun-, days, and so he gets no real rest all the week round. If the slightest sign of brain-fag appears, the first thing to do is to knock off the extra Sunday duty. Someone else must take the class. The brain needs rest, and to indulge the legitimate demands of a weary brain is not laziness or selfishness, but common sense. Use of the Left Hand. When your right hand is injured begin at the earliest possible date to practise using your left. A medical student has to spend many months learning the structure of the human body before he is allowed to enter the hospital and attendd to real live patients. And he learns, among other things, that the left hand is exactly the same as the right—same bones, same muscles, same nerves. The only

reason we are clumsy with the left hand is lack of practice. A movement such as making the letter A with a pencil seems a simple matter. But it involves the accurate use of some hundreds of cells in the brain, the precise transmission of a nervous impulse down hundreds of nerves acting like electric wires, coupled with complete co-operation of the intricate system of small muscles in the palm of the handd. It is only practice that can produce the perfect refeult. Hints for Practice. Therefore begin at once to work the left hand. You will remember that the left side of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain, and vice versa. Do not allow your right cerebral hemisphere to be lazy. Educate the nervo-musculai’ system by any simple trial of skill—play cup and ball with the left hand until you can do it fifty times without a mistake; write your name and address with your left hand and see that the writing improves; throw darts at a wooden board; do anything ratber than sit still and waste the precious hours."