TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 April 1933, Page 9

TALKS ON HEALTH

ABOUT CELLS. [BY A family UOCTOK] When you examine a small piece' of any organ under' the microscope you find that it is composed of a number of small round par tides of jelly held together by strong fibres. The little particles are called cells. Cells aie like the bricks of which a house is built. The whole body is built up of cells, as a house is built of bricks. Each separate organ has its own kind of cell. A liver-cell is very different from a kidney-cell. A cell from the skin is of an altogether different type from a cell found in die lining of the windpipe. , WHAT A CANCER IS. What is more remarkable, tumours and growths are formed of cells. A cancer is nothing more than a mass of cells exactly like those of the part from which it has grown. For instance, the skin-cancer starting, perhai)« at the corner of the mouth, is composed of skin-cells. At first, when the part is healthy, we find that these skin-cells lie above the underlying tissues, and the line of demarcation is clear. But. when a cancer starts, tire ‘■-kin-cells take on an irregular manner of growth, and begin to grow down into the deeper parts, where they ought not to be. The growth ot cells is abnormal and unhealthy. They are not properly nourished, and they die "" large numbers. The death of these cancer cells is the cause of the breaking down of the growth and the formation of an ulcer.

EARLY ATTENTION NECESSARY

At the very beginning the growth consists of only a few cells. Of course, it is impossible to feel or in any way ■detect a growth so small. But it 1S our earnest desire to detect the growth at the earliest possible moment. The only hope lies in complete eradication at an early stage. If the original growth is not taken away, the cells forming the cancer may get into the blood stream. They are then earned away, and settle in a distant part of the body, and form the beginning of another growth. It is in this way that the so-called secondary growth occurs. Cells that are peculiar to the lining of the intestinal tract may be found" in the brain, or cells from the breast may find their way into the liver. , No lump, bump, or tumour should be neglected. It may be cancer, or it may be something quite harmless. Have the matter settled without delay. You need have no groundless fears. And remember that it is very foolish to torment yourself "with the idea that a lump may be cancerous when you could have your fears removed by a visit to the doctor. I try to overcome your reluctance to ask advice. Jou prefer to listen to what Aunt Mary says, or you place your faith in some quack remedy. We can do very little when the growth is advanced, we can do a very great deal if only we are given a chance early in the case. In particular, ulcers of the tongue, lumps in the breasts of middle aged women, and irregularities in the functions peculiar to the female sex should give rise to suspicion.

INSECTS AS DISEASE CARRIERS The presence in our midst of so much preventable disease keeps me very humble. I might be inclined to pride myself on being a teacher of hygiene, and of the wonderful amount of good 1 am doing, but despair instead of pride fills my heart. The efforts of all who are working for the health of the people have been ineffectual in making the people cleaner. The medical world was startled some years ago by the discover}’ that we owe many of our most serious complaints to the members of the insect world. Diseases which slaughter cattle by the thousand and ruin farmers and ranchers, diseases which kill off more soldiers in a war than the bullets of the enemy, can be traced to the evil machinations of insects. Plague comes to the human being via the rat and the flea. DIRT AND DISEASE Dirt and disease go hand in hand. It is no consolation that if a house is dirty the inhabitants deserve to suffer. Disease cannot be locked up in a house; it floats through the air; the dirty people infect the clean people. Blessings on the men and women who have clean houses and are proud of it! Better than being proud of it is the quiet taking for granted that their house is clean. It is education that is needed, and a, bolder expression of opinion by the clean people. The doctor’s work in the schools is rather heart-breaking. Two sections of the children —the clean and the dirty—Oh for a school with only one type of child —the clean! I can no longer allow the old cry, “A few little insects don’t matter.” That has gone by the board. A dirty head leads to swollen glands in the neck and abscesses. BURN THE RUBBISH No one can be forgiven nowadays for being ignorant of the harm done by flies. Rubbish heaps should be swept away or sprinkled with disinfectant. Eire is the great cleanser; every scrap of rubbish and waste and cabbage stalks and old rags and other things that lie about in corners—all those should be burnt in the fire. The fire is a much better receptacle for rubbish than the dustbin. Food should be protected from flies. Deal at the shops where the best efforts are made to kill the flies. If your child dies of summer diarrhoea it will probably be because his food was infected by a nasty fly that had settled on something horrible before it flew through 1 the. window on to .your boy's milk pudding.

USE A TOOTH BRUSH Obviously, good teeth mean good health: bad teeth bad health. If ouly you would keep your teeth in order, as a. good engineer keeps his engine in order, you would considerably reduce the cases of neuralgia, face-ache, (with its attendant sleeplessness and Joss of appetite), sore gums, stomachache, dyspepsia, gastritis, and gastric ulcer (to which a doctor lias to attend). My advice to you all is—use a tooth brush.