TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 November 1936, Page 11

TALKS ON HEALTH

INCREASING WEIGHT. (By a Family Doctor) In most cases obesity can be cured by eating less, but there are a few cases which need special care and advice. Suppose a man eats one ounce a day more than is necessary, that ounce of food is not thrown out of the body, but is stored up in the form of fat or adipose tissue. Now, if my arithmetic is correct, one ounce a day mounts up to sixteen ounces, oi’ one pound, in sixteen days, or call it a fortnight. In fourteen fortnights, or seven months, the amount is one stone. Now one ounce a day too much is not perceptible. The man will stoutly deny that, he eats too much, and his statement is almost true, but not quite. You sec, that little ounce mounts up Io one stone in seven months. There arc two methods whereby the weight may be reduced in a. case of this sort. The, first method is by knocking off the extra ounce of food. Do not take a second helping of pudding. The other method is by taking a little more exercise. The ways of taking exercise are legion.

CAUSED BY BAD HABITS The principle cause of piles is constipation, which is generally due to bad habits acquired in childhood. Any mother who- takes care to see that her child has a regular evacuation is taking steps to prevent piles in afterlife. When once they have begun to appear they get steadily worse, unless remedial measures are adopted. The usual precautions against constipation must be rigorously enforced. Straining is the very worst thing for piFes. A useful aperient for piles is made by mixing equal portions of confection of senna and confection of sulphur. A teaspoonful or more may be taken at night. Some simple antiseptic ointment should be applied, such as nitrate of mercury ointment. The injection of a few ounces of ice-cold water is often useful. If the piles are painful and protrude, it is a good plan to lie down for some hours and apply constantly some lead lotion on a piece of lint. When the haemorrhoids have been allowed to develop to such an extent that they make life a burden, an operation may be safely recommended. The patient must be in a hospital for about three weeks, and take life very quietly for another fortnight after he returns home. I must add that every case should be carefully examined by a surgeon, as there have been a number of cases reported in which the patient was mistaken. LIFE-GIVING LIGHT Once upon a time there lived a potato. And the potato was thrown into a dark cellar lighted only by a few dismal rays That struggled through a grating in the corner. When the spring came the potato threw out a shoot, and every day, in spite of the absence of light and sunshine, it grew a little bit. It wanted to live, even in its unnatural surroundings, but ft was a pale, limp, feeble little plant, and after a few weeks of brave effort it died. Then the house was pulled down by some workmen, and when they opened up the cellar they found the poor little potato plant, stark and stiff and cold — dead. But, stay; my story is not finished. Look at the pathetic little plant and study it carefully. In which direction did it grow? Did it grow upwards or to the north or to the south, the cast, and west. No, it grew towards the light.. Alone in the cellar, untaught by any teacher, guided by no human touch, impelled only by its God-given instinct, and obedient, to the grand immutable law (pf Creation it had striven towards the light. And if there had been a hundred more brothers and sisters of this potato scattered around the floor of the cellar, they would all have grown -towards the light. Potatoes have eyes, but they cannot read this column. They require no instruction, they have an innate perception that life without light is a poor thing; and so my little potato plant struggled towards the grating, feeling that if only it could reach the light all would be well. And it was only when it found that it was striving towards an unattainable ideal that its potato-soul fled.

A PLACE LN THE SUN*’ If you live in a basement you must get out of it; if you are a waiter or a cook and live in dismal quarters, inquire if there is not a vacancy where the servants’ rooms are brighter. When you move into a new house (and; I suppose you will some day), choose it 'because it is on the lighter side of the street, not because it is next door to a public-house. If you work as a clerk in an office where artificial light has to be used on a summer’s day, spend every available moment out of doors. You have a right to a place in the sun. Raise your thoughts: think of the glorious blazing sun, the majestic king of the heavens pouring forth its rays of heat and light in unstinted splendour, and then think of your own poky room. If you do not .put up a fight to reach the light you have not the pluck of a potato.

PITY THE KIDDIES If I were not a Christian 1 should be a sun-worshipper, and I should be very proud of my religion. And all that I have written applies with double force to your children. They have not the instinct of the animal or vegetable kingdom—an all-wise Providence has substituted for instinct the guidance of a wise father, a loving mother. Give your children a chance. Try to live near a park or open space where they can find the light that is denied them in their own homes. If you wish your son and heir to be a credit to you, give him sun and air. Ah! teach your little children that the sunbeams love them, and let your lessons take the practical form of giving them a house full of light. Do your best; make the best of things. I know it Is difficult, but think of the potato and put tip a fight.