TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 March 1937, Page 10

TALKS ON HEALTH

JUST WHAT TO DO

(By a 'Family Doctor..)

This is ths time of year when old peonle pass away into a better world. Nexjt month the old man will have breathed his last, and you will send a wreath worth one pound. .Strange some "folk meet with more kiudness after they are dead than when they are alive. Please go round and see him iiov“-.take-him some sensible gift that will make him happy.: let ft- cost ten shillings, and let the wreath cost ten shillings instead of a pound. Better still, pay five shillings for the flowers and send live shillings anonymously to the hospital. The question is: which would you prefer yourself—a bottle of port while you are alive or a bunch of flowers after you are dead. Possibly a nice hot-water bottle would be welcome, or a packet of dressings* from the chemist to save the large weekly bill from that tradesman. Anyway, whatever you do, see that it is done before death. You can then pocket your share of tub insurance' money with a, better conscience. HELP YOUR NURSE, If you attend’ the massage department of a hospital, back up. the efforts of the nurse by your own exercises at home. Sometimes I find that the patient thinks that his part is purely passive when it ought to be active. The exercises at the hospital take up twenty minutes three or four times a week; but the efforts at home should occupy a few hours every day. Rest will not restore a wasted muscle; rest will not remove stiffness from an injured joint; rest will not bring back the use of a damaged hand. Leave off bandages and splints as soon as the doctor will allow you, and start the niovenieiits at the earliest date possible consistent with your medical advice.. Help the massage nurse .and she will., h elb; you. • J.-".. ...... — ■ FRESH ATR-VALUES;

In the atmosphere that we breathe are found several gases. The one present in greatest, quantity is called nitrogen; it is a neutral gas. The more active gas is called oxygen. This 'is a life-giving gas; we should die. without it. Enclose the head in a bag and a few breaths will exhaust the oxygen and produce an intolerable, feelin gof. suffocation. Place a lighted candle under a bell-jar and it .soon goes out. The candle cannot burn without a- free supply of oxygen. We should go put, too, unless our blood could carry'oxygen to every part of the body.- When the oxygen has been used up it has changed into another gas called carbon dioxide. I am. sorry that it is such a difficult, name. All it means is that the oxygen has' gone, it has .changed into something which is of nd value to ‘human beings. -. I wish this gas were coloured so that wo could Seo. it. If it were green should at once perceive how foul, the air of our bedroom was, in the riiorning: the air would ’be green. The worse tho ventilation the deeper the green colour. But. we ought to l<now,t|iat fresh air is good for us without . waiting for the, fanciful evidence of i green.; 'When T : come out of the. fresh'morning air into your bedrooms I almost choke wi t th the musty odour. The carbon dioxide must be blown out and the oxygen admitted if you are to keep healthy. \ NOW, YOUNG'LADIES. Will you young ladies, who go to offices every morning' oblige me by keeping a dry pair of shoes and stockings in the ladies’ room. .-.You make a little bag and work your initials neatly' ffieatly on it, and hang it on.your own peg. I should like to know how many, colds have been caught by sitting at the typewriting desk with wet feet—your feet, I mean, not tlie/desk’s. It would take two minutes tp change, and the two minutes would be well spent. Do not argue that this hA'p never been done before, and, therefore, cannot be, doue now. Your'firm will be only too glad to give you facilities: it is a. great nuisance to them when you are absent through ill-health. DOUBLE-JDINTED FABLE. One often hears the expression "double jointed” applied to a man who can bend his limbs or his back into unusual positions. There is, of course, no such thing as a double joint. Two bones meet and form a joint: the bones are held together by tight, bands which are called ligaments. The movements are governed very largely'ljy These ligaments. If they are tight, movement can only be performed in definite ranges; if the ligaments are loose the range of movement is increased. Children are I rained early to be acrobats and contortionists, and the early training consists in the daily performance of exercises calculated to stretch the ligaments and allow freer play lor the bones. GIVE THE BABY ROOM:

We full.'; recognise the muscular exercise is good for u,s‘ who are ft?ll grown; sometimes we forget that babies, too, can ben elit from gymnastics. During the day the poor baby is so swaddled in masses of garments that he has no chance of moving a limb. Mothers take a special delight in wrapping their offspring in layer after layer of flannel. In watching the operation of undressing a baby, the waiting doctor often wonders if the baby will ever be reached. However, we generally get there in the end and a very tiny baby remains on the mother’s Jap, with an enormous heap of clothes on the floor a.t the side. EXERCISE BEFORE BED. When evening comes, you must lay a warm blanket in front of the lire and let. the baby lie on it without any clothes at all—just his skin. He will cordially approve of this conduct on your part, and will show his pleasure by laughing and crowing and waving bis arms and' legs about. These are the gymnastics 1 am keen on. Every little joint in his body is being moulded: every muscle made strong; every bone encouraged to grow straight., lambs were made to be moved, especially a baby's. His little back is made strong, and his heart and lungs bene-1 fit. from the exercise. Give him about live or ten minutes of this, and he will sleep better. BLOOD PRESSURE. Blood must he at a certain pressure if health is to bo maintained. If the

pressure falls below normal nourishment is not conveyed to all parts of the body. Fainting iits and anaemia are often due to a blood pressure that is below normal. A pressure of blood that is higher than normal is very common to-day. probably due in some measure to the severe strain exerted by modern civilisation. The lull causes of high blood pressure are not yet known. The effedt of high blood pressure is to strain the heart...and to make the arteries brittle. Persons who suffer from high blood pressure need to' live a. quiet, even life, free from excitement and. worry. They should sleep at least nine hours a night, have a moderate amount of exercise in the fresh air, and pay strict attention to their diet, eating only plain, nourishing, well-cooked food, with not much m:.‘;'.t. Persons who suffer from undue fatigue, breathlessness ami giddiness should consult, a doctor, as there may be a tendency to a blood pressure that is higher than normal.