TALKS ON HEALTH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3720, 4 January 1913, Page 9

TALKS ON HEALTH.

(Specially Written for “The Gisborne Times” by Medico.) SLEEP AS A TONIC.

If you -want a good tonic when you are feeling wearied out, try going to bed two hours earlier than is your usual habit for a fortnight. The extra rest, even if you do not actually sleep, is beneficial. It relaxes your nerves and your whole body to lie quiet on your back, and it aids digestion to rest quietly after a meal, and so, you get all the goodness out of the food you have swallowed. If you do manage to sleep the extra time, it will do you a lot of good. Sleep is the panacea for all evils. I ought to add that, sleep should he natural; the sleep—or, rather, stupor—produced by powerful drugs is not nearly so beneficial, and such a sleep may be followed by a headache on waking. Also many of the drugs used for sleeping draughts are harmful in other ways; some weaken the nerves in the end, others are dangerous to the heart or upset the digestion. lam always very careful about ordering sleeping draughts. It is a real calamity when a patient, especially if she happens to lie a highly-strung woman, is trained to depend on drugs for sleep—her last state is worse than the first. A doctor knows when to order a soothing draught, and lie exercises due discretion, but the indiscriminate use of mixtures and tabloids to induce sleep cannot be too strongly condemned.

SAFE SLEEPING DRAUGHTS. If you cannot sleep, an attempt should he made to discover the cause by experimenting. Perhaps you eat too much late at night; on the other hand, you may have your last meal too early, so that you go to bed hungry or wake up at two in the morning feeling hungry. Some people find a satisfactory sleeping-draught in a couple of biscuits, eaten slowly, when sleep deserts the pillow. I have known cases where the stuffy air lias awakened the sleeper early in the morning. The air is used over _and over again; and the stuffiness makes the lungs cry out for fresh air. _ In some hotises there is so much anxiety to keep the air out that even the chimneys are blocked up. Bleep wi th the window open. It is easy to say “Don’t worry;” it is not so easy to carry out the injunction. But still, some effort should be made to keep worries outside tlie bedroom door. You can either welcome and brood over your troubles, or you can make a resolute effort to throw them off. If the sleeplessness cannot he overcome, it is a good plan to trv a change of air. If you lead an indoor life, a sharp walk, for an hour or two may act as a sleeping-draught. I have often found that reading a suitable book brings sleep to wakeful eyes. I say “suitable,” because many books are the reverse of soothing. I don’t want you to read the blood-and-tlmn-der stvle of book.

TO HELP THE DOCTOR. I want to tel! you about a few little drops of oil that make things work smoothly for doctor and natient. If you want a doctor to call, be sure and send for him early in the morning. I quite understand that an urgent case must be attended to at any time of the night or clay. But the less urgent cases, of which there are .a great number, do not need the doctor’s immediate attendance. Jt is rather disheartening when a doctor does a iong round to see a dozen patients, and then finds when he gets home that there is a. message for him to see someone- whose door he passed on his rounds. It means that he has to do the whole journey over again for the one patient, and that is a great hardship to a busy man. Then I should like to impress on you that you should give the doctor some guide as to the nature of the case. son cannot make a diagnosis yourself, of course, hut vou can at least tell the doctor that it is a case of a deep out, or a broken leg. or a fit, or a feverish attack, or a toothache. The doctor can bring something with him if he knows, but he may have to go home again to fetch what he wants if lie is not prepared for the particular kind of case he is summoned to. HISTORY OF THE CASE. When you call on a doctor for the first time, try to give him all the information, he can want to help him to the complete understanding of the case. Let him know if there is anything of importance in the family, such as consumption, or fits, or lunacy, or any facts which might have any bearing on your own case. Then tell him what bad-illnesses you have had in your life. You -may think that your present trouble has nothing to do with your former illnesses, but the doctor may think otherwise. I, have not infrequently talked for some time with a patient before I could get out of him some important piece of information which materially helped me to understand tlie case.

SORES OX THE FACE. Sores on the face are not only irritating and painful, but cause mental anxiety as wel', on account of the disfigurement. They spread over the face and head very rapidly, because the secretion from one sore infects a fresh area of skin and nroduces another crop. This secretion, or matter, from the sores can easily be conveyed to another person through the medium of towels or handkerchiefs or pillows, or, in the case of children, by direct contact from kissing. If I can satisfy myself that a man knows how to look after himself and protect others from infection, I sometimes allow him to continue at work. But I frequently find it advisable to keep a. man or a female worker off work for a few days at first. It is fairer to their fellow-workers, and it enables the patient to devote more time and care to the management of his own case. I never allow children to remain in school with sores on their faces.

A WARNING

I need-hardly say that it is essential that the sores should not be fingered or picked; if this is done, the finger-nails become infected, and when any other part of the body is scratched a second spot appears. The nails should be kept short and the hands washed very frequently in soap and water. If possible the sore places should he covered at night to avoid unconscious infection of the fingers during sleep.

METHOD OF TREATMENT. In the treatment of this complaint the attention is directed to two objects: (1) The removal of the scabs; and, (2) the application of somo antiseptic ointment or lotion. The first part of the treatment should not be overlooked; it is important to remove the scabs. It is useless to apply

ointment to the-scabs; the beneficial effect can only be obtained by applying the ointment to the raw skin underneath the scab. The sores should be treated with the ointment or lotion about four times a day. _ If any difficulty is found in removing the scabs, a hot fomentation should bo applied. This is done by taking some pink boracic lint, folding it double, and wringing it out of water as hot as can be borne. One or two fomentations will loosen the scabs, and they can then be lifted off with a pair of scissors or a blunt knife. All old dressing should be burnt; they should never be used again. Any metal instruments used to lift off scabs should be washed and boiled immediately after use. If the sores spread on to the scalp, the hair should be cut short.