GUARDING AGAINST NEURITIS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 26 November 1927, Page 17

GUARDING AGAINST NEURITIS.

HEALTHY TEETH. The .painful disease known as neuritis is an inflammation or irritation of the nerves, it is not a fatal disease, except in its rare and severe varieties. Pains produced by more serious trouble are ofteu loosely attributed to neuri, tis, and the dignosis should never be adopted unless made deliberately by a qualified medical man, writes (Sir W. Arbuthnot Lane. There are two entirely different forms of neuritis. In one, a main nerve trunk is involved, such as the big sciatic nerve in sciatica. The pain is often intense, but never leads to death and is generally confined to a single or to a. very circumscribed area on the trunk or head. Its commonest cause is a centre of sepsis in some part entirely remote from the site of the pain. Watch the Teeth. Infected teeth, tonsils, and intestines account lor the majority of cases, .prevention necessitates tne strictest cleanliness oi tlie mouth, tnroat, auu bowel, and whole-hearted treatment oi any ml lamination which may arise m these areas. Ini laminations of tissues other than nerves are often painless and therefore easily overlooked. A dead tootn may have a clironic abcess at its root without causing any pain. Tonsils damaged in chiidlmod may be thoroughly septic without making the throat ieel sore. The second form of neuritis is more diffuse and aifects both side of the ooay, starting in the hands and feet, and spreading toward the trunk. Tne iirst warning may be a persistent sensation oi pins and needles, but the disease may progress and end in widespread paralysis. It is caused by poison circulating iu the blood. Tbe lead palsy or plumbers and painters, arsenical neuritis, and that following diptneria are wellknown instances and may end fatally. Government regulations and the staff of the fever hospitals are the nation’s safeguards against such catastrophes. Process of Poisoning. The commoner, mild non-fatal forms are .'usually due to auto-intoxication from the bowel, and their prevention is in oui own hands. Over-indulgence in alcohol is responsible for a very serious form. Deficiency in vitamin U, the vital element present in wholemeal bread, but entirely absent from white bread, causes a most distressing and dangerous multiple neuritis known as beriueri. Tlie general process of poisoning which occurs m constipation and intestinal stasis, when food stagnates and feeding is injudicious, is one of the commonest causes of all. It can be avoided if evacuation is regular and effective, if fresh fruits, raw salads and unspoilt cereals are used as the foundation of a. mixexd diet, if the body is exercised properly, and sunlight and wind are allowed a reasonable access to tlie skin.