OUT OF DOORS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 29 December 1927, Page 3

OUT OF DOORS.

HOLIDAY-MAKERS

HINTS TO CAMPERS

(Contributed by the Department of Health.)

i The spirit of holiday-making is everyl where. Tired city dwellers are pictuir- . mg idyllic scenes—bv isea or river or oush. with a blue sky overhead and undiluted sunshine. They grasp the opt portunity of realising the joy of lire . out of doors and plan to crowd into a few days many plesaurable experiences denied them in the routine of life. This i s as it should be, but some fore- ; thought is necessary to secure the maximum of health and happiness from the ]ong-looked-for vacation. Sun--1 fight, for instance, we know to be one of Nature’s most beneficent agents, but injudicious sun-bathing may be not only harmful but actually dangerous. A famous medical man has said .with regard to sunlight treatment that a blister is a major blunder of technique. A healthily-tanned skin cannot be acquired in a few days, and .sea-bathers should refrain from too sudden and reckless exposure of the body on hot beaches. Little: children especially should wear shady hats. To prevent sunhurning and protect the fact cold cream, simple talc powder or even ordinary flour may he used. To relieve the pain of sunburn if acquired a solution of bicarbonate of soda (one teaspoonful to the -pint of warm water) is useful, followed by a soothing application, cold cream, etc. Calamine lotion s also a good application for acute sunburn. EXERCISE AND DIET. Again, we all know that exercise in this open air is an add to health, but here again excess ig harmful. The essence of a holiday is relaxation. The same brain controls the muscles and the mind, and excessive bodily fatigue is not an antidote to mental and nervous overwork. It is unscientific and harm,ul for those of mature years to indulge in violent athletic exercise without proper training. A twenty-mile tramp vitli muscles flabby from disuse means exhaustion without benefit to compensate. Even the most ardent holidaymaker is better for a sound sleep at night. Remember that a badly-pitched tent may be stuffier than a shut-up house. Every tent should have a drain dug round it to carry off water after rain, and the tent ropes must be slackened each night to allow for shrinkage from moisture. 'Waterproof .rround sheets are invaluable to rest on by day or to put beneath the mattress at night. The use of judiciously suspended mosquito. netting give® .peace and security at night where insect pests abound. The irritation of mosquito bites may be allayed by bathing with weak ammonia or sodium bicarbonate solution. lodine may be applied subsequently to prevent the development of infected sore®. Sandflies do not readily bite a mud-covered surface —fortunately for bane-legged children disporting in creek beds. The diet of campers i s necessarily simplified, but it should contain a liberal supply of fresh vegetahe® ami fruit, and a minimum of tinned food. One fact not sufficiently known is that milk should not he added to tea before nutting: it in a thermos flask, as by this means a good medium is provided for the growth of bacteria, which may he present in the milk. Milk should be carried separately and kept cool. Water from wayside streams may or may not he safe, according .to its source. It is safer to boil it—as as fortunately done in the popular pastime of tea-making. Meat for campers may be kept fresh and uncontaminated by flies in an improvised safe of butter mus’iin stretched over iron hoops and hung from a tree in a cool place. Butter may he kept cool in an unglazed pottei*v dish with wet muslin over it When packing, remember that though we hope for summer at Christmas, we sometimes meet winter, and. warm clothing cannot be left out of the bag. SIMPLE REMEDIES. Shoes are important. No onei even on holiday can be happy with sore feet. For little children sandshoes are good at the seaside. Shoe s for tramping must have thick soles and broad low heels, and must not cramp the toes- They should he worn with warm stockings, preferably undarned. Stockings should he soaped before use and the feet dusted with boracic powder. If blisters form, they should be let out by tunnelling under the edge with a sterilised needle. Fine strips of adhesive zinc oxide plaster should be evenly applied in lattice-work pattern over the affect'd parts. Campers should carry .simple first-aid requisites, e.g., a few bandages, some common antiseptic, as lysol, or boracic acid : tincture of .iodine, is .generally useful. Friar’s balsam is not only beneficial for "use in sore throats (a few drops every few hours on loaf sugar), but makes an excellent external protection covering for cuts. In conclusion, good campers ,do not deface the landscape with debris, such as old tins, waste paper, deoaped vegetable and animal matter. Such rubbish forms a breeding-ground for flies, and may form a fertile, source of unfec-t-km In any ease, it is an eyesore. A true lover of Nature will always leave a scene as beautiful as lie found it.