TALKS ON HEALTH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 9 January 1929, Page 9

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR

A NURSE’S DUTY TO HERSELF

A nurse must never forgot her duty lo herself. Nurse A sits up all day, all niglil, and all the next day, lias scrappy cold meals at irregular times, and lakes no refreshing strolls in the air. At the end of a week she breaks down. Now a broken-down nurse, who bursts into tears because she cannot bear her headache, is no good to anyone. She must either he dismissed or put to lied, aiid then there are two patients instead of one. Nurse B sees that the patient’s bed is clean and tidy, and then goes off lo have a jolly good snooze, and sleeps the sleep of the just. Sho gets up and lias a bath, a .thundering good break-1 fast—it is impossible to do a hard day’s work on an empty stomach —she goes for a nice walk, and turns up to duty fit and smiling. It makes the patient feel belter to see her; it gives the poor fellow fits to see tho other nurse with dark circles under her eyes and a gloomy expression. And if the patient and nurse are husband and wife, the ruld holds good with all the more force. It distresses the husband-patient to see the wife-nurse visibly drooping, lfo longs for her to go and lie clown, or have a walk, or a ride on the top of a ’bus. A muse should bo attentive, but not fussy and meddlesome, and should know when to leavo the sick man alone.

DIET AND BONE-FORMING When a child’s legs begin lo curve unnaturally it is not a sign that ho lias begun to walk too early, but that his diet lias been unsuitable. Bones contain mineral salts; the most important ones are calcium salts. They help to form the hard framework of the hone, fyliilo the soft marrow gives the bone life and makes it grow. A diet deficient in boneforming material leaves flic bones too weak to bear the weight of tho body. At the. first sign of deformity the child should be kept 1 off its feet by applying wooden splints that.project beyond the feet. At the same time, the diet should bo altered in the direction of making it more generous. Milk should be the foundation, because milk contains, in abundance the material the bones require. In addition, bacon fat, all fresh vegetables that are in season, fruit, or simply the fruit juice, extra cream once a day, cod-liver oil, strong gravy and potatoes, and sugar should be l given. The cuio of 'bone-deformities resolves itself into finding money to buy good food and plenty of it. Fresh air is essential, as it purifies the blood that is sent to the bones. NO AIORE HUNCHBACKS Very soon the) splints may be discarded and the child allowed to run about. The bones will come straight with time. It is sad to think .that tho grown-up men and women one sees walking about deformed with rickets since babyhood could all have been cured. The other side of the question is very bright-, because we shall never sec these grownup hunchbacks again; they will all be prevented by Hygienic measures, and in 1960, though their skeletons may be seen in museums as a memento of a dark and unhappy past, no cripples will be seen walking in the streets. A FEARFUL DISEASE Rickets cannot be allowed to flourish as a disease in the middle of the British Empire. When a child is born it mustpass through a bony ring. The effect of rickets is to narrow that bony ring, and when the littlo rickety girl' has grown up, married, and is about to become a mother, her sufferings aro very terrible. Rickets is a cruel tragedy, and all decent parents should fight .against it with all their might. Plenty of sunshine and nourishing food are essential. THE DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION You remember the old story of the fat man who called to see Lite doctor and asked how he could reduce his bulk? The doctor told him to go and punch the nearest policeman on the nose as hard as lie could, and refuse to give an undertaking to tho magistrate that lie would be of conduct. The fat old gentleman got a month’s hard labour on prison diet, and came out with a figure like a fairy. And now to be serious again. I forbid you to take remedies for reducing fat. Afost of them contain an acid, and as the drug, turns everything acid and presents .you from getting the proper’nourishment out- of your food, of course you get thin. To upset your digestion is a grand way to get thin. A Chinaman once burnt his house down in -order to roast a pig he had tied up inside. He got roast pig all right, but lost his house. If you take the acid remedies you will get thin all right, but you wilflose your health.