MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12401, 24 October 1903, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

. ENLARGED GLANDS. Enlarged lymphatic glands are usually caused, by tuberculosis, but in the majority of cases recovery takes place spontaneously. This is because the glands are good fighters in the first place. It is their business to resist germs. They are policemen placed about the citadel of life for the purpose of protecting it. Suppose there*..wire a row of police-?-* bundled in line—standing in front of a house,'and that burglars were compelled to fight, every one of those policemen before they could get into the house, it would stand a "very good chance of remaining unmolested, Li just this way the lymphatic glands are policemen. If a sliver lodges in your finger, and a nest of germs attack the*body, then the lymphatic glands in the neighbor!! hood come to the rescue from every direction, and the nearer we approach the centre of the. body the greater number of "lands we find to oppose the germs. They must fight their way through a long procession of glands before they can obtain a foothold. ( ! But when germs get into the glands themselves the power of the latter is vastly crippled. If they become seriously affected they should be removed; yet people are often in too great a hurry to remove the glands, which are exceedingly useful," for, when once removed, the natural barriers of the body have been taken down, and there is nothing to prevent the germs from marching, on. . . ■ ; >

PERILS OF CIGAR-SMOKERS. Some recent revelations in connection with the cigar-making industry are not calculated to reassure those who indulge in the weed in this form. It seems that the men whose work it is to shape the cigar are in the habit of putting the tips in their mouths and licking them into shape. This is said to be injurious to the worker, but what about the unfortunate smoker who is compelled to put the cigar into his own mouth after its subjection to such a filthy process? What guarantee have the public got that some of the men prone to this disgusting habit are not tuberculous or suffering from Some equally dangerous disease? It is much more fraught with danger to the community than appears on the surface.Sanitary Record.

THE VALUE OF THE APPLE. Tire apple is one of the most wholesome and valuable of foods for the reason that it keeps so well in temperate climates and presents such a variety of flavours, suiting itself to man's needs by ripening at different seasons and supplying a considerable amount of nourishment in the most easily digestible form. The nutritive value of the apple is about 14 per cent. Its value consists chiefly in the amount of carbohydrates and vegetable acids it contains. The apple contains also a largo amount of phosphorus. The old Scandinavians believed that the gods subsisted wholly upon apples, and that it was through the peculiar properties communicated by this queen of fruits that they acquired the wisdom which they imparted to men.

HOW TO STOP HICCOUGH. Hiccough is usually of no consequence, but during the course of actute diseases it becomes frequently a very dangerous and difficult complication. Dr. Kolipiuski says he was able to stop a hiccough in such a case by taking a large spoon-handle and pressing the tongue down and back with a steady'force. He continued the pressure on the tongue with the hope of further knowing the action of the palate muscles, when, to his surprise, the hiccoughs ceased. After the doctor's departure the hiccoughs returned, and the patient applied the spoonhandle himself to the back of the tongue, and with both hands pushed down firmly. The hiccough again ceased. The hiccough appeared . several times later, and was promptly stopped by the application of the spoon-handle.