MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12609, 25 June 1904, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

HOW MUCH FOOD TO EAT. HOW".liaU one determine how-touch food to ***■? Too much my ft cry hasbeen thrown about this ; «nbj«(* Wt jow*"f«wrtSo»i decide. *• must I* kept in mind ***** the entire function «* indigestion and assimilation is curried on without conscious supervision or concurrence. "Satiety is bad- %I* implies a sensation of fulness in the. region of the stomach, and. that means that *op much food has been taken. The exact correspondence, in a healthy animal, between the appetite and the amount of food required :is extraordinary. As a rule, the meal, unless eaten very slowly, should cease before the appetite is entirely satisfied, because a little time is required , for the_put<; hint organs and tissues ,to feel the effects of the food that has been ingested. If too little lias been taken, it is «asy euongn to make it up at the next meal, and the appetite will be only the-better and the food more grateful. ■'*,■ " ' , * No one was ever sorry for having voluntarily eaten too little, while millions every dav repent having eaten too much. -It has been* said that the great lesson homcepathy taught the world was this That, whereas physicians had been in the habit, of giving the patient the largest dose he could stand, they hare been led to see that* their purpose ink better subserved by giving him the smallest dose that would produce the desired-effect. And so it is with food. Instead bleating, as most people unfortunately do, as much as they can, they should eat the smallest amount that will keep them in good health.

TO REMOVE HARDENED WAX FROM THE EAR. Laurens writes to wain against the use of instrumental any kind, as it is liable to be' followed by the most serious consequences. He recommends tho syringe alone, well sterilised and filled with boiled, tepid water. It should be introduced along the upper wall of the canal, so that the water will sweep the plug out with it, and rive times full is enough for one day, 'lb* greatest care should be taken to i work gently, and stop ft the first trace of pain or vertigo. The plug can be softened with the solution of tie carbonate of sotli. one gramme in twenty grammes of glycerine and water. Ten drops of this are to foe warmed and poured into the ear three times a day; the head should be held so as to keep it in the ear for a while, and then a tampon can be inserted- The injection should be repeated in forty-eight hours.' ' In ease the plug of wax adhere to the meatus it should seemed with the pincers and held, wink "tine j, injection is repeated until the plug comes out, when the canal should be wiped carefully'with the finger wrapped in a sterilised rag. and a cotton plug -Inserted for a few days. THE GRAP2. j # The grape'i« one of the most wholesome! of fruits. When ripe it contains sugajjibundantly, vegetable jelly; and mucilage,-* and the characteristic "tartaric acid in combination with potash, also an aeolised albuminous constitutent, on which depends its property'of ready fermentation, rin which respect the- juice of the grape excels all : other vegetable Jukes, undergoing spontaneously the ' necessary change and becoming converted into true wine by its inherent power of fermentation. The juice, if kept a few bouts, will spontaneously ferment. As a 'cooling article of ! diet! ripe ? grapes- are ; most ; wholesome and invaluable 'in- many cases lof illness,' but'. must be forbidden when I their * aperient properties i may prove: injurious: I Some years ago what is called the "grftpa cure'* was ? introduced into Germany; the f persons-undergoing it living chiefly von grapes,,', of \ which they had ■to J consume many pounds' .weight per i day, and on bread. This cooling system of diet may have • many advantages, but '; it has . one drawbaefc—fche continued application of the. acid of the fruit to the teeth is said to completely dissolve the enamel.

BEDKOOM. . When, one considers that nearly a third of each day is, or ought; to be, passed ia sleep, « will be appreciated how important is the ouestion of the place where the sleeping Jioora are passed. The body is believed to be leas resistant to injurious influences : -during sleep than in waking Sours, . and therefore the - bed ami jedrooKi should 'be' so arranged that the »4y m*y be* shielded ;to far as possible rem assaults of disease at this time. •<, 'The.location of the bed is important. it should, if possible, be placed with the lend or foot against the wall, so that free ,cces,s may be had to both sides. This is tot only for convenience in making the bed, nit also and especially that the sleeper may lot get bis face into a corner against the vail in such .i way that he is forced to jreatfae over and over the air just exhaled rom ' his-lungs, find charged wjfli poison-

out mattws. . For til same reason the bed should not be in ait alcove, where the air stagnates and is almost impossible of renewal, ; The old days of closely drawn bed-curtains are for-, tunately gone, but the alcove is almost as bad, especially if ' filled : with i* : double ;; bed occupied by two persons. The double:bed is an abomination* When it has finally to Join the high-canopied four-poster t*;ar« will be less ; consumption f and: fewer colds. -•' A light .iron or brass' three-quarter bed, with ft wive spring covered by a not 100 thick mattress, ana standing in a tho"roughly ventilated room, yet not in ;: 4he j direct drought, and occupied by but one person, te the ideal of hygienic night quarters/ It would seem hardly necessary at the present day to insist upon the need of keeping - opfctt windows—yet it is necessary, for the dread of tin? mysterious night air, charged with all ; sorts of mephitic vapours, has worked upon so many generations of oui l forefathers that it , has become almost i an ? instinct" with some -to ■ shut it ;,. out of the bedroom. If the night air were poisonbui> there would be no safety anywhere, for it would sift in to some extent in spite of . all precautions. i But the night air is purer than ; the day:, air, i and the more of it one draws 'into his lungs while he is : asleep" the better' he will be able to cpntend against the dusty, smoky, carbonated day air of the city streets. „ Tfeewj are Many devices for letting in air through cracks or between window-gashes, but there is , nothing so good as the top sash lowered and the lower sash raised until the two. are even, bo that the fresh air can pour into the bedroom in the greatest profusion.

* MISCELLANEOUS. . ' ! J: 'Among "the ailments claimed to be relieved, by. sugar are chronic catarrh' of the iitoniaohi! chlorosis, scrofula, and various tier' vous : Affections of the stomach. Chamois hunters in Switzerland, it is said, take with them on their excursions • nothing but bacon and sugar—to restore expended muscular force. ;; Sugar is to be looked upon as a nourishing food, but not as a sweetmeat. ~ :'.:■■'■'■■.■" .■'.■ - The utility of heat as a remedy fo» sleeplessness can scarcely be over-estimated, particularly in the form of hot water. Insomnia is frequently overcome by the persistent use of hot foot baths, and simple not water as a drink at bedtime. Sleep - lessnes is commonly caused by overfulness of the blood-vessels of the head; the bathing of the feet draws the blood from the head, the hot drink distributes the gases of th« stomach, and gives one a sense of general comfort. ; ■ •':•*'; - Thuro is an idea very prevalent that aW mitlnt is favourable to digestion,'bbust s this lis etteu fallacious. The important KK>mt is not that we eat slowly or fast, but that when we do eat we masticate with erieig!'. Of course, when the haste is due to son'ie mental anxiety, this may injuriously inhibit the secretions. • 'Slow eating begets a habit' of simply mumbling the food,,without willy masticating it, whilst the burned eaters, is' inclined to swallow his food before proper mastication. Hence, burred eatinfl, is bad, but rapid mastication may be advantageous. I', concentrates om energies on the act in question, and hence more thoroughly accomplishes it. Moreover, energetic chewing stimulates secretion of saliva in thfl most favourable manner. , .