MEDICAID NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13497, 25 May 1907, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAID NOTES.

HENCE OVER-EATING.

a- It is a trite saying that we sat too much, a but, as a medical authority points out, the ai very complexity and refinement of modern st cookery prove the truth of the statement. its Not only is the greatest ingenuity put forth i, to provide a variety of food at each meal, 3- but i flavours and' seasonings are used to a titillate the palate and provoke us to eat, i, when in the normal course of things we should have sated , our natural appetite. I- Still Nature, unless perverted, provides an ; unfailing guide. When the appetite for a n meal has diminished to such an extent that, n it can only be "artificially stimulated, then >.- is the time to cease eating. Beyond that point food is not only wasteful but injurir OUS. . r ' ■T '. ' , [! . i " THE DANGERS^ OF DRUGS.'" 5 The adulteration of drugs is,a matter of 11 less interest to the general public than the adulteration of -food, though, in particular 0 cases it might evidently be more danger- '> ous (says a recent issue of Health). In this ■* respect the wholesale druggist, no less than " the retailing chemist, occupies a position ' of trust towards the community, for the P helpless, the sick, even the dying are deSi pendent on his honesty and knowledge. Of °late years, the necessity, for both has in--0 creased. The discovery of new drugs of r the phenacetin or sulphonal or adrenalin J ' } types has placed dangerous remedies in the I hands of people frequently ignorant of ? their after effects, and it has become increasingly important that such edged tools 7 should be of an exactly standardised degree " of refinement. There are some drugs, such • as digitalis, strophantus, and cenvallaria, * the powerful arterial sedative aconite ergot, " cannabis indica, and others equally im- " portant, . the effects of which ■ cannot be " tested by chemical means. , It has become • necessary to, ensure safety in prescribing " them that they should be tested and stan- • dardised by physiological means ; and the ! great: manufacturing chemists in Germany : and the United States now test their drugs ; on animals, on which the physiological ef- ! feet of the drug is known. HEART FAILURE. '. One may well be struck by the frequency with which in cases of sudden death the [ cause is" attributed to " heart ." failure" , (writes , Dr. Andrew Wilson). .Overhand ; , over again we see such an expression reported in the newspapers. There can be little doubt that when we attain a certain ; age and pass the meridian of life the heart .', ' is apt to resent very strongly any increased ■' work which it is made. to do, especially on - some sudden call. A person whose -heart is quite capable of carrying on all its ordinary work makes a sudden demand upon this organ, as in the act of rushing to catch a train.. The increased strain on the heart in such" a case may cause the organ either to be • seriously: affected or may, •: as ! is ';■ unfortunately the case in many instances, cease its work altogether. Here truly the heart has failed in its work, but through no fault of its own; so, also, cases of heart failure ending fatally are not uncommon where the individual .has partaken, previous to some '.sudden exertion, of a full meal. The distended stomach tends in such a case, to impede the action of the heart, and, as a consequence, heart failure .may be again brought about in this fashion.'; We must remember, that ; the heart is a muscle, wonderful in its construction, and still more wonderful when we reflect on the work.it constantly performs, V but like, -{all/; other muscles, the heart is'apt to 'wearied, . and may in the case of elderly people give way under sudden strain. ;It well, therej fore, that we' should bear in mind .-' the scriptural adage, to keep the heart diligently," meaning" thereby in a physical sense that .after the, middle period of life is past, we' should be careful to avoid over- • taxing a very willing servant of our bodies.