MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13583, 12 September 1908, Page 7 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

OASTRALGIA. IK nervous gaetralgia the dilute hydrocyanic acid will give prompt relief. Nervous and irritative dyspepsia and enteralgia are quickly cured by this agent. In chloroform • poisoning, also, dilute hydrocyanic acid is the best antidote given'from a drop tube on the back of the tongue. The dose is one minim for about every 101b of body weight. YELLOW FEVER. . Dr. Lacerda reiterates his assertions that it is poesies and practicable to entirely eradicate yellow fever in a town by tearing down the old damp, sunless houses that are known to be the foci of infection, and disinfecting taose that it is impossible to destroy, as also the holds of vessels The germs die in the sewers and in (sunshine, the usual means of transmission being the air, arid only «i a circumscribed radius although they can be carried in clothing, merchandise, etc. He concludes bv stating that prisons vh o have become acclimatised to y«lo,v fcvA nwj ],*,, their mmmi hy an eight months residence in » temperate clime. * SUGAR. Sugar is often given a bad name from a physiological standpoint, but in maiiv instances, says the Lancet, it is questionable whether it is deserved. It seems inconceivable that the bountifulness with which the world is supplied with sugar should mean anything else than that it is designed for human food. Sugar is one of the most powerful foods which we possess, ae it is the cheapest, or, at any rate, one of the cheapest. In muscular labour no food apnears to be able to give the same powers of endurance as sugar; and comparative practical experiments have shown witTiout the least doubt that the hard physical worker, the athlete, or the soldier on the inarch is much more equal to the physical strain placed upon him. when he has had included in his diet a liberal allowance of sugar than when sugar is denied to him. Trophies, prizes, and cups have undoubtedly been won op a diet in which sugar was intentionally a notable constituent. It has even been sair l that sugar may decide a battle, and that jam, after all. is something more, than a mere sweetmeat to the soldier. The fact that sugar is a powerful "muscle food" accounts probably for the disfavour into which it falls, for » comparatively small quantity amounts to an excess, and excess is always inimical to the easy working of the digestive processes. A strong solution of sugar is irritating to the tissues, will set tip superficial inflammation, and may produce a form of eczema. It is well known that an excessive diet of sugar irritates the mucous membrane of the stomach and encourages the production of mucus and of a highly acid gastric juice. The ingestion of much sugar spoils the appetite. Children who have been tempted to over-indulge in ."lollipops" between regular eating times do not want their ordinary meal. The schoolboy spoils his dinner by eating too many sweet things before that meal. An over-indulgence in sweet liqueurs, in sweet ices, and in "crystallised" fruits after dinner retards the digestion of the meal. Sugar satiates; it is a concentrated food. Where sugar does harm, therefore, it is invariably due to excess. Taken in small quantities and distributed over the daily food intakes it contributes most usefully in health to the supply of energy required by the body. In certain diseases, of course, the presence of sugar in the diet is plainly undesirable. Generally speaking, however, there is a prejudice against it which is not justified by physiological reasoning—at all events, when i*> is eaten in moderation; and it is a curious fact that the man who practically abstains from sugar, or reduces his diet to one almost free from carbo-hydrates jo favour of protein foods, such as meat, often shows feeble muscular energy and an indifferent capacity for physical endurance.