MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15482, 13 December 1913, Page 8 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

♦ .. X- A GOOD GARGLE. 'An excellent gargle is said to be made of one teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, half a cupful of boiling vinegar, and three teaspoonfnls of salt. Mix well together, and when settled strain. Gargle the throat every half hour. Anyone subject to sore throat will find a sure cure and preventative in the daily use of salt and water as a gargle. The fumes of burnt camphor will instantly relievo a cold in the head. Put a piece of camphor, the size of an egg, in an old saucer. Set it on five, and after burning a few minutes, blow out the flames and inhale the fumes. MOTORS AND THE NERVES. " One motor, two nervous systems," is said to ho the formula that applies sooner or later to him who rides in an automobile. It has been observed that the motor omnibus conductor is becoming infected by the nervous irritability that seems to belong to this sort of locomotion. The civility, varied at most by occasional sarcasm at the expense of a tiresome passenger, to which the rider in cabs is accustomed, is being replaced by the motor conductor with impatience, if with nothing worse. It will be a great pity if the good-natured raillery of the omnibus vanishes from our streets". Humour, after all, is worth far more in life than the ability to get from one place to another in the quickest possible time.

WHOOPING-COUGH. Whooping-cough is primarily a disease of the nervous system involving the respiratory organs. It is a convulsive, strangling cough, characterised by peculiar sonorous or whooping inspirations, from which the popular name is taken. It comes on in fits, and the cough is so severe at times that the patient turns purple, gasps for breath, and presents all the symptoms of suffocation. It is infectious, chiefly attacks children, and only occurs once during life. The treatment consists chiefly in obviating irritation,'and in exciting nausea and occasional vomiting. From the first, aperients and sedatives in small- doses are usually given; for the second intention, a weak, sweetened solution of tartarised antimony may be administered in small doses every hour or so. A hot bath is often serviceable. Plenty of home-made lemonade, not too sweet, is an excellent thing for children with whooping-cough. ENTRANCE FOR BACTERIA. The best preventive against the inroads of a largo class of germs is a whole skin. the skin is not exactly germ-proof, but is . nearly so. The danger is in allowing the germs to creep through a cut-a chink in tho armour. A person may have a corn on his too for years; one day ho cuts it and accidentally makes it bleed; the next - • morning the cut is inflamed and angry red lines run up the leg. The micro-organisms have been on the pounce, but they never got a chance until the skin was broken. The value of a clean, unbroken surface of jj skin is also shown in cases of glands of , the neck. The germs which cause those ugly swellings on the side of the neck ; resulting often in operations, abscesses, h and scars, found their way into the neck through tho mouth. A ragged tonsil, a r septic tooth socket, an old decayed root with a minute ulceration round it, gave ■ . the germs the opportunity for which they r "had been longing. Always keep your teeth, in perfect order for tho sake of of- • fering a good line of defence against tho h germs that find their way into the mouth ;;, from tho dust of the air. For this reason ;;,' it is that of all matters which have en- '/ gaged 'the attention of medical men during | the last few _ years perhaps the hygiene .;.' of the mouth is the most important. HOW DEAFNESS IS CAUSED. |'V._■-." .For old people to become deaf is natural, I . though some begin to suffer from the disv ability much earlier than others. It is '/.-. when wo meet with cases of deafness among ; . young children that we should ask '.i whether some remedy cannot be found. -;' Nearly all cases, by. "the time they come V: under notice, are advanced so far as to make a cure very doubtful, and prevention, |, Ktherefore,'will have to be studied more i-;, carefully in the future. A3 a rule, deaf- ; ness in childhood is due to the infectious !":./ diseases, such as measles and scarlet fever, i, :-• to meningitis, orto primary ear disease. ■■;. In cases of scarlet fever, the patients often £ Buffer with what are loosely called gathered ;.. ears,_ : and the condition is not always re- ['■■;■" cognised as being particularly serious. p : , Children' who are recovering from fever or i '. from measles require very great care, even |, after they appear to be quite well. A ! ; slight chill is enough to set up aural [- complication, which, if not properly t..;-. treated,-may end in lifelong loss of hearK. ing. ,The deafness that is caused by pri- | •mary ear disease is generally the result of I.: adenoids, and these could often be pre&>;vented. They are due to an over-develop- ; '~ merit' of the lymphoid tissue in the naso--1.. pharynx or passage between nose and »-.:■; throat. Bacterial infection, perhaps in the i m ™, ° a common cold, starts the trouble, • which goes on till the passage is so blocked ■jj: up as to interfere with the child's breath- .' ing.-. The infection might be prevented in ;. great measure by improvements in the feeding and housing of the children, for .;/- the better a baby is housed, clothed, and , nourished. the better able is he to resist I bacterial infection of any kind. Only bv these and other preventive measures .shall .. we, be able to keep for our children the I power of hearing; which is their right ; and without which they are grivously -1; handicapped in the battle of life, ' , CAUSE OF STAMMERING, f.,. Stammering is in English synonymous p; With stuttering, and implies a spasmodic $*■ affection of the vocal organs, by which I'. the 'enunciation becomes suddenly checked L; and a painful pause ensues,, which is freI , quently marked by a prolongation of thb P rapid repetition of the particular literal j ■•> sound at which the check arises. Frei, quently hereditary, it also sometimes occurs "; as the result of imitation. Rarely seen ••_ before four or five years of age, "it ens- -'. . but may come on at any subsequent age. : tomarily manifests itself: before puberty, - Illness sometimes induces or aggravates |4 the condition. Fevers, nervous affections |- —as epilepsy and hysteria— mouth affections, simple nervousness and excitement, all occasion it at times, usually, however, the stammering disappears with the" cause. Males suffer to a larger extent j than females. Persistent cases, occurring i- m childhood, sometimes recover in the course of time, and as a general rule with , advancing years improvement takes place. ; Of course, in all cases where stuttering ;' is due to obvious disease, or defect in I •_ the mouth or vocal organs, it is impera- | tive that measures should be undertaken t, whenever possible, for relieving the evil I Where sufferers are otherwise obviously I healthy the only methods of relief are the j : educational. Premising that stammering ; . is neither a disease nor an incurable mal- | ady, but in great part a bad habit [ caused by trying to speak in an impossible fc manner, the patient should be impressed p by the fact that cure is largely a matter I 01 patience and determination" upon his [ part -In the first place he must be f taught to speak slowly and deliberately 1 each word being weighed carefully, and f each sound being given its full value, and ? whenever he feels a tendency to stammer ! r he must check himself at once, and com- ,;, mence again, rather than struggle against ■fe. his defect. A patient should also bo g- taught to breathe properly, and especially s to regulate the admission of air into his ;• .chest during speech, so that his utterj ■ ances may not fail for lack for i breath. A deep inhalation through ;.. his - nostrils should be taken before , attempting to speak. Excitement . and nervousness always tend to make V stammering worse, and understanding this '. , sufferers should refrain from speech as I. much as possible while under such influg ; ences, or, if speech is necessary, great g control must be exercised and whatever is H spoken be said with even greater slowness ' mi and deliberation than at ordinary times. I ; Reading aloud should be systematically 1 .'£ practiced, and as stammerers rarely suffer •;';; from their complaint while ringing, lessons :;;, in this useful accomplishment may well bo H taken, more especially from a good master :; of the art, well skilled in the management ■ ; .V pf the voice and breathing exercises. ■■'.' » v' : /' "■:.>"::'■ > -. ■-...■. - : -■ ■■ • .-■,-'■■ ■- .' • ■ ■: ;'';•'/.'.'''.'■,,. ■.'- -. : ...-'.-.■ • .. ... ...".'