MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15730, 3 October 1914, Page 3 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

DON'T TREAT HEADACHE. A ronstriv physician' Dr. Malono, re centlv addressed a congress of doctor*, and condemned ike use of medicine to relievo headaches without attempting to discover their cause. Many forms of beadache are susceptible of prompt relief or entire euro by timely and sensible regulation of the life of the patient, his habits, surroiitn'ings, influence of oenpation, and by the correction of diseases and disorders on which the headache depends. In theeo various ways may bo influenced the headaches of indigestion, biliousness, and constipation ; of cerebral overwork and emotional excitement; of insolation and eyestrain; of many owes of debility; of bad ventilation; malaria and over-stimulation of various soils; 01 uterine and ovarian disease and of chronic blood diseases.

HOW TO AVOID CANCER The New York Board of Health has issued a circular warning the public of 'he increasing danger from cancer. From tins it appears that at the present time one man in every fourteen and one woman m every eight over tho age of forty die of i ani-er. Cancer claims 75.000 victims every year in the United State*. Tho Hoard of Health gives some excellent suggestions as to tho best way to avoid cancer. The most important of these are not to permit any irritation of the tongue by contact with broken or decayed teeth, and not to neglect any swelling of the skin, lips, tongue, etc. A wart on & child is rarely anything but a wart; on an adult it is likely to be the beginning of a cancerous growth. In its earliest stages cancer can generally be cured by a simple operation; in its later stages it is generally incurable, though some forms of it in some parts of the body have been era, dicated by the radium treatment.

TOOTHACHE. A medical journal gives the following advice on tho treatment of toothache by the practitioner:— is essentially an inflammatory condition, and in 99 per cent, of the eases there is a, cavitv in the tooth. In those cases where there is a, cavity, but no nerve exposure, the treatment is simpleapply a sedative and exclude tho secretions of the mouth from the cavity prompt relief will follow, and then advise the patient to visit a competent dentist. A very effective agent, and one always at hand, is the oil of cloves. It should be applied by saturating a pledget of cotton with the remedy and introducing it into the cavity with a toothpick or other pointed instrument ; that beiug done, the secretions are kept out by filling the cavity with a little beeswax, a household remedy always at hand. The wax can be applied by warming over a lamp on the point of a knife and forcing into the cavity. The wax filling serves not only the purpose'of keeping the secretions of the mouth out, but prevents thermal changes from affecting the nerve when hot and cold are taken into the month.

A CURATIVE AGENT. The therapeutic value of rest in the medical management of acute inflammatory and infections 'processes is not fully appreciated. Its effects on tho circulation is significant. The average dailv output of energy by the heart is 400*000 foot pounds; by simple rest in bed it is possible to save the heart a daily expenditure of 50,000 foot pounds of energy. The faster tho heart beats the Jess time it has for rest—that is, the sum total of the periods of rest or diastole is much greater when the pulse is. sav, 70 per minute, than when it is 120 per minute; so that decreasing the pulse rate saves the heart. Again," in the recumbent position this organ is saved the labour of elevating that part of the blood which goes to parte above it* own level. Rest of the voluntary muscle* is still more important. An immense amount of energy evolved in muscle movement is conserved by rest in bed. Muscle rest also secures rest for the neurones. The larger part of the nervous system is relieved of its work when the muscles are dormant. Decreasing the output of energy relieves the digestive, assimilative and elimrtiative organs of a corresponding amount of work.

WHOOPING COUGH WARNING. A medical man writes: "The dangers of whooping cough are At last receiving the attention they deserve. The profes°L° .i S l " ron Bed and a concerted effort should be made to convince the public that this affection is not the trivial matter mi*, mothers think. It kills thou**s,! aof , children , a year, anl if we add the deaths from later complications and tabulated aß . bronchitis pneumonia, or .ttbEtenlcsfg the 'total is ,ea*lj- appalling. It kills more than typhoid, yet we dread it less. .These facts must be explained to the public, to atop the criminal habit of exposing babies to the disease "to have !? °uw, with -," There is no long" any doubt that the cause u a bacillus found between the cilia ,<* the trachael and bronchial mucous cells This delicate organism perishes very promptly after expulsion from the host, so that infection is generally if not always spread by (.mayor droplets coughed out. That is a 'carner is necessary and we must put an end to the universal carelessness with which mothers take their sick children into crowds to infect and kill others. In time we shall consider this a crime warranting the confinement of mother and child in a quarantine station."

I FACE POWDER INJURES EYES. | For several years ladies have come to Dr. V M. Black, an English doctor, complaining of vision frequently being blurred, inability to use the eves for any length of time for near vision," and severe itching of the lids. Tho slightest rubbing of tho lids aggravates the itching. In severe cases the lids become swelled and full of fluid from the constant rubbing. There is a sticky secretion in varying amounts, which is elastic, and on removal pulls out in long strings. Microscopic examination of the secretion shows numerous epithelial cells raized with what appear to be pentagonal crystals, tho majority having a central black ' spot. These mysterious crystals puzzled doctors and chemist* for a long time. Finally C. 11. Punting discovered thev came from rice powder. They are probably the cells from the hard exterior. Dr. Black says that when tho powder i s applied to tho face with a puff some fine dust arises and lodges on the moist surface of the eyes and lids. The rice flour, ren- ; dered mucilaginous by the tears, is not ! washed away. The "woody cells of tho I hard exterior of the rico grain swell, and. i being angular, produce conjunctival irritation, which is aggravated by nibbing. I Those who use chamois to apply the powI der are less likely to cause fine dust to arise.

BANDAGE FOR VARICOSE VEIN'S.

This bandage is made of gelatine, glycerine, /.inc. oxide and water, heated in a water bath and applied to the bare skin with a painter's brush. Then a gauze or cheesecloth bandage is applied, very evenly and not too tight. This is painted with the zinc glue, and a new bandage applied outside it. Such a bandage may be worn from five to eight weeks without change. Patients who have been almost in despair at the annoyance of their varicose legs have been made comfortable by this bandage. At a club dinner with a party not long ago one nt the guests remarked that Bavarian horses were celebrated for their genera] worthlessucs.s. He said that a dealer sold one to a German officer during the Franco Prussian war, and warranted him to be a good war horse. The soldier came back afterwards in a towering passion and said he had been swindled. "And how':" said the dealer. "Why, there's not a bit of ' go' in him, and yet you warranted him as a good war horse." "Yes, I did, and. by George! he is a good war horse; he'd sooner die than run!"