MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15884, 3 April 1915, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

ACNE. This malady is the one which attacks most the face, particularly of young people from 14 to 21. Popularly it la commonly referred to as " pimples." But. a complaint is thought much more of when you are able to give it a Latin or Greek name in place of a common English one. With many young people, but older ones may also suffer, acno is merely a disease of development. That is to say, you may take it, if you can, with patience as a matter of course, and be sure you will duly "grow out of it" when a year or two more has passed by. For consolation you may consider that the spots take the place of something worse. They indicate an effort of nature to expel something wrong. The pimples are little glands (sebaceous glands) in the skin which have become too full of the contained fatty substance, sebum (a healthy lubricant), or have become inflamed. Tho face suffers most, but the back is often also implicated. The little " blackheads" are those choked-np glands, most abundant, on the nose. First squeeze out the black core with thumb and finger. Then bathe well in hot water, with a handful of oatmeal in it, but no soap. Next dry thoroughly and rub well with a rough towel. Do this every morning. If you want to get well, mind it is the rubbing which will do it. You don't want to stroke your face with the towel as though you thought the skin might peel off. For internal medicine sedulously avoid constipation. Take plenty or oranges and other fresh fruit, and cycle, or ride, or row. STRAIN. A false step, a fall, or a sudden wrench is very often tho cause of that painful straining of tho fibroua tissue commonly known a 6 sprain. The ankle is, as a rule, the victimised member, and many are the tedious hours for which tho careless dispenser of orange-peel can be held accountable. There, are several methods of treating a sprained ankle, one of which is strapping the leg from ankle to knee wan adhesive plaster. Tho plaster is cut in strips about an incn in width and of sufficient length to encircle the leg to within -Jin, tno space being left to insure free circulation. This treatment can only bo applied before the leg begins to swell; therefore, within a very short time of tho accident. Recovery by means of the ordinary treatment, that of e-'evating the foot and having recourse to hot applications, may bo greatly accelerated by scientific massage. By proper manipulation the swelling can be reduced and the pain les- ; sened in a very short time. If, however, the service of one who thoroughly understands giving the treatment cannot bo obtained, simple rubbing will often give relief. The rubbing must always be up, not down, and the hand 6 of the operator, as well as the wounded limb, should bo made > thoroughly antiseptic before any friction is applied', lest the secretions of the skin being rubbed into the pores should bo reabsorbed and inflammation increased in ' the drained tissues. ECZEMA.

Of all skin complaints eczema i 6 by far tin; most prevalent and also one ot the most troublesome, mat is to say, the genuine eczema undoubtedly is so, but a great deal of what is called by that name

is not genuine at all. I have seen innumerable cases of scabies, the common itch, due to a parasitic insect, so styled ; and a learned doctor-specialist on skin maladies, long since dead, had a mania for calling everything on the skin eczema. Like every other malady, the real disorder usually springs from some interference with the Junction of the organ attacked, and no organ is so much injured in this way, by not giving it fair play for its functions, a 6 the skin: People lander that function by being dirty, by not washnig regularly every week with soap and water; or they do not change their underlinen frequently, but continue to wear woollen garments soaked in perspiration for weeks or months. Or they (rarely) wash too much; irritate the skin by toofrequent baths, by the use of unwholesome soaps, etc. There may be an excess ot zeal even for cleanliness, and, as Talleyrand remarked, "iSurtout, point de zele-" Hut not seldom it is not so much the skin itself that is at fault as tho constitution and general habits of the patient, so that the blood is tainted and impure and tries to throw off the poisonous impurities by way of the skin. Much eczema depends on gout;' much is associated with i rheumatism and scrofula. The' first thing to bo- done in that case is to thoroughly purify the blood by a regular course ot some well-known aperient pills—or by a daily dose of Epsom salts, a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful taken in a tumblerful of warm water, every morning before breakfast. Salt meats and salt fish are to bo avoided. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables must be taken. Everything must be done to acquire a regular and wholesome- method of living. You may down as ft sure and certain rule that if you have anything the matter with you (beyond the usual defects of old age) something is amiss in your habits and general mode of life and needs alteration. For local application to eczema glycerine in some form or other is the best. As a rule the glycerino should bo mixed with zinc ointment and rubbed on twice a day. For mild cases put an ounce of glycerino into a pint of load lotion and dab on frequently with a sponge. Avoid soap; for washing uia only warm water with a handful of oatmeal in it. He sure always to dry thoroughly afterwards. Change the linen often. Wear only cotton or silk, never wool, next the skin. Take plenty of outdoor exercise, and avoid heated rooms. " Early to bed and early to Vise," etc.

DEAFNESS IN CHILDREN. A very great deal of ca6cs of deafness about have come on in childhood and should have been prevented. Children gel inflammation of the earsotorrhcea, or otitis it is technically calledwith a profuse discharge. Then the child is taken to a doctor, and he orders the ears to be syringed. Under no circumstances should tho ears be syringed, as syringing is always a moro or less dangerous process. Given a young child with a discharge from tho ears, it is simply fatal, Whenever water is applied to an ulcerated surface or an inflamed and suppurating mucous membrane, the discharge is profusely increased, and the seventy of the inflammation considerably augmented. Whether the ulcer be in the ear or on the leg the result i 6 the same. If you want to secure healing and health the first thing you have to do is rigidly to exclude water from any suppurating tissues; and, as tho antiseptic or astringent lotions you get from the doctor or chemist mainly consist of water dissolving a salt or drug, the rule applies to them just as much as to water alono. For a' healthy or healing application you require something which excludes water; and for tho ear you find this in glycerine, especially when mingled with borax. Put a teaspoonful of borax in a tumblerful of pure glycerine. Take half-ateaspoonful of this, warm it over gas or a candle, pour it into a second teaspoon, and thence to the ear. Let it soak into one ear thoroughly before you treat the other. With a young boy or girl whose ear has begun to discharge you use tins glycerine and borax three times a <tay, taking the greatest pains to keep the canal clean and wining away all discharge very frequently. This speedily cures, provided there has been no syringe used, and usually the hearing will be sound afterwards. On the other hand, syringing at once aggravates the inflammatory process and often succeeds in producing a deafness for life. The advantages of the glycerine are that it is aseptic and antiseptic. It has great affinity (chemical) for water, and quickly absorbs moisture of all sorts from the air if left exposed. ' Thus, although itself a liquid, it is (for surgical purposes, as applied to the ear), practically a drv dressing, excluding moisture most, thoroughly.