MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16300, 5 August 1916, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

A USEFUL MOUTH WASH. A useful antisepctic wash for cleaning the mouth and gums or for gargling the throat in cases of slight sorenesss or pharyngitis consists of bicarbouate of soda, one drachm ; carbolic acid, one drachm ; glycerine, half an ounce; water to twelve ounces. COLD BATHING. Few measures are more helpful to a vigorous state of health if employed judiciously, and in suitable cases, than the cold bath. The test of its beneficial results is generally afforded by the rapid . reaction which should ensue. There should ' be a feeling of vigour and exhilaration, and a clearness of mind and body. Should, on the other hand, the cold bath be followed by a feeling of mental and physical depression, ami a continued feeling of coldness, it is pretty certain either that the bath has been too prolonged or that the person was not a suitable one for cold bathing. There is no general rule as to the length of time which a bather should spend in the water. So much depends on the season, individual idiosyncrasy, and the actual state of health of the individual at the moment. CONSUMPTION AND BAD AIR. Dr. Dettweiler, the celebrated tuberculosis specialist, wrote: —"'The tuberculosis patient is as much skin-sick as lung-sick." Neglect of the skin, writes Lieutenant Muller, the physical expert, destroys a man's power of resisting bacilli What hot-beds of disease small, overcrowded, and practically unventilated village si hoolfooms are ! The air is either supersaturated with varied emanations arising from crowds of dirty children, often mingled with steam from wet clothes and greased boots, or else it is heavy with smoke and dust from the tireplace. If a sensible schoolmaster attempt to open the windows during a lesson he gets the parents down upon him. I TOES AND TOENAILS. For in-growing toenail all that is needed in the majority of cases is to have properly-shaped boots. ft is tin- pointed boot that crushes the big toe the other toes that brings about this painful condition. If the toe has been neglected for a long time and the flesh has grown round over the nail, then an operation is necessary. I warn you. a medico writes, against trying to do this yourself: you will make matters worse, as I have seen in many cases. Do not cut a V-piece out of the nail : this is worse than useless. A foot should be an object of beauty : a baby's foot is a source of great delight to "the mother and to all beholders, but the feet of grown-up people are generally made hideous with in-growing toenails. corns, bunions, hammer-toes, and what-not. HOW PETS INFECT CHILDREN. "No domestic pet should ue kept mi the same house as young children," says Dr. J. Bernard Dawson. The soundness of this advice is well known to medical men, who trace many cases of sieknesto the cats or dogs with which childr •> love to play. The entire banishment of all cats and dogs for the sake of the children's health is, however, not to be expected, but the precaution of excluding pets from the nursery and the playroom during hot weather "should at least be taken. Cats and .dogs collect the germs of disease and carry them on their coats. By coming into contact with animals from a house in which a child has measles, scarlatina, or diphtheria they often bring these diseases into .the other nurseries. Then their coats become covered with street dust, in which are the germs of consumption, typhoid fever, colds, or bronchitis. The animals also have skin and parasitic diseases, and a child may get infected. There is no doubt whatever that a great deal of the disease of children is contracted from the dog and the cat. It pets are kept notwithstanding the danger to the children, the following rules should be strictly observed: —Never let a cat or dog into* the nursery ; never allow animals to enter the place where food is stored, cooked, or eaten : do not allow animals to come into contact with a child's bed or chair. The observance of these rules would help to preserve the children from a great deal of sickness and suffering. BAKING SODA AS A MEDICINE. Baking soda, which is known to physicians and druggists as sodium bicarbonate is extolled by Dr. W. P. Herrick. of New 1 ork, in the .Medical Journal as probablv the most generally useful of all drugs used as medicines. This not merely because of its great value when used alone, but because of the great number of important combinations into which it enters, its effect seeming to be to increase the efficiency of the drugs with which it is combined. Dr. Herrick describes the multifarious uses of bicarbonate of soda. These mav be summarised as follows :— It is a valuable skin lotion, relieving itching, allaying the pain of burns. It is a non-irritant antiseptic for wounds. In warm water it is the best method of removing hardened wax from the ear. As a nasal douche it is unsurpassed. As a mouth wash it is antiseptic and alkaline, it cures canker sores. It makes a grateful gargle in tonsilitis and diphtheria. As a douche for the stomach and other parts it is most valuable. In the stomach it dissolves mucus and neutralises acids, and ranks first anion* stomachics. * It is good for the'hyperacidity of rheumatic conditions, flatulency, gastric ulcer ?n a e r bird. and mereases the of As an adjuvant-which means an addition to any drug in order to increase its effect-the most valuable of all is blear Donate of soda. oicarINFECTIOUS DISEASES. AS*™ 1 08 °i int ' ecti °us diseases, notably a w"th s , c r let feve> ' «»»■ «Jgo health authorities seasons. The public vaf»nrf aU H hont r Can forecast their P arr C V?™ departure with great accuracy As soon as winter displaces summer and people congregate together in closed warm rooms, infectious diseases bein to fi eV> '. th "7 OM - U is- not until these art, ficial f hot-house conditions are removed hat the prevalence of the disease diminSTi. H eCaUSe , of the regularity with which the epidemics occur there is » growing tendency on the part of the health authorities and the public generally to regard them as inevitable calendar fixtures, which have to be tolerated along with wet weather and sunless skies The reduction of the death rate during recent years by improved methods of treatment has further tended to obscure the real seriousness of epidemics. Local health officers are supposed to take the same precautions regarding isolation and fumigation in cases of scarlet fever as are insisted upon in other more serious infectious diseases. Regarding the disease as ot little or no consequence, their administration is frequently marked bv more laxity than determination. It is their duty to see that children who are infected are properly isolated. Children who contract the disease are directed to be kept away from school for three months unless is can be proved that thev are free from infection. Other children in the same house are required to be kept at home for six weeks unless the same condition can be fulfilled. All persons suffering from the disease should be properlv iso" lated, and after they have recovered the rooms occupied by them, and all articles of clothing and utensils thev have come into contact with, should be fumigated In addition to seeing that these necessary precautions are taken, the local health orhcer is also supposed to ascertain, as far as possible, the mode of infection, and to take steps to stop anv further spread from the same source. " The principal cause of trie spread of the disease i, be lieved to be the large number of mild unrecognised cases that occur amongst children. After a few davs' treatment at home such a child may be apparently quite well.. and., sent back to school j n otC chil^ hich may bfKt d — ° f