MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16408, 9 December 1916, Page 6 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

SENSIBLE CLOTHING.

Clothing should be as light, as possible in every season of the year. Illnesses were never kept away by a multitude of coverings. The natives of the South Se-i Islands began to suffer from chest complaints when the missionaries had taught them to wear European garments. Clothing should be light and warm, but never in excess. Corsets are quite unnecessary for children at school. The way to get a good figure is to develop the muscles and hold oneself well; corsets are mere artificial aids which 110 healthy child should need. TIME FOR DIGESTION. It is not generally known that to digest an ordinary meal takes as long as four or five hours. The stomach should not be over-worked ; a second meal sent down for the stomach to tackle three hours after a meal will find the poor old organ still engaged with the first. Fish is disposed of in about one and a half to two and a half hours. Pork heads the list with five hours, and goose runs it close with four and a half hours. Eggs, oysters, milk, and sweetbread arc digested in about two hours, and milk puddings, such as rice, sago, or tapioca require about one and a half hours. Milk contains eighty-six per cent, of water, potatoes seventy-five per cent., beef an-I mutton seventy-two per cent. THE LOCKJAW BACILLUS. You need not really be afraid that a cut between the thumb and first finger will give you lockjaw, because it won't. Lockjaw, or tetanus, is due to a special germ, the tetanus bacillus. It is of a peculiar shape, being like a drum-stick. Now if this bacillus gets into your blood you will suffer from lockjaw, whatever the situation of the wound. The belief that there is some connection between the nerve in the thumb and the nerve that works the jaw is a piece of ignorj ance that ought to be dispelled. It is ! a rare complaint, but still, for the safety iof the few cases, we recommend the most careful washing of all wourds. The bacillus lives in earth and mould in the neighbourhood of stables and farmyards.

| WATER FILTERS j In a. house which has been empty i for a long time the water may j have been in contact with the ! pipes for years r-nd may be charged ' with lead' salts; in any case it is best to let the water run for a minute or two before taking it for drinking purposes. If you use a filter, it must be cleansed at regular intervals; the filters act as guards against disease, but the guards themselves need guarding. An old filter is worse than useless. One plan is to have two filters, one in n&f and one being cleaned. To clean a carbon filter is a fairly long process : it takes so long for the cleansing antiseptics to run through and then a further period must be devoted to running clear water through to get rid of the antiseptics. Some filters can be sterilised by boiling, and they perhaps are the best and safest. The drinking of pure water should be encouraged ; it helps to prevent the formation of stones in the kidney and in the gall-bladder.

FRUIT DIET.

Except in special circumstances, ail young vegetables are wholesome an 1 beneficial to the skin, but some are particularly good, and naturally those that contain certain medicinal qualities have an outward and visible effect, which is quite as improving as the inward result which we do not see. Pain of any kind soon works havoc with the most faultless complexion, and a few sleepless nights will turn a fresh young face into a haggard lined one. When this happens, instead of relying entirely on creams and cosmetics, see what fruits and vegetables there are available as panaceas for these ills. Onions are splendid for inducing sleep, and many folks find that the munching of the fleshy stalk of a lettuce leaf or nibbling an apple are cures for insomnia. Of all the nerve-wracking ailments that torment, women, few are as painful as neuralgia, and for this a daily dish of celery will be found most nelpful, while rheumatic patients should consume Jerusalem artichokes, radishes. The importance of the teeth as an asset to beauty cannot be over-estimated, and both strawberries and raspberries help in this direction. These fruits should not only be eaten, but also rubbed -lightand morning on the teeth and gums, for they possess wonderfully whitening and invigorating properties.

SLEEPING IK THE OPEN. j This step is one only a very few people i would find really impossible, if they set j themselves to find out a way to contrive j it. Very few of us nowadays are with- | out some little piece of garden, backJ yard. or even balcony, and all these are quite excellent for the purpose of sleeping out. A roof provides very good I sleeping quarters, where a flat leaded j stretch is accessible. It is worth while to take a good deal of pains to make | the sleeping accommodation really com-fort-able and convenient, and the difference in the feeling on waking out of I doors from waking indoors will soon make j the trouble seem insignificant. A water- . proof cover should be provided for \.he ] bed. and some sort of shelter for the ! head, in case of rain during the night, i The best thing is a light sort of awning, , stretched over the whole bed. without ! sides, and this can often be arranged ; between a couple of trees, or from a balI cony railing to the wall, or from chimney ito root. At a pinch, an old, large um--1 brella tied securely to the head of the i bed will provide quite adequate protec- ; tior from ;,il but the heaviest rs'in. It ■ is well, where possible, to have ihe bed i fairly near some shelter, so that as actual I need it can be run inside. This is easily i done if the bedstead has sufficient castors.

or it can be mounted on a set of little j wheels. Most people have a tendancv to , pile on tee bedclothes when sleeping nit | of doors, having some idea that it is . bound to be colder, but this they will ! soon find to ue a mistake. The same I amount of bedclothes as are used indoors will be found quite enough, and these ! should be light as well as warm, if restI fill sleep is to be. assured. Heavy bed- ! clothes are apt to cramp the relaxed j limbs during sleep, and to hamper the | free movements of the involuntary ! muscles. I | SUMMER DIA.RRHCEA IN INFANTS. I Ihe conditions which ,nay give rise to ; summer diari aio numerous, and the ; death-rate from it is extremely hi_rh. 1I e i direct • an*p i- probably a living _ which gets into the milk and rapidly in- . creases in im-'.be/s. causing panel'viiig ; .:! 'inges. Anion:- the direct cause- are tl'j'ee : — Near the TTouse: Any collect i-. nof I ' 'use in pails 01 ashpits, or in uncovered i ! tbins, dirty gulleys. and impn-e smells . flora drains, damp and dirty yauh. All help to breed and encoi'iaec (lies during sunn .rt mouths, p? ( -ficu : f.r!v «h Pr , ' the sail i« very hot a; •i! there i ■ tic ..r 'Hi r: in. In the Hotwe: Aj.y .ji- ..f , footi lelt abi-t!'., <iir'.j --.uks. -.r utiet vts- . sels. All thcii; things a'so encouiaiit fli^i. ■Dust caused by sv-eepiug carppts and mats I indoors, dusting with dry or feathv , dusi ters, putting the baby uii the floor to play may also prodrce summer aiarrhces. Milk i is very quickly contaminated, therefore the i child brought up on it is the usual victim j Prevention : Every house should be pio- . vided with a galvanised iron dustbin with : close-fitting lid. 'Hie bin should be placed ■ as far away from the house a< possible I emptied twice •». -kiy and the lid kept o*.' .<o wet refuse <c ? t V put is. Everything . should be buriifi! vhi'h <..-n K- but on the , ire, IT » be- f.-i ,v„ v „ .:r (ie. bill no I acco.i.nl-ition -:ust allow. v. c . f ;. a . ;guM,/s and om'.-M t i ea -.. ami do :;o t ' smell. Dus' ng t-bpu.'a be done wiih a i damp duster. Bits of oarpet on the floor are not hygienic: linoleum i s better. Cows' milk should be boiled rapidlv as soon as "t enters the house, placed in 'a scalded ju<r cov' ; s-o r?oTr r.'ith weighted muslin, and the jug then placcd in a basin of cold water Keep m a cool place, on a slate slab if possible. #