MEDICAL ROTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16823, 13 April 1918, Page 5 (Supplement)

MEDICAL ROTES.

THE QUALITIES 0? HONEY. ' It is a pity that honey is not more gained in the household In bronchial troubles it is almost ir.valuanle. For sore throat, h'iriev and lemon juice mixed together f'>nn an excellent remedy An oldfashioned and riithtlv esteemed cure for a cold on the 'he?: i.« lompofed of hot lemon.vie made from fresh lemor*). sweetened with honey. Honey >s f.ir more whoii?sf>ra? as .i sweetener of foods than jnsar and should He rrK'e 'reely is-d in the ntirserv than is at pre.«.nt the . ase. HOW TO GIVE MEDICINE. In jiving medicine, never use a spoon in measuring, as the ordinary household spoons vary very mu i n capacity. L".«e a graduated' measure ;lass. and always rinse nimedi.itelv after use Doctors' physic is proverbially nauseous and is some cases a utt.e may he done to diii{Ui«e th" Uste. Castor ■... i.> best taken in miiit •'' ? p e or brandy It mar be made into a taste!??* emulsion by adding a little .:;nnarr r n tier -r orin.-erli wer water, a few dr l r>> of i qnor putassa 1 . and a drop , or tw % ' i • lenii'ii. This is as pah • tab i.- m: !. ! pri-perlv made Epsrrn salts may he disguised b\ peppermint water quHne or iinihona by nitilt. senna , bv •':> v e< and all ej by [:i]uorii e A pinch of ja.t on the Tongue previous to taltou i it. «"'l *r7ectaai!y dis.-nse the taste ci i lalicn .-r salicylate of soda, but in the ; rnaj'-r'ty '. oases, St c!'*ui,j the nostrils I tijh'.lv w.th tre and thumb dunnj I the r - ess of swallo'.v.r.; medicine, no I taste whatever is appreciable, I PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. It is a remarkable fact that bevever t.ie . tabercie bacillus enters the human body. i whether it be by the skin, the intestines. J or the air passages, in the majority of cases, it afi*«-ts the !un.j tissue. Eighty per of those who die of tuberculois die of the pulmonary form of the disease, and snetv per cent of those who die of diseases other than phthisis shows soars of heaJed tuberculosis o{ the lungs. Kxperircentally, if tubercle bacilli be in- I jected int<» the tip of the tail, under the skin, or into the peritoneal cavity of a susceptible animal, it develops lung disease. War this should be so is difficult to say. Several suggestions have been made," all, however, hypothetical. The apices of the lungs, where the disease nest ctten originates, are certainly cribber cabined, and confined. They are Terr slightly disturbed by ordinary respiration, and the circulation there is very slow. That may partly be the cause. | Wherever the tubercle bacillus does settle I deSniie change* or morbid processes take j place. j

SHAMPOO FOR CHILD'S HAIR. Hair dressings for the little girl between the ages of four and fourteen has become aa art. Tightly plastered locks and "inched pictaiiS belong to the child of the part. Miss" Up-to-date has her face set in the softest frame of fluffy tresses, and her moiher has no small task to keep them brieht and glossy. 'When a child's scalp is* healthy the hair should "be washed once a week with pcre castile soap and lukewarm water. This gives it the loose, flafy"look that is so essential The best arid quickest method of shampooing is to share a. small piece of tha soap into very hot water and allow it to become thoroaghly dissolved. Temper the water gradually" until it dees not Dnrn the back of the wrist. Then, with the aid of a soft nail-fcresh, which is kept expressly for the prarpoce. it is, only a matter* of five or ten nitrates' work for a. mother to cleanse the scalp and hair. -Whatever the age of a ch3d, this sisipla shamjoo is most effectual Can sscsld la taken, however, that tits hair and L scat> are thoroughly dried, -using plenty dry towels and fanning vigorously at tl* end. To prevent any danger of colds, many mothers wash a child's head just before putting her to bed SL'onld the saalo show cgas cf (Jaadrnff or if ft is natnrally dry, a. reliaJtls, tonic should Bo applied regu- » larly and the weekly shampoo continued as Borax or ammonia should b« :av?Eied in tissa freqaect washing* as they drv cat natural secretions. As simple as tins shampooing process may seem, it is unquestionable the secret of the pretty hair of the little girl of to-day and lays tie foundation for bcantiful teeaes ■when ale grows to womanhood. INFECTIOUSNESS OF COLDS.

The crusade now being undertaken against tuberculosis has dearly brought to the minds of every one that the only intelligent treatment of the disease is by means of .pore fresh air and a good diet In all part 3 of the world, sanatorium!, conducted on these principles, are scringing up. Bat, after all, it should be remembered, if proper care is taken of children, when young, and if their bringing «p is carried out more with a view of hardening them, and thus rendering them proof against the übiquitous microbe, the need of eanatoriuma would be much less than is at present the case. It i 3 a fact, both instructive and pertinent, thai! in many of the coldest portions of the globe colds are unknown. Hansen and his men, when in the Arctic regions, although they u.:ctrvent exposure of every description, never once suffered from colds, but no sooce* had they set foot on their native shore of Norway thin they, one and all. caught severe colds. The experience of ether Arctic explorers is the same. It teems, then, probable that there may be something in the theory of the infectiousness of colds, and that we shall have to give up oar traditional belief to the contrary, however much we may have treasured it. If the infection theory be the true one, and if it be frankly accepted, a radical change in the methods of treating colds must necessarily follow. If exposure is not the direct cause, but merely acts by so •lowering the vitality that the germs can gain an easy footinj, the radical treatment must be built up and harden the constitution in such a manner that it will refuse to harlcar the seeds cf disease. Mothers and nurse 3 are too much afraid of fresh air and ventilation, but when they understand that the hot-house plan of rearing children will produce a nation of weakly, delicate individuals, susceptible to every complaint that is about, they ▼ill doubtless see the error of their ways. DIET 15 ASTHMA.

Asthma has hnz been regarded as one j of the moss diffi :ult diseases to cure, or | even to treat satisfactorily at all. It is j therefore of great general interest to find , it described by i modern physician as alaxst entirely'a disease of improper feed- j ing, treatable," and in a large proportion of, cases curable, by ittention to the diet and general mod* of life. Dr. James Adam - has for seventeen years based his treat- ■ nient of asthma m his theory that it is , essentially a "tc'.emia"' that is a pois-, oning of "the srst?in by waste products of . the body. Of tb"ee hundred and ninety cases so' treated during this period, about , seventy per cent can Be fairly reckoned as j oared or nearly so. Dr. Adam classes his , cases into two divisions, one of them beini what he calls " week-end asthma." i Wis occurs mostly in the working-class , patients, the attacks tending to appear at tie week-end. and being clearly associated ! with the ove'rfe'din.* and under eierci** ' of the This relation of the week-end to illness is not confined to ■ asthma or to man. horses are liable to I limilar illness, known as ' Monday mom I ing disease." The second class of case*' is usually associated with eczema, and j both are'due <o faulty habits of life. This > ( t«3 of case often Wins in childhood ! with what is supposed to be recurrent' ' bronchitis. but is ultimately recognised as i asthma. The patient may be quite grown- •'" up before he realises that he has had | |; asthma at all Both the eczema and the I I ,«thjsa are due largely to coddling, to | : .Confinement, and to over- feeding, chiefly I with milk and milk puddings. When these ■•. ; conditions are altered immediate improve ..> |iaent shows itself, leading to ultimate ■-,- j**e. • Examination of cases of asthma' ■■•;-'",:feoaj all over the world with the condi j :■_■> ,-tL«3 under which theT have arisen leads . ..;. *° the conclusion that asthma tends to 1 j'FP«ar when the life is" spent indoors. ; :.:.;''-; \ 1 *' there is over-crowding, where the | •'•ri'Jy" consist* chiefly of starchy "c.-irlvihv '; date" foods, and'where milk is drunk in :,r : Jtotity. The point r*2ardin: the milk ,:£-.jH,',tttremelv interest*": " : P" ,lm • •tiles, ';i«rhnji .-i •• V ■ r»l when is-IV rnv •r V .' •. - ' ■'■'■