WORK AND FATIGUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18077, 29 April 1922, Page 11

WORK AND FATIGUE.

CONDEMNATION OF TONICS. HINTS TO THE RUN-DOWN. VALUE OF WOOD-SAWING. [ibom otra own cobbespondent.] LONDON. March 14. A lecture on " Work, Fatigue, and i Rest," delivered by Dr. Edred M. Corner j I (St. Thomas' Hospital specialist), was i i illustrated by numerous slides, showing > that by means of the microscope, research > students in America had learned someI thing about fatigue and energy. Their j 1 investigations seemed to show that per--1 i sons suffering in any way—run down in ! ' I mind or in body, suffering from over-in-diligence in work or of emotion—were all [ I suffering from the same thing. Any work ! done or any great emotion, meant the 1 expenditure of a certain amount of energy. ; . Energy could never be destroyed, so in- j ' vestigators had to look for the results , i of work, fatigue, and energy in the • changes taking place of various organs I - that go to form the human body. Re- I search had been going on to see how i ' energy could be restored with a renewal ! i of power and vigour. The object oouid , i be compared with a gun which, before ; , use, was loaded, and when its work was •; done, the charge was no longer them 1| Before work the organs wero charged ■ | with the necessary material; after it, it i j was practically all expended. I The microscope brought to light certain j I peculiar conditions of the various tissues ' 1 by which an organ could be recognised i when at its fullest capacity for work, or i 1 ; later, when its energies were exhausted, j ; I The greater the work the slower the re- ! ' covery of the organ to its normal condi- , j tion, until there came a point beyond ■ which there was no recovery. That stage ' meant death. Dr. Corner described m--1 vestigations which had been carried out, j in America, known as " Crile's Kinetic ' system." These experiments, which • would not be allowed in England, had i ! shown that when a person was subjected ; f j to excessive fatigue, great mental stress, ' I shock or other emotion, certain definite ' I changes took place in the cells of the j ■ ! brain and glands. The Americans had ex- , 1 ! amined the brains of birds early in the j • j morning before they had started their I ' j day's search for food, and discovered that | ' the cells of this organ were then charged with matter, which, when the body be- J ' came tired, was dissipated. The photo--1 graphs clearly showed that when the ob- j 1 ject was prepared for work, the energy- ! ' providing material was stained well on the ' ' j film; when . used up the staining was j ' ! often so faint as to be practically in- j ' j visible. 1 Sea Air Not Always Advisable, j >) The microscope further served to reI move many popular Tusconcepticns regarding iie nature of rest. Persons suffering from memal exhaustion, for instance, J were frequently advised by well-meaning j ' friends to take- a holiday. Unfortunately, l however, a holiday usually meant a change ! , of wo'«k at the seaside. That was good ; j enough, perhaps, for those not too much j ' | run down physically, and, besides, bodily \ \ work might tend to let the brain lie '' fallow and at rest, thus conducing to the j complete restoration of health. Work of I ' j any kind required exertion, and sea air | {j had usually a stimulating effect—thus ■ using up the reserve vitality of the j patient. Consequently, to a person alJ! ready debilitated in body or exhausted in r ; mind ouch palliatives might do mace i i harm than (rood. What was required j was absolute rest, and plenty of sleep, II with a sufficiency of good, nourishing j food of a character that might readily 3 be assimilated by » person in a run-down condition. Instead of being subjected to i stimulating sea air, it would be advisable in many cases for the patient to select a 9 neighbourhood, preferably an inland, r j wooded district, with quiet, peaceful surI j roundings, where a regular routine of II life, with appropriate medical treatment, s i might lead rapidly to the complete restoa; ration of health. Dr. Corner recom- -! mended wood-sawing for people with t j brain worries and for those troubled with 11 insomnia. Mr. Gladstone and the Kaiser, , | both men in high position suffering from r stress and strain, found relief in that pas--8 time, and personally ho had found it to • be of the greatest help to many patients. 8 d Importance of Nourishing Food. The body must be built up by means of foods, and here it was that women's work largely came in, for they had to fc adapt themselves to the means of the • i patient. Tonics he likened to the 3pur " ; to the horse — just a temporary ffiip; t i tonics will help for a bit, hut their effect " ] is not lasting, and people when run-down •" i often took to stimulants, feeling they were 1 ; able better to do their work. Not rflfre--8 j quently they took alcohol, which had" a ' '< stimulating effect for a time—again just o! lika the spur to the horse. ? " When a person becomes worked out, run down, or depressed, either from bodily I exertion or the stress of daily life," Dr. Corner said, 'the reaction is due to acid \ in the system. An antidote to acid is s an alkaline, such as bicarbonate of soda. B The amount of this to be given depends t on the patient, and should be gauged by the way he reacts when treated. The . old-fashioned medicines for patients suffern ing in this way gave them, figuratively sneakina, a clout on the side of the head, o They mipfct often "benefit by having their e i self stimulated, but we must reae Use that there are definite bodily changes is which have to be met. Care should he •- taken in the vegetables given to ths .- patients. "Many, snch as rhubarb, contai.i i acids which micht be deleterious.'' H<» recommanded the onion as a " very much neglected and very excellent vegetable." The Use of Anaesthetics.

On the subject of operations, he said that the use of gas was slowly coming in again in this country, and would in time suTinlant the anaesthetic. Gas—the ordinarv nitrous oxide used by dentists— was practically harmless, while anaesthetics were far' from being so, the slides allowing the comparative condition of certain orpins after the patient had been for several hoars under nitrous gas and ether respectively. In the former case there was far less of the material of the pland used uv than in the latter, and so the oatient had a far better chance of recovery. Later, a. questioner asked if the lecturer recommended neither tonic nor alcohol, what did he advise a patient to take if he felt he required some stimulant. The answer was, "Well, many people have pot on vary well with tea, coffee, and \s for onionß, the audience was told that this useful vegetable was composed of somethinp like 100 constituent parts, and therefore it did not suit everyone. But for t,ho3e who could take it it was excellent and contained many valuable properties.