MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18275, 16 December 1922, Page 3 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

SHOES THAT PINCH.

Considerable distress is caused by shoes that pinch. To remedy tbis take a piece of clotb which has been dipped in hot water and wrung out. Place it over that part of the shoe which catises the discomfort, and the heat will cause the leath-er to expand, ensuring immediate relief. Patent leather shoes are always much more liable to pinch than other kinds, and the fear of cracking the patent prevents the owner from having them stretched. A very simple remedy is to rub the shoes with vinegar. Shoe makers alway» steep patent leather in vinegar to prevent it cracking, and even when the shoes have been made up a good rub with vinegar will soften them and help to fit them to the feei. Nor does the treatment injure in any ' vay; in "*fact, a little vinegar mixed with ordinary shoe polish gives a more brilliant shine.

INDIGESTION. Persistent indigestion, whether accompanied by pain or not, is not a condition to be "put up with." In the majority of cases, it should .not and need not occur. Yet a great number of people are apparently so indifferent to their health, or so lazy, that they come to regard as their normal condition persistently _ recurrent attacks of indigestion, billiousness, lack of appetite, discomfort, after eating, headache., low spirits, lack of energy, and so on, which are the common and familiar accompaniments of chronic indigestion. Indigestion is also one of the symptoms of nervous debility. This is not to be wondered at. For, after all, the stomach and intestines are only part of the whole organism, and are so closely related to and dependent upon the other organs and processes of the body, that weakness or inefficiency on the part of one is apt to affect them all. Thus worry or anxiety may result in indigestion without the sufferer connecting cause and effect at all.

Treatment for Indigestion. The common resort of the dyspeptic to the pill is a habit that should be discouraged from the beginning. Pills, whatever may be the reason for which they are taken, should always he looked upon as purely emergency measures, never as cure-alls. Constipation is, of course, a serious menace to health and well-being, but dependence upon pills and purges constitutes a trust that is apt to be very seriously betrayed. The first measures to take, whether the object be the cure of indigestion or the removal of constipation, must be general in their application and scope. Both the diet and habits of life should be looked into. The food itself should be plain but nourishing, mixed in nature and sufficient in bulk to keep the digestive machinery exercised. Many dyspeptics allow their feeble appetites to master them and out down their supply of food to such an extent that neither stomach nor intestines are sufficiently interested or stimulated by it to do their work.

[ Taste is an important consideration. Therefore always consult it, and eat for preference those things for which you havo a preference. Mastication is not a waste of time. It serves two purposes, both of them important to sou<nd digestion. It grinds up the food and renders it easily accessible to the digestive juices, the first of which _is saliva. It also gives the stomach warning that food is on the way and thus gets the whole process of digestion working smoothly and in order. Therefore,_ see that your teeth are able to do what is demanded of them. The regular, systematic and satisfactory elimination of waste products is the third important point to remember. This can only he brought about if the eliminatory agents of the body are given a chance to do their work properly. Natural measures should always take precedence over artificial. Therefore, include in the diet plenty of green vegetaole3, fruit, both fresh and stewed, brown bread, porridge, and similar bulk producers, which give the intestines something to work upon. And drink plenty of water between meals. Exercise, regular walking exercise out of doors, is one of the finest natural aids to appetite, digestion and satisfactory elimination.