DOMESTIC HYGIENE.

New Zealand Mail, 3 September 1902, Page 27

DOMESTIC HYGIENE.

I Influence of Singing on the Lungs.— According to Dr Rush, in the experience of a long life, ho had never knor.ua a singing schoolmaster, an auction crier, a watchman who called the hours of the night, or an oyster-man who cried ki3 commodity through the streets, to be attackeu oy pulmonary consumption. The , influence of decalmation by the seashore, amidst the roar of the surf, in strengthening the lungs of Demosthenes, might be cited as testifying to the same I effect.

Hints to sufferers from' oramp.—Dr Hare states that this troublesome companion may be kept at a distance by tilting the bed, so that the feet and legs should be in a slightly depending position. The modus operandi was the keeping more blood in the legs. Accidents to the ear.—lu case of very little insects getting into the car, they will be immediately. killed by a few drops of olive oil poured into the oar. If a child, put a seed, a little pebble, or any small body of that nature, into the ear, it may often bo extracted by syringing the passage strongly with warm water for some time.

Dampness in beds.—To detect dampness, first have the bed well warmed with a warming-pan, then the moment the pan is taken out, introduce between tho sheets an inverted irlass tumbler. After it lias remained there a few minutes, withdraw it. If the glass be found dry, you may go to bed without any apprehension of cl ill or rheumatism. if the glass is covered with drops of wet or damp steam, the safest plan is to take off the sheets and sleep between the blankets, as a second -pair would probably be no better than the first.

Cautions in boat accidents.—lf upset in a boat, or in any way precipitated into the water, without being able to swim, draw in the breath, keep the mouth as well shut as possible, and do not throw about your arms. Endeavouring to hold your head up yield yoursel fto the buoyant powers of the water, and stretch out your hands, but only below, not above, the surface. Remember that the less you expose yourself above the surface, the better you are buoyed up. Many persons are drowned merely from struggling and throwing un their hands.

IV lion spectacles may be really required.—When we are obliged to remove small objects to a considerable distance from tho eye in order to see them distinctly. If on looking at, and attentively considering a near object, it fatigues the eye and becomes confused, or if it appears to have a kind of dimness or mist before it. When small printed letters are seen to run into each other, and hence, by looking steadily on them, appear double or treble. If tho eyes are fatigued by a little exercise that wo are obliged to shut them from time to time, so as to relieve them by looking at different objects. When all these circumstances occur, or any of them separately takes place, it will be necessary to seek assistance from glasses, which will ease the eyes, and, in some degree, check their tendency to become worse. By using a single eye-glass, applied invariably to the same eye, the sight of the latter becomes different from tho other, so that when spectacles aro adopted, a distinct focal length is necessary for each eye, otherwise inflammation will ensue. This should operato as a warning to those persons who obey a whimsical freak of fashion, rather than the dictates of common sense.

Quack medicines.—All dabbling in medicines is bad, with children as with adults. It may be laid down as a general rule, that in all cases of illness no modioino should he given without the order or sanction of a medical man. In this country people are disposed to dose themselves too much and at random. They go to tho next “chemist and druggist” for a “bottle of stuff” when they aro ill. They might as well go to a dealer in artists’ colours to have their portraits painted. There is reason for believing that a great many lives aro sacrificed by persons trusting to treatment by druggists in the earlier stages of illness. In fact, a statistical reckoning in Manchester showed that a great many children, perisli through such a custom. It is particularly necessary tliat a competent medical authority should be consulted about the maladies of children. They cannot speak, and their complaints are only to bo understood by a scientific investigation. As diseases in infancy often occur suddenly and make rapid progress, so are they capable, too, iii many cases of being suddenly cheeked. The administration of “sleeping stuffs” to infants to keep them quiet is so positively injurious that it cannot bo spoken of in too severe terms. In manufacturing towns, tho extent to which this poison extends is frightful. Opium is the basis of quieting medicines.