HEALTH NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21446, 22 September 1931, Page 10

HEALTH NOTES

Written for the Otago Daily Times, By 11. J. Terry.

A number of correspondents made in> quiries respecting the prevention and cure of colds. I shall endeavour to group the queries together and at the same time make the advice generally helpful to readers. To be quite candid, medical men and research workers generally do not understand colds, their cause, and cure to any great extent. Colds are supposed to be communicated from one person to another by bacteria. Bacteria, by the way, may bo described in simple language as a low form of plant life. But if colds were due solely to the intake of bacteria then the bacteria even of influenza must vary considerably. At one season influenza will be chiefly pneumonic in type, in another year gastric, and in still another the visitation may he chiefly bronchial. As we have such little knowledge of these bacteria it is common sense to study the conditions in our own bodies which will he the host of the bacteria. We all inhale the bacteria if wo come in contact with it, and, if we inhale sufficient numbers, the influenza or a cold will develop more or less, according to the amount of available food our systems will supply to 'the bacteria, and it has to be remembered that this food supply is waste matter; not the substance with which we build or replace our healthy tissue. If the waste matter is in abundance, then the bacteria reproduces itself in millions or billions, manufactures its own particular toxin or poison, and so we have the trouble in an acute form. On the other hand, if there is only a small amount of waste, the bacteria is starved out iu two or three days, it fails to reproduce itself, and the trouble is over, except that for a few days one suffers from the aftereffects of the poison manufactured by flic bacteria whilst it was living its life and reproducing. That is the reason why in severe epidemics of influenza the apparently robust often dies whilst the thinner wiry person recovers in a comparatively short time.

If yon watch a child you can often grasp Mother Nature’s ideas or laws more easily than by watching an adult. Imagine a child who is bright spirited and fond of play quite content to bn outside for the bulk of the day. Such a child one day finds as big and comfortable chair as possible, sits quietly and does not want to go out and play. You will notice that if the chair is in a draught the child will soon remove to another position. On ordinary days this draught would never have caused any trouble to the child. Mother’s quite good intention may be to endeavour to drive the child outside if it is not raining, but Mother Nature is teaching the child that she should conserve her energy and heat for the coming battle. Thou a meal time comes round and the child shows a disinclination to take food. This alarms the

parent somewhat and the child is coaxed or forced to eat the meal. She may be tempted with some special dish and few children can resist their pet dish. The child may even express a wish to lie down. Therefore, if you have the idea that there is a cold developing, do what a child or an animal does —find a sheltered spot out of draughts or wind, as warm as possible, in other words a bed, which gives you sheltered warmth and at the same time enforces rest. Under these conditions there is simply a burning up of excess waste matter until the bacteria is starved out. On the other hand, if you use up energy by continuing to work and to battle against cold winds and wet, your immunity and the policement of your bloodstream will be tired before the real battle starts, and the battle is then a big one because the bacteria has been developing in countless numbers whilst you endeavoured to fight the symptoms with which Mother Nature was endeavouring to impress you. Also remember that the child, if it were not influenced, would either refuse its meals or cat less. You do the same. There is a strain on your system whilst you are digesting food. It is not the meal that you arc digesting that gives you sustenance, but those meals you ate on previous days. Your system requires all its energy to fight bacteria, and by abstaining from food you are cutting off the supply of waste from the bacteria, Drink hot water because it is cleansing. If you think you will die if you starve for a couple of days, you may add some orange juice to the hot water. A week ago I thought it possible that I might be getting influenza, and I decided, therefore, that as a safeguard I would only have water and some orange juice for three days. Therefore the bacteria which came along would have little or nothing to feed, on, and, although I may have lost three or four pounds in weight, I have certainly gained in a general feeling of well being.

It has to be remembered that anything which lowers the immunity from disease—in other words, your energy—is favourable for the development of colds. Therefore let us use a little common sense. If you have been out in the wet all day, or come home feeling chilly and miserable generally and there is an opportunity to take off your clothes and give yourself a good baking in the dry heat in front of a lire or stove, do so. But be sure that the clothes you put on again are dry and warm, and keep in a reasonably warm place for a little while. If you cannot do this, have a good baking or, failing that, a hot bath before going to bed. Don’t overdo the hot bath. You want the effect of the hot bath to pass away within somewhere round an hour after you are in bed so that you are naturally dry and cool well before your rising time in the morn-

There are times when it is common sense to take a stimulant or tonic and so avoid a cold. The tonic may even be alcohol, but there is a right time to take it. If you have been working hard

all day and feel chilly a few minutes after knocking off, possibly your underclothes are slightly damp with perspiration. Don’t go to an hotel and have three or four whiskies or rum, which will drive your blood to the surface for the time being and give you a feeling of warmth, and then sit in the cold tram for 20 minutes or half an hour. Take the stimulant home with you, and then go to bed after taking it, but don’t take it in sufficient quantity to • make you perspire freely unless you are staying in bed all the next day. You want a reaction only. If you wish to do the really correct thing walk home that night instead of taking a tram. We will suppose the walk will take you half an hour. Then walk very fast for the first 10 minutes or until you develop a plentiful glow all over your body, then gradually slacken down until you arrive home cooled off but not chilly. Alcohol is not absolutely necessary. With some individuals hot lemon drink has a stimulating effect as alcohol has with another person; with others again, hot milk or a good stew of onions cooked in very little water and eaten as hot as possible. The idea that you should bear in mind is to reverse for at least a time the insidious chilliness which is really Nature’s warning to you to go somewhere and get warm. A hot cinnamon drink is very efficient, and is liked by children. If the cinnamon is not in the house and you have a pot of blackberry, or, better still, blackcurrant jam, stir a few spoonsful into a glass of hot water.