HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 48

HEALTH COLUMN.

Some Fugitive Notes.

Cold Baths.— Most medical men coo» aider that a cold bath ©very morning is apt to do more harm than good to any but persons of a very vigorous constitution. The Benaible.tbing to do is to see that the temperature of the water in oold weather is nofc lower than that of the air. A daily bath is most healthful, but it should not be so cold as to give a shock to the system. What to Eat. — " A man should not be too thoughtful for his health when he ia satisfying his hunger. Everything agrees with you until it has disagreed with yon."* The malade imaginaire, who creates dyspepsia for himself out of nervous fancies about his food, should take the above counsel to heart. Whilst dishes are usually wholesome to the eater who takes their wholesomeness for granted, tbe best fare ii apt to avenge itsslf on tbe man who regards it with suspicion. Enjoyment is impossible at tha dinner table without proper confidence in the caterer and cook, and the man with a mischievous habit of mistrusting them hat travelled some way on the road that leads to hypochondria. For Bruises.— The jammed finger should be plunged iuto water as hot as can possibly be borne. The application •of hot water causes the nail to expand and «often, and the blood pouring out beneath ib has more room to flow ; thus the pain is lessened. The finger should be wrapped in a bread and water poultice. A jammed finger should' never be neglected, as it may lead to mortificition of hone. Celery fob Rheumatism —It is asserted that rheumatism is impossible if celery be cooked and freely eaten. Tbe fact that it is almost always put on tbe table raw, we are told, prevents its therapeutic powers from becoming known. The celery, it is further eaid, should be cub into bits, boiled in water until sofr, and the water drunk by tha patient. Put new milk, with a little flour and nutmeg, into a saucepan with the boiled celery, serve with warm pieces 'of toast, eat it with potatoes, and the painful ailment will soon yield. Sach is the declaration of a physician who has again and again tried the experiment, and with asiform success. He adds that oold or damp never produces, bat simply develops the disease, of which acid ! blood is tbe primary and sustaining oau«e, and tbat while the blood i« alkaline there can be neither rheumatism nor gour. Something in the Eaji. — A bead, button, or pebtile can be removed from the ear by the cbild lying with thafc ear on the pillow and the upper ear being boxed sharply, or by syringing with warm water, an ordinary glass syringe answering tbe purpose. A pea or bean, or' anything likely to swell, must nob be removed by means of warm water. Insert instead the nib of an ordinary pen behind the foreign substance, and so remove it, taking great precaution, however, not to insert the nib too far down, as it may injure tbe drum' of the ear, and also exercising care that you do not push the obstacle further in while endeavourirg to get ib out. Remove a moth or other insect from the ear by pouring in a little warm oil, and the insect will float to the top. The Onion.— One of the healthiest: vegetables, if not the healthiest, is tbe onion ; yet, straDge to say, but few people use it as liberally as they should. Boiled onions, used frequently in a family of children, will ward off many of the diseases to which the little oneß are subject. The principal objection to the Dromiscuous use of this vegetable is tbat the odour exhaled after eating it is so offensive. A cup of strong coffee tak*n immediately after eating is claimed to be excellent in counteracting this effect. Although for a day or so after eating onions the breath may have a disagreeable odour, yet after this time it will be much sweeter than before.