HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 62

HEALTH COLUMN.

Treatment of Consumption. The present movement among sanitarians and philanthropists looking to the multiplication of institutions for the treatment of consumntives will doubtless be productive of much good indirectly by diffusing sanitary knowledge throughout the community. At the best, sanatoria and special hospitals can accommodate only a small proportion of those needing treatment, and the great majority of consumptives must continue as now to be treated at home. This can be done much more efficiently than is generally believed, for the principles of sanatorium treatment can often be a,pplied without much difficulty to the management of individual patients in their own houses. These principles are cleanliness, good air, good food, and a quiet mind. Of course, medicinal treatment is necessary. We speak only of what the patient himself can dr to aid in his own restoration and to protect other inmates of the house from infection. The chief source Oi clanger to those living with a consumptive lies m the expectorated matter, and the patient's chief care should be to see that this danger is minimised. He should never expectorate anywhere but in a spitoor partly filled with a strong car-bolic-acid .solution, in a specially constructed pocket flask, winch can be bought of surgical instrument makers, or in a paper handkerchief, which can be burnt after use. The handkerchief pocket should be lined with oil-silk or rubber cloth, which can be ■washed out once or tw i(-e a day with a strong antiseptic solution. The patient should be very scrupulous in washing his hands frequently, especially before eating, as there is danger to himself of infecting the food, and so causing the more serious condition of consumption of the bowels. The next thing in the home treatment of consumption is fresh rur. The patient should spend most of his time out of doors in winter as well as in summer. A movable wooden screen can be made A\hich will shelter him from the wind while he lies well wrapped up, in a reclining chair, in the open air. In the cit,y the patient can usually avail himself of the roof for his d?ily airing. On stormy days he must perforce stay indoors, and then he should sit or recline as near as possible to an open window. The bedroom w indow should never be closed, day or night, a screen .being used to keep the air from blowing directly upon the patient. 'Hie 100 m <hould be large and sunny, should not be o\erheated, and should be baie of all unnecessary upholstery r.nd without a caip°t, although a few rugs mty be allowed. It is better for a con'umptive to <-leen alone in the loom, and in t-ny ca che <-hou n d never hive a bedfellow . Ihe diet should be mo>t nourishing, and •\3^o pleading to tho palate Finally, a quiet mind is most ncces-..uy to the success of home luvtmeii*". '(lie p. it. cut should be ted to look foi v aid Vi ith confidence to an auKli_ui.iUuii ol Lib lvi, "while he. d.e,YQte» his

energies to a faithful compliance ■with all his physician's injunctions. An Old Nurse's Advice About Cold Feet. "Keep your children's feet warm and dry, and you need not fear, 1 ' was one of old nurse's golden maxims. To secure tlrs plenty of change in stockings, boots, and shoes is necessary, and when young children go to school they should take or keep shoes with them. If a baby cries persistently, and apparently -without reason, rubbing its little feet and holding them to the fire will often comfort it and stop the crying. If a child has cold feet at bedtime, and especially if it has a flushed face, plunge them in almost cold water and rub briskly with a rough towel, and let it wear light woollen night socks which are often washed. Tight boots often cause cold feet, and for that reason and the development of shape of foot it is most important to see often that boots and shoes are "not overgrown and cramping the foot, although it may seem extravagant to have to disuse them. Home Treatment of Sciatica and Lumbago^—Sciatica especially Ls troublesome to cure, but no pains should be lost in trying to do so, as the longer it is allowed to go on the harder it is to cure. First of ail, in. both cases avoid all damp and chills, be very careful to air all clothes well, and do not sit in draughts or in cold places unless well wrapped up. It is advisable to wear woollen underclothing all through the year, and be specially careful, when you put on evening dress, not to take a chill. For lumbago there is no nich good treatment as to place a layer of pine-oil woo l ., vhich you can get from any chemist, just over the place where the pain is worst. For ; ooth maladies Turkish baths are good. At home the best thing you can do is to take hot baths, with common salt or soda in them. If the sciatica comes on very badly in bed, probably you had better take potassium iodide, but you should not do this without a medical man's advice. Spots on the Skin.— lhese very disfiguring and troublesome little plagues are of many kinds, but they always mean that the digestion is more or less out of order, so the first thing is to be careful about diet, and take some suitable alterative medicine, such as saline, magnesia, or sulphur. Avoid rich soups, shellfish, and do not eat much meat, especially fat meat, or highly-sea-soned hashes ; also pastry and rich entrees, and salt ha,m and bacon. Live out of doors as much as you can, take plenty of exercise, and also a glass of hot water first thing in the morning, after mid-day mea-l, and last thing at night. Have Turkish baths or warm baths with a little carbonate of soda dissolved in the water.', and use plenty of friction in drying yourself, so as to promote free and healthy action of skin. "Spots"' generally result from stopped-up pores. White precipitate ointment will .always stop a spot developing if put on in good time, and a lotion made of equal parts of powdered boracic acid, eau de Cologne, and ammonia is a very good thing to apply alter bathing.