HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2471, 24 July 1901, Page 70

HEALTH COLUMN.

F eft? dive Sisrht.

The three defects of eyesight which are most common 1 y encountered in otherwise healthy persons, and which can be more or less perfectly overcome by means of glasses, are near-sightedne«s. far-sightedness and astigmastism. These aie all important, for besides the discomfort and annoyance of imperfect sight, the involuntary efforts which the sufferer makes to see better strain the e-yes, and not only injure them, but also give rise, through reflex action, to headaches, and various nervous disturbances. Near-sightedness, short-sightedness, or myopia, as it is vai'i'ously called, is a condition of the eyebal I—usually1 — usually a lengthening — :n consequence of which the rays of light are brought to a focus in front of the retina, and so the object is blurred. This condition may exist from birth, but is usually the result of too much and too early use of the eyes, as in the case of students, engravers, women who do fine sewing, and so forth. Thus we may say that putting children to work at some of the kindergarten exercises, such as perforating and drawing, is in a double sense a short-sighted procedure. Many near-sighted people refuse to wear glasses, preferring to deprive thmselves of sight for everything beyond, t*e nose rather than to injure their personal appearance, as they think. This is another short-sighted policy, for, besides losing much of the joy of existence, which comes from seeing the beautiful things about and above us, such persons are very liable to suffer from inflammation of the eyes, produced Vy constant strain. A less common defect is long or far-sightedness, or hypermetropia. This is the opposite of myopia, the eyeball being flattened or shortened, and the rays of light consequently not coming to a focus by the time they reach the retina. In this case, the eye often corrects the defect more or less successfully by making the crystalline lens more convex ; but it does this at the expense of the sufferer's nervous force, and so we offen find tired and congested eyes headaches, indigestion, and ever serious nervous affections. The effort to correct the vision is entirely involuntary, and can be overcome only by the fitting of suitable convex glasses. The third and nl^sfc common defect is astigmatism. In this condition there is some irregularity of the surface of the eye or of the lens, by means of ;?hich the image as it reaches the retina is distorted. Untreated astigmatism is a frequent cause of headache and other nervous disturbances. The only relief is the wearing of glasses, at least while reading, writing, or whenever near objects are looked at.

Treatment of a Sprained Ank'e — When an ankle is sprained it swells up and becimes inflamed, and the one idea that immediately presents it&elf to the average mind is "Elliman's." This is quite wrong, the first thing to do is to bathe the sprain with the hottest water that can be borne— a little boracic acid may be added to the water. After bathing for about ten minutes, a piece of lint, dipped in the hos water, may be wrapped around the sprain, arid the whole kept well warm. Keep the foot up, and repeat the bathings as often, as possible. When all the inflammation ha? gone down, then rub as vigorously as p.sfcible (be careful not to break the skin) anil for some time the ankle must be kept bundaged, as it will remain weak for months. It is more healthy to remove the bandage at night, or, anyway, to have it looser than in the daytime.

Air Baths. — Two bath«, says the newest health authorities, should be taken every morning. For no less important than the tub bath for the body is the air bath for the lungs. The directions are extremely simple. You need no apparatus, and it fakes bufc a moment's time and very little effort. Every night the lungs become filled up with impure air, and more or less poisonous gases. A person may go all day without; ridding his lungs of the^e impurities. Therefore, it is as important to bathe the lungs every jay as the body. Few people knowt how to breathe correctly. The lungs ara not filled by merely expanding the upper portions of the chest and raising the shoulders. The entire front of the chest should be forced out as one inhales. There are ffl number of exercises for expanding the) chest which you can practise in your room as well as. in a gymnasium. A doorway will serve as well as the most complicated gymnasium apparatus. A narrow doorway, is preferred. Stand directly under the frame and place the hands flat on the doorcasing, the tips of the fingers coming aft the height of the shoulders. Walk through! the door without removing the hands until you are arms-length away. This draws back the shoulders and brings the important chest muscles into play. Try this for* 15 minutes every night and morning. It will help tc wake you up when you rise and help you to get tc sleep quickly whea you go to bed. — London Leader,.