Keeping Warm.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 68

Keeping Warm.

"It may seem a far-fetched caution to tell my patients to be- sure and keep warm when the thermometer is ranging around in tho seventies and eighties, but that is just what I find it needful to do," said ono of the most successful practitioners of the present day.

"And just here I want to say that hotwater bags and hot-water cans, if kept handy by, and used whenever there was any reasonable excuse for it, would save many a sick spell and more doctors' bills than those who never uso ihofc water can imagine. I have a patient who is, and has tor many years, been almost an invalid. Only the most painstaking care has kept her on her fec-t. She is subject to ne\iralgias and chills and a low state of vitality generally, and finds it impassible to keep warm in a quito comfortable temperature. Some years ago she had several cans made for holding hot water. They held about one- gallon each, and had screw taps to close them. - They ar© filled with hot water and kept at her feet at might or in her easy-chair during tho day. Whenever she hasi one of the chilly spells from whioh she suffers so much, she wraps herself up warmly, places ono can at her feet, and another at her side or back, amd curls herself up for a cosy nap. In almost every instance she awakens i.p refreshed and bright, and able to go on with whatever she has in hand. Before she adopted th© hot-water theory, she used to try in vain to get sleep or rest. Sht- tossed and writhed and ached with weariness ai.d exhaustion. Now the cheering warmth rfsls avid restores her, and almost immediately she falls into a sound and refreshing sleep, from whioh she awakens really benefited in mind and body. The heat draws the blood: from th© brain, equalises the circulation, and increases th© vitality. "It it on© of tho most difficult things imaginable to mako people understand the value of heat in almost all minor disorders. Whenever the system becomes what is popuuarly spoken of as "run down," there is a feeJing of chilliness which is not only exceedingly uncomfortable, but may bo the forerunner of illness. If the tomperature can be kept up to th© normal on© may assist mature to shake off disease. We ar© very far from knowing just what th© effect of medicine is on the human system. We know that it helps to remove obstructions and restores lo«t conditions, but precisely how it docs this is not as yet given to us to comprehend. "There are certain things that we know will produce certain results, and many of these are exceedingly simple, and within the reach of everyone. To keep the fcot dry and warm, the body protected from chills, and tho digestive organs moderately well supplied with nourishing food is to go a long way on the road to good health. It is not generally understood that a hot water bag applied to the stomach is a better aid to digestion than all of the dinner pills and powder* ever compounded and put upon tho market. It seems quite as litto known that a- glasf* of cold water at the end of a meal "has been tho first cause of more dyspepsia than doctors have ever cured. A littlo hot drink at meals, and a great deal of hot water in bags and cams would save untold Buffering, and keep many a person in the enjoyment of excellent health." — New York Ledger.