HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 84

HEALTH COLUMN.

Bronchial Asthma. The- principal characteristic of bronch al asthma consists in paroxysms of shortness of breath, apparently spasmodic in nature, it is commonly associated with .moreor less bronchitis and emphysema. Men are much more liable to be attacked than are women. The disease often shows itself wit.hn the first ten years of life, but attacks usually become more frequent after the twentieth year. The actual paroxysm sets in—commonly in the email hours of the morning—with a feeling of tightness across the chest and suffocation. The patient instinctively loosens all clothing, grips some fixed object wii-k his hands, and commonly assumes a sitting position. The rate of breathing is usually rot increased, but the individual acts of respiration are much laboured. Expiration is greatly prolonged. Soon the feat and hands become cold ami the face more or loss blue. The duration of these attacks varies very considerably. In some cases the attack lasts but a feW minutes—in other eases it may .continue for a day or more Tire attack may end either abruptly or gradually, a. cough usually setting in towards tbs close in either case. There- is at this stage more or less expectoration of mucus. In the way of treatment, it is first of all important for those who suffer from asthma to study the locality that suits them best. Different localities seem to suit different patients, but in nearly all cases tho impure air of towns agrees better with asthmatics than the pure air of the country. Dampness is almost always harmful, and should bo studiously avoided. The state of the digestion has a very marked effect on the frequency of the paroxysm. Great care therefore should be taken to maintain the digestion in full vigour. The bowels should be kept freely open, and indigestible articles of food should be avoided,. It is frequently found that a vegetarian diet agrees better than one in which meat figures largely. Smoking is often found of great assistance in warding off attacks. When an attack is actually threatening it is wise at once to take a strong aperient* to drink strong coffee, and to smoko tobacco with or without stramonium. When the paroxysm has actually commenced it is wise to loosen all clothing, so- as to interfere as little as may be with the breathing. If an aperient has not already been taken it should now bo given. The vapour from burning nitre paper (that is, .paper which has been soaked in a strong solution of saltpetre and then dried), or any of the special powders prepared for the purpose, should be inhaled. A useful powder is the following:—Half an ounce of powdered stramonium, two drachms of powdered aniseed, two drachms of saltpetre, and five grains of powdered tobacco. Before ami After. The maxim is that alcohol has two effects —first, tire effect of stimulation ; and secondly, tire after-effect of depression. Tho best Way to find out the effect of a drug is to take it or to watch somebody else who has taken it. Fpr instance, exKHwnnmras

well. Stimulated by the alcohol he insu bibee, be is wiling’ to sing a song, to make a speech, or to fight a whole regimentone down, t’other come on. His energies arc supreme, and thooigh, perhaps, a feebleminded creature in reality, he wants > perforin feats of valour. All this is stage one. Now for stage two. Coma with me (writes “A Family Doctor” in an English paper) and) visit him the next morning; the whole p ; cture is changed. Remember we are witnessing a scientific experiment, and studying the effect of a drug called alcohol on the human system'. Well, wo find that his pulse, instead of being full and bounding, is weak and slow; his face, instead of being flushed, is pale; bis eye, instead of being bright, is dull and fishy ; his mental activities, instead of being abnormally brilliant, arc reduced to zero; his appetite, which was hearty only yesterday, is now nil. This condition is in the main due to the alcohol, because his friends, who sat up just, as late and l partook of the same food without drinking to excess, are not in such a parlous state. It is all a question of action and reaction. If you earn a pound a week, and one week spend two pounds, borrowing a pound for the week to come, you will have a grand time during the first week and find yourself terribly poor in the second.

Prevention of Colds. The common cold is almost as great a scourge to the inhabitants of New Zealand as the touch of fever to the tropical resident. The multitude of remedies, domestic, medical, and proprietary, ranging from blackberry tea and' a tallow candle to opium and smelling salts and nasal sprays, is a proof that no really effectual remedy is known. On the sound principle that prevention is better than cure, many people, the British Medical Journal observes, have endeavoured to harden them solves against catching cold, and the hatless brigade claim that they are' immune to coldls in the head, or at least much less susceptible than the generality. The us© of the morning cold tub is praised for the same reason, and there are people who regard the wearing of a greatcoat in winter as a direct inducement to the microbes to work their evil will. There is no reason why robust adults should not follow their beliefs and inclinations in this matter, but for adults who are not, robust and for. children the hardening process is not free from risk. Upon this point Dr A. Kuhn recently published some judicious observations in a paper on the prevention of colds. He seems to think that a cold is not usually caught from another person, but that a chill affords to microbes already in the nose, throat, and mouth the condition favourable to their activity. In dealing with plans for hardening the body to resist the noxious influences of cold, he utters a word of warning against exaggeration. The body must be kept warm, and .this is particularly true in the case of children. He does not approve of cold-water hardening for very young childretu, but advises the gradual resort to cold bathing at a later age. Throughout his articles he preaches moderation, and advises the use of cold water, fresh air, exercise in the open- air, and so on, in such measure as the individual can easily tolerate without feeling discomfort. Eye Troubles. The effects of certain errors of refraction in the eyes are often mistaken, for the symptoms of migraine, or even ordinary biliousness. Headache, nausea, and actual vomiting are often due to this cause, and until the error is corrected by the use of proper glasses no amount of treatment will relieve the unpleasant symptoms. In the same way a person who has only just begun to wear glasses for the correction of such an error of vision will often complain that the wearing of the glasses itself causes the nausea and vomiting. These symptoms may become so marked as to lead to the discontinuance of the glasses. It will be found, however, that if the wearing of the glasses is persisted in till the eyes and the brain are accustomed to them, the symptoms will disappear, and the improvement in the sight and general health will be undoubted. It is always well, in cases of persistent vomiting, nausea, and headache. to have the eyes exam modi before attributing, as is often done, all the trouble to' neurasthenia or hysteria. Very many of the nervous diseases so prevalent in modern life are directly traceable to eye strain, and this cause is worthy of more serious consideration than it 'usually receives in cases of nervous affections. Heading* at Meals. According to the Family Doctor, the habit of reading at meals is to be condemned. and more particularly when it has grown to one of actual study, and when the reader endeavours to gain knowledge and to save time at his meals. The solitary reader, if he reads, should only read what is light and amusing. The common practice of having the morning paper at our breakfast table is not especially injurious, as it furnishes items for conversation, and does not particularly exercise the brain, but if it should' do so it is advisable to at once discontinue it. Digestion is always •best served when the mind is free from care and when the physical processes of our frames are left to discharge their work free from nervous trammels. It is on the ground of the elevation of spirits produced by cheerful association with others that pleasant company at meals has always formed a condition of social enjoyment. The stimulus to nervous activity which is thus given acts beneficially on the digestive powers, just as the man who is harassed, worried, and excited will not be likely to digest or eat a satisfactory meal.