HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3244, 17 May 1916, Page 73

HEALTH COLUMN.

HOW TO PREVENT CONSUMPTION Consumption in one or other of its forms still accounts for 10 per cent, of all deaths among children under 15 years of age, and one-third of all deaths between the age of 20 and 40. (I, of course, am talking of ordinary times, not war time.) It is obvious, therefore, that consumption is far and away the principal enemy of young human life. That the old should die seems to us in the very nature of' things, and therefore those diseases which affect principally men and women past middle age seem less tragic in their results. The question at once suggests itself: Is consumption also in the very nature of things, or can it be defeated by human effort and human intelligence? Some people, who pride themselves more on their hard thinking than on their tender sentiment, have argued that consumption is to be numbered among the beneficent gifts of Nature to mankind. They argue that it serves as an effective instrument for clearing out the weaklings, who otherwise might survive and hand on their physical degeneracy to generations yet unborn. Even were the notion at the back of this argument true, I hope that the majority of people will never become much the slaves of a heartless logic as deliberately to stand aside and refuse to save life because of a scientific theory. But it is by no means true that, even from the point of heartless science, the is sound. For, in the first place, consumption attacks not only the weak and degenerate, but often those whose stock, mental and physical, it is in the interests of the race most desirable to perpetuate. In the second place, the disease rjroves most commonly fatal at an age when the continuity of the stock has had every opportunity of being maintained. And in the third place, consumption undoubtedly has a deteriorating effect on the race by the weakening effect it his on those numberless individuals whom it attacks, but does not kill. Protective Measures.— We may take it, therefore, that it is desirable, as well for the race as for the individual, to do what we can towards stamping out this disease, or, at anv rate, towards diminishing its ill-effects. r*ow, as most of my readers know, consumption is in a direct sense caused by the multiplication and activities within the body of a particular germ called the tubercle bacillus. In almost all places occupied by man this germs exists, so that it is almost impossible to avoid the possibility of infection. Indeed, the majority of all persons are infected with tuberculosis before they reach the age of 12 years. The greater number of people so infected never display any serious symptoms, and, by reason of the weakness of the infection, or throu-gh their resisting power to this particular disease, the tubercle bacilli are sooner or later overcome. Our protective measures, therefore, must aim at two things. First, they must aim at reducing the possibility of infection to a minimum, and, secondly, they should aim at increasing the resisting power of the individual. By investigating an enormous number of cases of consumption, it has been found that the disease is much more common and much more fatal under certain conditions, occupation, living, and habits. It is found to be commoner among the very poor, both in town and country. _ Where there is no lack of food and suitable clothing it is found to bo much commoner among those who lead sedentaryj indoor lives than amonp those who lead active, ouidoor lives. Other things being _ equal, it is more common among the intemperate than among the temperate. Very briefly, so far as choice lies in Gur power, we should avoid closo and ill-ventilated rooms, and dust and dirt in every room; we should take little or no alcohol; wo should spend three or four hours a day taking exercise or working in the open air; we should keep our bedroom windows open day and night; by the avoidance of indigestible food, and by the care of the teeth, digestive troubles," should be avoided; by selecting congenial work and the cultivation of suitable hobbies, happy and active mental conditions should be established; and the habit of taking a genethough not excessive, amount of really nourishing food at regular intervals should be cultivated. Among; those who observe those simple rules.—and, unfortunately, this is impossiblefor many people owing to our social organisation—serious cases of consumption will be very rare indeed. THRUSH IN INFANTS. Thrush is much more common among bottle-fed babies than among those nursed by their mothers; but to some extent it is found under both conditions. It is a o'soase of which it may be said, in almost very case, that it might have been pre- -. • nted. It fa due to the growth on the ..•irfaoa of the- tongue and 1 on the linim/, i lombrane of the mouth of a white mould or fungus which sets up a painful inflamma-

tion, seriously interering not only with the baby's comfort, but also _w'ith_ its digestion, and consequently 'with its general health. Cleanliness is its foe. Feedingbottles should always be thoroughly washed with hot water and a brush immediately after e\ery meal, and should be left soakin ff in a quart of water to which a ted spoonful of powdered boracic acid has been added. All this applies even more strongly to the stopper and rubber teat. Of course, no rubber tubing should over be used. The baby's comforter or pacifier has a great deal to answer for. Only under the most exceptional circumstances can its uso be excused In those exceptional circumstances the comforter f.hould be thoroughly washed with boracic lotion and a. brush three or four times a day. Once the disease shows itself as small white spots in the baby'?, mouth, these precautionary measures should be persisted in, and, in addition, the baby's mouth should be iwabbed out every two hours wdth a piece of soft linen dipped in glycerine of borax. One grain of calomel may also with advantage be placed or. the baby's tongue ADENOIDS. A very large number of children generally, but not always, owing to some fault in their hygienic surroundings, develop thickenings or growths at the back of the nose and throat, which more or less block the openings which connect the nostrils with the throat. Ooincidcntly, as a rule, the tonsils become enlarged. Consequent on these conditions, the child is unable to breathe properly through the nose, and at night time sleeps with the mouth open, generally snores much, and gradually suffers from a thickness and indistinctness of speech. Often also there is increasing deafness, owing to the blocking of the Eustachian tubes, which lead from the throat to the drums of the ears. It is curious how, in the process of time, this state of affairs acts on the mental condition of the child; and gradually a vacant expression begins to show itself, which is some indication of the serious changes that are occurring within. In the way of treatment the removal of the adenoids by the surgeon is the only rational thing to do. Afterwards the child should be kept in the healthiest possible surroundings, and should spend as much time as possible in the open air. Stuffy bedrooms should, above all, be avoided. A USEFUL COUGH MIXTURE. In ordinary cases of bronchial catarrh the following mixture will often be found helpful: —•Tincture- of squills, two drachms ; carbonate of ammonia, one drachm j glycerine, loz; camphor water to Boz. One tablespoonful to bo taken every four hours.