HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3251, 5 July 1916, Page 73

HEALTH COLUMN.

By A FAMILY DOCTOR.

AN ITCHING SKIN

I do not know of anything which is more intolerable than an itching skin. It 16 bad enough when the hairdresser lets a few hairs fall down the neck, but when the ■whole body it itching life is a burden, lhe infectious variety is duo to a small parasite, a sort of spider, scarcely to be seen with the naked eyo, but "when viewed under the microscope it ia all legs and feelers. Th.l3 little wretch burrows under the skm and penetrates till it reaches the sensitive nerves of the skin, whore it starts scratching, to the acute discomfort of the unfortunate host. It is useless to scratch, as the parasite is not on the surface. fortunately, there is one drug with which we can pay out the unwelcome guest in our skins, and that is sulphur. First have a hot bath, to make the skin moist and sort, and then rub in sulphur ointment between the fingers, or wherever the itching is felt. At the same time the underclothes and bedding must bo thoroughly disinfected. If it is impossible to do this yourself, you must apply to the public authorities, who will help 'you. But sulphur is the great curative agent.

—Nettle-rash. —

Another variety of itching skm is the so-called nettle-rash. It generally comes from the stomach, and is due to some irritant in the intestines. An aperient should be taken in the shape of a good dose of salts, so as to drive out the offending poison. Fish which is not so fresh as ir; D ouoht to be is the commonest cause of nettle°rash. and shell-fish is often responsible. The best lotion to apply to the skm is lead lotion. Do not forget that lead is poison. Do not leave it about -where the children can get hold of it. A bath into which a good handful of washing soda has been placed often gives relief, from itching; or a bran bath may be tried. lake lib of bran and put it in a muslin bag; knead it in a hand-basin of warm water until the water is milky and all the starch has been pressed out of the bran; then pour the contents of the basin into the big bath. Stay in about 10 or 15 minutes, with the water at a comfortable temperature. A simple explanation of itching is new underclothing. In my examination of school children I came across some little ones who, I feel sure, are made restless and fidgety by the coarseness of the material next to v th* skin. It is very bad for them; children should have the softest garments next to their skins. A WHITLOW. On the principle that it is better to extinguish a firo in a waste-paper basket before it has burned down the house, I am desirous of persuading you to have-a small abscess of the finger (commonly called a whitlow) opened and cured as soon as any matter has formed. Imagine a bead of matter in the tip of the finger; it is going to spread; if it spreads towards the surface it will burst and give no further trouble. But suppose, as often happens it spreads up the finger towards the hand and wrist, or burrows deeply so as to attack the bone; then you are in trouble. You must all have friends who have suffered for weeks from poisoned fingers, and they could all have been saving their suffering if the finger had been opened on the first or second day. Everybody knows that an abscess is practically cured when it bursts, and the matter escapes. In opening an abscess with a knife we are merely imitating Nature in allowing the matter to escape; but we forestall Nature and save the patient two or three days' pain, and possibly the loss of a finger. Doctors are particularly liable to contract poisoning, as they have to perform post-mortem examinations and do dirty work. We always have our poisoned fingers opened up: no bread poultices and no linseed poultices.

WALKING FOR WEAK HEARTS. There is a large field for good work in trying to make the best of those cases where the heart is definitely diseased, but i* still capable of carrying on life for some Our doctor always tells us that if wo have weak hearts we must avoid all exertion; and that is true, but only > up to a certain point. I mean that it is not necessary to lie on our backs and lead the life of an oyster because we have weak hearts. It is possible in many people to improve the condition of the heart by judicious exercise. This is a matter which calls for the most careful supervision on th" part of the doctor. A mistake may easily be made by overdoing the exercise. But the plan is to begin with walking a certain specified distance along a road on the level. At first a palpitation of the heart may come on at 50 yards or 100 yards. The patient must immediately sit down and rest. The next day the same distance may be tried, and at the end of a week a few more yards may be attempted. With time, perseverance, and caution the patient will smile as he passes the original limit of hfs, strength. Under proper advice ho may now try a short distance up-hill, slowly and cautiously, and sitting down the moment the heart-beats become too rapid. Cases of heart disease, of course, vary enormously. Some arc hopeless; but I have an idea that there are some young people who, so to speak, cue flung on the rubbish-heap because no one has the time, the patience, and the money to put them through a careful course of training. INJURY TO A JOINT. Tn the treatment of an injury to a joint there arc two stages. The first is the stage of complete rest, and the second is the stage of exercise, movement, and massage. For the first few days absolyte rest to the, injured joint, is essential; the sprained wrist must be kept in a filing. But after about a week the second stage must bo gradually begun. Gentle movements are performed for the patient by the nurse or by the doctor. This is rather painful; hut the wise man submits. Day bv day the joint is moved a little more until the full range of movement is obtained. If you neglect to begin stage two at the end of a week yon run the risk of getting" a stiff joint, and that is a very awkward situation. Sometimes you have to be put under an anaesthetic and have the joint forcibly wrenched. Stage one ->f rest and stage two of gradually-increasing movements will save you many a week of disablement,