HEALTH HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11026, 14 March 1914, Page 6

HEALTH HINTS.

MUSHROOM POISONING CURE. A cure for mushroom poisoning dis covered by Dr Louis# Olivfer, 0110 o tho most distinguished chemists o Franco, has recently been presented be fore the Society of Comparative Patho logy. After a demonstration that mush room poisoning destroys the red cor puscles of the blood, he stated tha his neutralising agent was a serum fron a sheep. The preparation. Wa's extreme lv simple. He drew, tho blood from : sheep and allowed it to coagulate, th liquid resulting beiiig his serum. Till ho injected into tho veins of a humai being.. In tho country, districts o Prance, there are annually hundreds o serious cases of mushroom poisoning which the Society now liopes may b easily cured. AN IMAGINARY COUGH. Coughs arise from many causes: the; may be a sigil of lung disease, tlie re suit of asthma or some slight throa irritation, or they may be even du to nothing more serious than habit With children this last species of cougl is not at all infrequent. It may hav begun as a reality,'in the form of ai attack of whooping cough, for instance but even when this is quite over th habit of coughing may remain. Th cure in such a case is not to be' sough in medicines, but rather in siipplyini the child's mind 1 with some form o interest and diversion. It is also wis to check the habit firmly and regularl; as often as it is indulged in. Thes< means will generally effect a complete euro in a short time. ' .\v THE CARE OF TEETH.

Lecturing on' "The Care of thTeeth " in. the Royal Dental Hospita of . London, Mr W. H. Dolamoro sau decay of the teeth would probably bi lessened if the food eaten were harde or if at the end of each meal saini substance, such as an apple, were eaten. Decay of the teeth was a dis ease of civilised life, probably largel; connected with, the eating of soft food Though the natural eating, of coarsi food Kept clean the teeth of the sav age, artificial cleaning was necessar; to civilised life. Through decay of th' teeth there was bad nutrition of th body, and from that thero came dis ease of the jaw-bones. Sometimes fol lowing that there were o septic poisoning which might show it self by enlargement of the glands o the neck, which in turn might becomi the seat. of tubercular infection. Ii advanced cases of neglect dental . treat ment was of little use, and accordingly there was need for periodical inspec tion, especially of children's teth, 6( that disease might be arrested in it! early stages.

THE BANGER OP SURPLUS FOOD During infancy and the long perioc of development the processes of growth repair and elimination, of waste an very active, but when full maturity i: attained they slacken; froin that time forward maintenance of an equilibriun is all that is required. No surplus o food or drink is necessary, and if it b< supplied it cannot be disposed of t< advantage, and must be cast aside a! waste. ' Now the solid waste of the body is got rid of mainly through the skin, the intestinal caiiai and the kid neys. The amount of work these or gans can accomplish is limited even ii the perfectly healthy bodyand tliej must .have their periods of rest or tliej will break, down. If. moro material ii continually taken into the body thai lit requires, and the excretory organ! are unable to cope with the tfaste, it remains in the body in some form De posits of waste matter—rubbish heaps —that there is no time to clear away accumulate in various parte, sometimes where they are comparatively harmless at others where; they bring about decay both mental and physical. ; This is especially the case when deposits ocelli in the walls of the blood vessels, aiic hinder the circulation on which anima' life absolutely depends. The roan whe is old before his'time has diseased arteries; they have, become'..hardened, and no longer allow the free passage oi blood to every part of the body. In the man who seems young'for his age they have retained much of their elasticity. From the foregoing remark; it is clear that an excess of food and drink tends to create this calcification, or hardened condition, aiid ; those persons who recognise in early middle life that the needs of their body are loss than in youth will certainly stand the best chance of living to enjoy a greer old age.. ' , v .