TALKS ON HEALTH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16335, 26 January 1921, Page 6

TALKS ON HEALTH.

; BY A FAMILY DOCTOR. ARE CORSETS NECESSARY f n A correspondent writes to ask my _ opinion of corsets. Are they whole--15 eomef Are they necessary? Tn try- _ ing to understand the subject, wo must y j not forget our anatomy. An examin- ' ation into the structure of the human body throws rrtueh light on this vexed question of corsets. The abdomen is * very carefully provided by an all-wise Dame Nature with several layers of muscles, strengthened by fibrous sheets „ of tissue. These muscles are quite capj able of offering all the support that is necessary. The contents of the abdov men are stored away neatly and 00m- _ pactly, and they are kept in place by

the pressure of the muscles that form the abdominal walls. Personally, 7 do ' not wear corsets; my muscles would scorn the need of extra support. A ? young healthy woman should have 1 muscles as strong as mine. and who should bo in no need of the extra sup--1 port of whalel>one, steel-bands, elastic ' straps, .and what-not. All this is perfectly true of ordinary up-standing folk of either sex. It is the glory oi : i athletic girls that their bodies can j supply all the strength and all the support that is wanted without artificial . aid. > KEEP THE MUSCT.ES 'WORKING. Another undeniable fact must he : brought home to you- A muscle must . have work to do if it is to be kept J in good order ; work is a blessing to a , muscle. Behold the brawny arm of , the blacksmith ! Tt evokes the effusions of poets: the blacksmith as he [ stands under the spreading chestnut , tree is a thing of beauty and a .joy for , ever. r And why? All because he ! gives his muscles vigorous work. Poets ; do not burst into a frenzy over the s feeble upper limb of a half-baked pen- • pusher. Anti consider the state of n “--»• • a. 3

man who breaks his wrist and carries ) his arm in a sling tor several weeks. ‘ ! His muscles waste away to nothing; 1 they had no work to do as they lay in the Now all this has a special application to this matter of '-orsets. The abdominal muscles ought to do their own work and be strong: if the corsets do the work for them they fade away. A woman who has prevented j the abdominal muscles from developing by weaiing heavy corsets for thirty years has such feeble support from her muscles that she feels as though she is falling to pieces when her stays are removed. All this is very clear to j me, because it happens to be my job j to examine hundreds of human bodies, ! and I have seen for myself how the j muscles of the abdomen vary. Lucky | and sensible is the woman who understands that her stomach is to he supported by her own muscles, and takes trouble to develop them. If a man j were foolish enough to go about on a j pair of crutches long enough his legs ; would waste away, so that they could not support him if he tried to stand alone, and. it is perfectly true that the woman who lias worn supports for forty years has such weak abdominal muscles that they cannot possibly do their work. WHEN SUPPORT IS NECESSARY. Tt takes all sort 3 to make a world, and T hear a voice saying, “ I’m no athlete*; I’m old Mrs Brown, I am, what j keeps the fried fish shop at the corner: I am five foot nothing, and T turn the scale at fifteen stone, and what’s more I have had thirteen children. and that’s more than the doctor can say who keeps on talking about my nbominj able muscles.** Well, now we have left the domain of health, and are dealing with defects ftnd abnormalities. And I know quite well that some of my patients must have abdominal supports (not abominable supports, dear Mrs , Brown;. It is all quite true that child- ; bearing throws a strain on the muscles ; of the abdomen : that obesity throws a further strain, and that sitting in a shop does not conduce to athleticism and open-tail* exercise. You cannot begin to teach hygiene to a. woman of fifty who is already a grandmother. Wc must start afresh with the children. We must start them off fair and square with a good father and mother; we must send them to a school where their growing skeletons and muscles are trained to j be strong and self-supporting ; we must { see that they continue as they grow up to take sufficient exercise to keep their | muscles in good trim. We must teach i them enough about the human body for ! them to appreciate what muscles are, wliafc they do. and the harm that is done when they are neglected. We can then produce a race of young women whose frames are as they are intended to be by their Creator. Tell them that j they must not use the muscles of their ' legs, but that they must go about oti : crutches, and they will laugh at such a silly idea. Tell them that they must wear steel and elastic supports for their stomachs, and they -will .jeer at you ; their splendid forms and robust health will deny your arguments without (he 1 use ol any words at all. LEGITIMATE, EXCUSES. Away with the corsets to a dusty ; and musty museum. That is the ideal. ! But we must take the world as we i find it; we are not all fit to have our ; pictures in bathing costume published , in the papers. Some of us eat too | | much ana drink too much and sit about j too much: some of us.prefer to watch ! I games instead of playing them ; some j of us have been ill : some of us arc ruptured or have bad serious operations ; a doctor often orders abdominal j belts and special supports, and the corset has its place. But f want you always to believe that it is unnatural j to wear an artificial support. Tho corsets of Messrs Manfcalim may be von- j derful at the price, but. no advertised j corset- can compare with the natural support of healthy muscles. THE DRUG EVIL The great problem of the Drug Evil ;

I is again receiving general attention. I and T may bo permitted to repeat what- 1 | T have already said, and that is that • : I am always warning people against ! ! flying to trio pernicious tablet every time they have a headache. I am a Doctor of the Curative Art, not a Doctor «>f Drugs. Drugs form ;• small part of the doctors weapons. Very useful they are in certain instances, but I always order the mother 1o chastise | daughter who lias' the habit or ; taking drugs as a regular thing. The i body will work all right if it is well treated. These drugs have a most, insidious effect ; slowly but surely they create a craving which can hardly be overcome. After the-body is corrupted, the mind is vitiated. The typical drugtaker is unworthy of trust; mental and moral corruption .sot in with great rapidity; the victims become liars and swindlers, and sink loiver and Tower. I I"or years have I been seeking to per- j Bunde f you to trust to other methods, of j removing pain und illness, and I do

ko again no \r. TOOK AT YOUU TEETH. If von look at your mouth in. front of a looking-glass and peep at the back of your own throat, you will see a little curtain hanging down in the middle, and ot each side is a tonsil. The tonsil tends to disappear about the age of twenty-live or so, and it may be nonexistent. The tonsil may be small and smooth, or it may be large and ragged. But what I want you to notice is how very near the back teeth are to the tonsil; they are almost touching. You will easily understand that mflamma* tion can travel from the tooth to the tonsil ; the distance is only about a quarter of an inch. I have known manv patients who suffer from recurring tonsllitis; three or four times a year they may have a sore throat. It very often happens that removal of a decayed stump will prevent the further occurrence of innnnumition of the tonsil, line cure of sore throats i> one of the many good reason* for keeping the teeth in order.