Talks on Health

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16908, 6 December 1922, Page 9

Talks on Health

I By

a Family Doctor

HEADACHES. I lii this weather I hare scarcely the j heart to write about tin*, gl are of the I sun. But just to encourage the Clerk I °* the Weather. I pen these few lilies [ on headaches owing their origin to exf P°sure to fierce light. You sit by ths sea: the sun shines from above an 1 the sands or the waves reflect the ray? troin below, often with dazzling effect. The reflected light cunningly avoids th r . Bunshade and gets in underneath full on the eyes. If this does not worry you, all well and good. But in some folk the constant glare causes a headache. This may. he relieved bv wearing tinted glasses. I am sorry that the first thing you try is a dose of salts ; then you try a headache powder • but what you really need is a little protection for the retina at the back of the eve. Of course, heavy clouds will also prevent the glare, but do not let us contemplate heavy clouds on a holiday. THE IMPORTANCE OF MASSAGE Abdominal massage will sometimes iv lieve constipation, and i* is worth try ing. You can do it for yourself Begin low down near th© groin on the right side, and rub firmly upwards towards the ribs. You must press, well in with the fingers or with the < lose l fist. Then rub from right: to left oo a level with the navel. Finally, continue the massage downwards towards the left groin. Persevere with tlu massage every night and morning for as long as three months; if the offer! is beneficial, you can adopt it as a permanent measure DEAD BONES "When a finger is badly crushed, the bone may be splintered. In the course of a few weeks the flesh may partially heal, hut the discharge from the bottom of the wound mav pers'M. In that case, a small splinter of bone has died, and dead bone acts as a foreign body and prevents healing. Unless you go to a doctor and get him t> remove the piece of dead bone, thr finger will remain open for many weeks until your patience is quite exhausted. It is a great satisfaction to see the particle of dead bone lying on the tab.e instead of in your hand, and the finge.* will then heal before you can say " Jack Robinson.” THE DANGERS OF YOUTH. Some young men in their ’teens fail into erroneous wars and acquire diseas * through ignorance. I grant you there are some who know too much, and you might- smile with an incredulous cui'l o? your lip at my suggestion of innocence. However, I kjiow T am l ight when 1 say that there are some boygrowing into manhood who arc quite ignorant of essential matters. Now f want the mothers of these young men to take tho question boldly- in hand. The lad i.s perhaps going abroad to 1 foreign country where temptation will li* l in his way. I want the mother to make sure that all knowledge has been imparted to her son. She may not feel equal to talking to him herselr, : but she must see. that, it. is done by j ■somebody. Perhaps father would do i it. only he may not like the task. "Well. ! perhaps the docto.* would help, or the j parson, or Uncle Jack, or anyone j possessing common sense and understanding youth. Yon take such care ! to send hint off with his shirts marked I and all his buttons sewn on. but. you forget bis. mental and moral equip j moot. Prevention is better than j SUGAR AS FOOD. Sugar is an important food, and is used in the body for providing fuel for {

I muscular action. At the end of a { game of foot-ball much leas sugar would bo found in the body than, at the beginning of the contest. T do not, however; think that this accounts for the sour expression of the losers! Sugar is burnt up in the chemical actions that are constantly going on in the body, and the final products are gases that are breathed out from the lungs. Sugar is very precious to us. All the starch we eat is turned into sugar. Bread, potatoes, milk pud, dings, carrots and turnips, arc all con- , verted into sugar by the digestive iuicef*. The reason is that sugar 13 soluble in blood, just, as a lump of sugar is soluble in a cup of tea. The sugar, thus dissolved in the blood, can be carried to all parts of the body. If a larger quantity of sugar is oaten than is wanted for immediate needs, the surplus i.s stored in the liver. This reminds you that you must, not eat too much or the poor old liver finds itself overwhelmed by an excess of sugar; it is packed and crammed with sugar until it can manage no more, and the excess causes disorder of tho liver. SUGAR AND THE KIDNEYS. Sugar being so valuable, you will readily understand that, something is radically wrong when the kidneys cast sugar out of the body and cause it. to appear in the urine. It takes a Jot of water to dissolve the sugar, and one of the first complaints is thirst because so much water is leaving the body. -Something can be done by regulating the diet; less sugar an<l starch must be taken, sometimes absolute starvation is beneficial. Tn the simplest cases, the sugar disappears from the water after a few days’ restricted diet. In the worst cases the sugar remains in spite of every measure that is taken : the worst forms of diabetes are incurable. HEREDITY AND DIABETES. Heredity may p!ay a small part : occasionally one finds father and son suffering from diabetes. But the knowledge that the disease has been known in the family should not disturb the peace of mind of anyone : it may bo a reason for taking a little more care in managing the dietary. The weight may be measured each month under the reduced regime. If the weight is maintained, the patient is coming to no harm. If tho weight is falling, the doctor may order a richer diet, all the time keeping his eye on the quantity of sugar thrown, out by the kidneys. In examining you for life insurance, the doctor always tests the urine for sugar. If it is found, n© will either rejept th© case or will postpone the examination for six months to see whether treatment will cause the sugar to disappear. DOUBLE-JOINTED FABLE. One often hears the expression double-jointed ” applied to a man who can bend his limbs or his back into unusual positions. There ri. of course, no such thing as a double joint.-. '1 wo are held together by tight bands which are called ligaments. The movements are governed very largely by these ligaments. If they are tight, movement can only bo performed in definite ranges; if the ligaments are loose, the range of movement is increased. Children are trained early to be acrobats and contortionists, and the early training consists in the daily performance of exercises calculated to stretch the ligaments and allow freer play for the hones.