Talks on Health

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17755, 27 January 1926, Page 10

Talks on Health

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR

BLESSINGS OF CIVILISATION. A bunion is the enlarged end of the toc-bone. Wrenched out of its proper shape, the big toe can no longer sustain the weight of the body or retain its springiness in walking. The foot is a delicate instrument with a score of little joints and arches and pivots, and the distortion produced by the strange leathern contraptions worn by the savage races at present inhabiting these islands have the effect of completely destroying the designs of Nature. Fortunately, however, I have arranged for some ladies and gentlemen from the Islands to come over as missionaries to teach and educate the wild tribes of Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin. With the help of these coloured missionaries, I hope to banish bunions, corns, hammer-toe, and ingrowing toenail, all of which are quite unknown to the King of the Cannibal Islands. A BROKEN LEG. ~ If a leg has been broken or badly damaged in an accident, and the man to whom the leg belongs has to be moved, the injured leg must be protected from still further injury dtiring the passage home, or to the hospital. If there is any doubt about putting a splint on, it is always best to apply the splint, whether the leg is broken or not. If the support is applied to a leg that is not broken, no harm is done, and it may give ease to the bruised muscles. If the man is to be carried all the way. he may have His two legs bound together, so that the sound limb may support the injured.

DANGER OF BLOOD-POISONING. If a limb with a fractured bone is not splinted, the sharp ends of the broken fragments of bone may be thrust through the skin. In that case, germs are admitted from the mud of the road or from the clpthes, and dangerous blood-poisoning may result. It is because of the danger of pushing a sharp bone through the skin that we arc taught to leave on the ground a person who has fallen or been knocked down until the real state of the limbs and bones has been ascertained. Some kind-hearted onlooker may rush forward and lift up the injured man on his feet, only to find that a bone is broken, and down falls the poor fellow again, doing further damage to the bone. There is a story told of an old surgeon who slipped on the pavement and broke his ankle. The passers-by all stooped and were for helping him to his feet, but he ordered them off and kept everybody, including the policeman, at bay with his umbrella until skilled help arrived. lie knew the dangers attendant upon fractured ankles. DIFFICULTY IN SWALLOWING. Difficulty in swallowing may be a symptom complained of by a 3 r oung person, man or woman, of about twenty or so. If the tonsils are swollen and painful, the explanation is simple; but the throat may be perfectly clear and yet there seems to be some obstruction to the free passage of the food. The obstruction in the case of a voting person probabl}' has no real existence. There may be a temporary spasm of the swallowing muscles. Such a spasm is comparable to a stammer In the speech. In both cases, the willpower is unable to insist on the obedience of the muscles. The stammerer wants to say “tin-tack” and cannot, the other wants to swallow a mouthful of egg-and-bacon and cannot. In both cases the defect can be overcome. THE RUBBER TUBE TREATMENT. Sword-swallowers can pass a sword down the gullet into the stomach, and i they do not suffer from spasm. I do

not recommend anyone to practise sword-swallowing, but the passage of a proper rubber tube down the gullet may cure the patient of any difficulty in getting the food down. Hysteria accounts for a fairly large number of cases, and it sometimes happens that the mere threat of passing the tube cures the patient. If at any time in the life, years ago it may be, some caustic acid or other corrosive substance has been accidentally swallowed, a scar may form that contracts the gullet, and then an indiarubber tube has to be passed to make the way clear. When we come to deal with this same symptom of obstruction in swallowing in middle-aged or elderly men, it is a more serious matter. There may be a growth present, and a doctor should, be consulted without delay.

MINERS’ NYSTAGMUS. There is an affection of the eyes known as miners’ nastygmus Nastygmus is characterised by a rapid, jerky movement of the eyeballs from side to side, or sometimes up and down. There are many diseases with which this condition of the eyes is associated. Sometimes the incessant jerking is the result of a defect in the vision, and a pair of glasses may help to cure it. In other cases a general disease of the nervous system is present. But the complaint is particularly common among coal-miners. It comes on in apparently healthy tnen, and many hundreds have been permanently incapacitated from following their employment through this complaint. AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. For years the actual cause was hidden. but at length, through the researches of a doctor who lived and worked among miners for maijy years, part of the truth was found out, al though there is still something to be studied in the disease. The most important result of the doctor’s inquiries was the discovery that the better the light with which the miner works the less likely is he to suffer from nystag mus. There are different kinds ot miners’ lamps, some giving a brilliant illumination and some giving a comparatively poor light. In the case of a miner working with a poor light u great strain is thrown on the eyes and' when this is continued for a long time this distressing and uncontrollable jerking of the eyes sets in. When once nystagmus has started it is difficult to cure—-our aim should be to prevent it by using as brilliaat a light as can be obtained. A POISONED FINGER. An abscess is a collection of poison-

ous matter, and the aim of every surgeon is to get that poisonous material out of the body. The result of letting out the matter is like a miracle; the pain ceases, the temperature drops to normal, the wearied patient falls into a ref*eshing sleep, and the case takes a decided turn for the better. As an example, take the case of a poisoned finger. A small amount of matter forms under the skin at the tip of the finger. A wise surgeon insists as forcibly as he can that the only rational treatment is to let that drop of matter out; throw it in the dusbin. or, better still, burn it and so destroy the germs. But, alas! in too many cases the foolish patient says, “ T can’t bear the knife.” Instead of throwing the poisonous matter into the fire, it remains in the finger and -lowly, but gradually, Spreads towards the hand. At first it is only just under the skin, but, when neglected, it burrows down to the bon# and joints of or finger rnd attacks r.nd destroys th <pp-