Talks on Health

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18088, 23 February 1927, Page 7

Talks on Health

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR

The Eye and the Camera. The resemblance between the mechanism of the human eye and that of a photographic camera is only partial. There are two important differences. In both there are lenses and sensitive plates to receive the image. In focussing an object with a camera, the lens is moved forwards or backwards; but in the e}-e the focussing is done by altering the thickness of the lens. This is done by the pull of a small muscle. When the eye is looking at a flistant object, this small muscle is completely at rest. When the eye is fixed on a near' object, this little muscle is called into play, and it becomes tired just as the arm gets tired when it has to carry a bucket of water. It is to assist this muscle that glasses arc ordered.

The Children’s Eyes. It is a common error to suppose that the two eyes are equal in strength. A boy of twelve looking down the road sees his mother coming when she is a long way off, but he is not old enough to realise that he is seeing her only with the one good eye, and that the other eye is not focussing her at all. Years and years ago, when I first started writing these fairy stories for you, I had to deal with a stiff-necked race of parents who saw no reason why they should pay any attention to the eyes of their children. If I asked them if there was anything wrong with the eyes of their precious offspring, they would answer, “ We do not know,” or, perhaps, “We have enough to think about without being bothered by nasty old men with bald heads who want to know whether Mary and Charlie can see through a brick wall.” The Superwomen.

. But now, what a change has come over the country ! A fine race of superwomen has sprung tip; women with real intellects, with a sense of responsibility, with a burning desire to do their best by their children. If, to-day, I raise my hat and politely ask if the childen’s e} 7 es are all right, the dear

mother answers, “ Mary’s right eye is astigmatic, and Charlie has to wear glasses because he squints; but all the other children have perfect vision, because I have tested them myself.” I die happy. In 1840, it is safe to say, no single mother thought about the illeffects of a neglected defect in the eyes. To-day, of course, there does not exist in all the country one single father or mother who does not test the child’s vision every six months with the dif-ferent-sized letters of the advertisement sheet of the newspaper. It is a grand world. Once again, I die happy.

Soane Causes of Typhoid. In a small epidemic of typhoid fever an inquiry was made into the diet of the patients before they were struck down with the disease. The suspected articles of diet were fried fish, shellfish—usually mussels—ice cream and watercress. I never lost an opportunity of condemning mussels. Poisoning by mussels is quite common, and I have decided to forbid their use altogether; mussel poisoning is to be abolished. Watercress is dangerous, not because of the green leaves themselves, but on account of the dirty water they come from. If there are any cases of typhoid in your town, avoid watercress. Hokey-pokey ice cream men are very dear to the hearts of the germs of typhoid. If you are utterly unable to resist the joys of eating mussels, then boil them well. Germs hate being boiled. If there is the suspicion attaching to the water supply, boil the water. And with regard to ices, the way to avoid poisoning by them is to take your ice, boil it, and throw it out of the window. By adopting this course, you will not appear in the report of the medical officer of health as one of the cases of typhoid derived from ice cream. A Book at the Bedside. In case you find it impossible to sleep well, you must have a lot of things by your bedside. A few biscuits, a warm covering in case you wake up

cold, a glass of water, a candie, a good book,‘and a volume of poetry. I said a book, and not a penny dreadful, or “The Ghastly Crime of Gulch.” Surely you have some favourite that is restful. Was all your education useless? Did you not meet one book you loved when you were young? Sometimes people cannot sleep because they arc not really tired; they just sit about all day looking at the wall-paper or walking to the corner of the street and back; they do not deserve sleep. Sleep is a reward for the active and the free, a blessing vouchsafed to the meritorious. If some folk remain awake, it serves them light. Effect of AlcohoL It is such a common lielief that in any emergency whatever the first thing to do is to rush for alcohol that it may be as well to put on record the exact effect of alcohol, and then we can act with discretion. The immediate effect of the alcohol is to make the heart beat faster. Faintness is due to the enfeebled action of the heart, and therefore alcohol may be given to restore the action of the heart in cases of sudden pallor and faintness. Of course, the recumbent posture and fresh air will generally be sufficient. Alcohol, however, should not be given to a man who has received an injury to the head, or to a man in a fit. Nor should it be given to a man who is bleeding severely from a wound; the accelerated action of the heart would make the blood flow faster. It is only very rarely that alcohol is necessary for a child, and it should never be administered unless under the orders of a medical man. Of chronic complaints, alcohol is forbidden in gout, Bright’s disease of the kidneys, and epilepsy, and those who have had an apoplectic fit and recovered from it should avoid alcohol, as it would help to bring on a second fit.

Blood-Vessels in Youth and Age. An apoplectic fit is the result of the bursting of a blood-vessel in the brain. As we grow older our blood-vessels lose their resilience and their elasticity. If you feel for the artery at the wrist of a young man you will not be able to detect it; it is so soft that it makes no impression on the examining finger. But if you feel for the artery in an oid man it will be easily detected as a hard, round structure. In bad cases the artery feels like a pipe-stem. It is almost unknown for an artery of a young person to give way and burst.