TALKS ON HEALTH

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19035, 2 April 1930, Page 4

TALKS ON HEALTH

By A FAMILY DOCTOR

TREATMENT OF SCALP SORES. When you are treating the scalp for sores or wounds, you must cut the hair off round the affected area. You must do it; my orders. There is nothing more distressing to a surgeon's eye than to see the hair all matted and clotted with blood or a septic discharge from a sore place. The very causes and origin of the sore wac the presence of septic germs, and how can you possibly get the scalp clean unless you clear away all that mess? Those of you who have no ideal of surgical cleanliness, and have never attended classes of first aid or home nursing, seem to think that if you apply some sticky ointment on top of a mass of matted hair you are doing all that is necessary. “Oh. but; doctor, I put the ointment on every night and morning as you told me to.” Oh, no, you didn't. I told you to put the ointment on the actual sore, and not on the mass of clotted hair, blood, and discharge. Strict orders: you must shave the hair off round the sores; they will only spread if you do not obey, and, in the end, the glands of the neck may swell and an abscess will form.

Baldness and Hair Restoration. Not every case of bald patches on the head is ringworm. It is wise to get a doctor’s opinion, because ringworm is catching and the other complaint is not. Bald patches may grow hair in the end, though it may take several months. If the hair follicles are destroyed nothing will restof* the hair. A stimulating liniment may be applied to the scalp. Turpentine liniment is useful; it makes the scalp glow and gives the roots of the hair a richer supply of blood. A Children's Complaint.

Ringworm on the heads of children is a most troublesome affection; it takes many months, or maybe years, to get rid of. It is strangely limited to the ages of. say, five to fifteen or thereabouts. It is very rare on "the scalps of young adults of eighteen or twenty. As ringworm disappears of its own accord at a certain age. many remedies which happened to be applied at that age have very unjustly been credited with the power of removing ringworm. Children with this complaint are excluded from school. I believe it is best in the long run to have the hair cut quite short from the first. Naturally, the mothers of girls with Ixeautiful hair are loth to have the flowing locks shorn from the head, but it is the wisest course, and the hair

all grows again when a cure has been effected. Children with ringworm should wear cheap caps lined with paper. The paper lining can be removed and burnt every day. Children should be taught that it is very naughty to wear each others’ hats or caps. If possible the pegs in the cloakroom where the children hang their hats should be wide apart, so that there is no danger of the scurf from an infected hat falling on the headgear of a clean child. When once started in a school, it is difficult to get rid of.

Ringworm Only a Name. Ringworm is only a name—there is no worm about it. The parasite that causes it looks like a lot of little round balls packed closely together. It lives in the hair itself, and weakens it so that it breaks off sharp when it has attained the length of about a quarter of an inch. This is the most characteristic feature about ringworm; if you take a magnifying glass and look carefully. you see these short, broken-off stumps of hairs. The X-ray treatment is being used with success. It first makes the patch of the scalp exposed to the rays completely bald. Having destroyed the hair it destroys the home of the parasitic growth, which then dies and disappears. The hair always grows again. A Nervous Child.

A nervous child should be allowed to mix with other children. It is impossible to keep a little boy wrapped up in cotton-wool under a glass case. If he plays with boys of his own agfe he will soon find his own level; with encouragement from a wise parent he will lose his nervousness. It is wrong to indulge a nervous child and keep him away from “ the rough children ” of other people. The years of childhood are very useful for the development of character; a shy and nervous man may owe his unfortunate characteristics to a childhood unwisely governed by wellmeaning but ignorant guardians. A careful mother will explain that there is nothing to be afraid of in going to school and mixing with boys and girls. Some day the boy will have, to go out in the world, and the cotton-wool type of training is a very poor way of preparing him for battling with the world. Cheerful Reading. A nervous child must not be given tea or coffee; pickles and pepper are forbidden; wines, whether medicated or not, must never be given. He must go to bed early; his books should be cheer-

ful. Do not show him the pictures in “ The Pilgrim's Progress,” which represent horrible misshapen devilish forms grinning from black corners and aiming their cruel shafts at poor Christian. Religious instruction should consist only of simple and beautiful stories. If reference is made to the other world, the loveliness of heaven rather than the horrors of hell should be the subject of the lecture. All mention of gnashing Of teeth, casting into outer darkness, weeping and wailing, hellfire and the like should be forbidden. Guard Against Scurf.

When ladies brush their hair the scurf falls on the neck and shoulders, and if the scalp is not quite healthy the. skin of the shoulders may become infected and spots appear. Ladies who are grieved to find acne spots on their skin should protect their shoulders witu a towel or dressing-jacket when they brush the hair. Treatment should be directed to the scalp; sometimes this cures the spots on the neck and shoulders. A shampoo wash may clear out the follicles in the scalp and leave them clean, swept and garnished and unfit for any self-respecting germ to live in A germ requires plenty of grease and dandruff and dust; rob him of his daily bread and he dies. So before you start sucking sulphur lozenges to purify the blood, please try a good shampoo.

Perspiration Dangers. • If a patient is bathed in perspiration, change the garments next to his skin; this should be done as often as necessary; it often happens that a feverish patient has a hot, dry skin at the beginning of the illness, and then breaks out into a profuse perspi-.ation later. If by bad luck the sweat broke out in the night when there wa3 no nurse near and when the fire had gone out and the room struck cold, a further chill or some other complication might develop.

Explorers who have ventured far into the Arctic Circle speak of different causes of misery which they encountered. To Nansen the thirst induced by the terribly irksome labour of sledgehauling proved most distressing. Though the Polar world is covered by frozen water, there is none for drinking purposes save that which is thawed, and it is almost impossible to obtain it on the march without halting to thaw it. Other explorers complain of the effect of the wind and sun. A very low degree of cold can be borne without undue discomfort so long as the air is still, but the moment it gets in motion it strikes the skin with effects very similar to those of a burn.