TALKS ON HEALTH.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 142, 17 June 1931, Page 13

TALKS ON HEALTH.

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR. Abcut Rupture. There is so much misunderstanding about the common complaint of rupture that I thought I would deliver some words of wisdom on the subject this week. First of all, babies may be born with a rupture; an attempt should be made to keep the rupture back with a woollen truss, which can be washed as often as necessary. The great secret is to keep the rupture back constantly; if once it comes down the harm is done all over again. If at the end of a year the swelling is still there in spite of what you can do, then an operation is necessary. Tt is astonishing how well babies can stand the operation. I have seen hundreds done at the children's hospitals, and the results are very good. One thing I would most urgently impress oh you, ahd that i£, always havA a rupture seen to while the patient is quite young. Boys have not the sense or experience of life to take care of themselves, and the parents should see that a swelling in the groin is never

h i*j lsj ta I*l m esi i*i i2i l*j I*l m i*j t*j t*J I*l I*l m m neglected. It is obvious that if the rupture is left until an operation becomes imperative, the lad may be grown up and earning wages, and the necessary operation means that he loses two or three months’ money. ’ Cure Better Than Truss. There is no doubt that an operation is the best method of dealing with the complaint. Trusses and straps and patent appliances are, at the best, only makeshifts. They never cure the rupture. The sooner a rupture is cured, once and for all, the better. If neglected, it may grow larger, and, when old age is reached and the muscles are feeble, it may give a great deal of annoyance and pain to the patient. I have met scores of elderly men who regret that they never underwent the sale operation when they were young. One danger of rupture is that it may become nipped or strangulated, and that is a dangerous condition necessitating an immediate operation to save lift? It is better to avoid that risk by an early operation as scon as the rupture is manifest. Every year there are a number of regrettable deaths from strangulated rupture; and, of the children operated on before any such accident has occurred, practically

all are completely cured for the rest of their lives, and have forgotten all about the operation in about a week or so. After a Rupture Operation. After an operation for rupture, you must give the new scar a gtiod chance to heal firmly. Even though the skin is healed, all the inner layers of tissue which were sewn up by the surgeon must be relieved of strain for some weeks. A man, after an operation for rupture, does not feel ill, and as soon as he gets back to normal diet and is allowed out of bed he wants to do too much. I don’t say that every patient burns with a passionate desire to get back to work, but when he is given leave to go home he thinks a little cricket match will not do him any harm. And the result is that the deeper parts of the wound begin to bulge. Ruptures that come back after operation are, in many instances, the result of carelessness on the part of the man. A firm pad and bandage Should be worn after the discharge from the hospital. It gives support, and it. is also a. reminder that there is need for care. “ Our Friend the Knife.” No one enjoys being operated on any

more than one likes to pay a visit to the dentist, but there are some operations which are so common and which are so successful that they may be approached without fear or trembling, and with the full confidence that, if the operation be recommended by a doctor, there is every hope of great benefit accruing. I enumerate them as follow.: : Piles may be successfully removed by a comparatively simple operation, and, if care is taken in the matter of habits and diet afterwards, the trouble is not likely to recur. Rupture, even in little children, is a very safe operation, and complete cure is the general result. Circumcision is a small operation which is often of benefit and*to which no danger is attached, provided all precautions are taken by the operator. Tonsils and adenoids may be completely removed by operation, to the enormous benefit of the subject. Varicose veins is another condition wfr«r« lh» sufferer may welcome an Operation as a speedy means of relief from trouble. There are plenty of other instances, but this list comprises some of the commonest troubles that may be remedied by our friend the knife.

Bad Teeth and Chest Troubles. Will you please keep your open and cultivate the powers of observation? One man goes for a walk and sees nothing of interest; another goes over the same ground and can give a most fascinating account of all he has seen and heard. I want 3*oll to notice how commonly bad teeth and chest troubles go together. The air that goes down into the lungs has first to traverse the teeth, tongue and throat. If the teeth are unhealthy the air is impregnated with the bad smell from the decai ing teeth, and, however pure the air may be, it is fouled in its passage through the mouth. Every breath is thus infected, and as we breathe fifteen times a minute, a good deal of bad air gets down into the lungs in the course of ten 3*ears.