TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 424, 15 November 1930, Page 20 (Supplement)

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCi’UK.

STROKES AND THEIR CAUSE A stroke is the bursting of a bloodvessel in the brain. Sometimes the blood-vessel bursts just outside the brain and in the top of the nose. It is not unusual for an old person to suffer from a severe haemorrhage from the nose. It is not altogether a bad thing; It may relieve tension, and the patient is to be congratulated on escaping with nothing worse than a few drops of —ood on the carpet when a difference D? an inch or two in the position of the burst would have caused him to be paralysed down one side of the body. It may be the loss of a small quantity of blood may be beneficial, but it cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely. The nose-bleeding may be It warning. The patient should avoid being’in the hot sun with the head uncovered; he should be careful to avoid excess of alcohol; he should not run for a train; he should not lose his temper or fly into a violent rage. He may quietly on, leading a placid life for many years. In the end he ■will have a stroke, but he need not look for it, and expect it, and worry about it. Baby’s Little Eyes. One of the troubles a new baby is exposed to is inflammation of the eyes. I am glad to say the number of reported cases is decreasing, but I set a high standard, and I do not think there ought to be one case. The inflammation may be slight, or it may be serious and end in blindness. It is a very melancholy fact that the children in Ihe blind asylums owe their pathetic loss of sight to inflammation at birth more than to any other cause. When you expect a baby, you must go to that dear nurse with the nice smiling face and ask her about the drops to put in the eyes, of the baby when it is born. She may say she will come and do it herself if you will let her know; or she may give you the drops with careful instructions how to put them in. Or you can ask mother to carry the baby round to the clinic if it is not far away and the weather is warm. Do anything rather than neglect the eyes of the new-born. When Scarlet Fever Conies When your child has been taken away suffering from scarlet fever, the men frem the medical officer of health come in and disinfect the rooms. I do not want you to put all the responsibility on the local authorities; I want you to do your share in carrying out the disinfection. All the things that can be burnt should be put on the fire; such things as papers, old picturebooks, rag dolls, hair-ribbons, etc. Germs hate being burnt. Then our old friends, soap and water, may be callea in to help. Let the rooms have a spring-cleaning, even if it is summer. You can get from the medical officer of health a supply of Lysol or some such disinfectant, and you can put some in the pail of water. Old cupboards should be turned out; chests of drawers opened and put in order and washed. It may be a nuisance, but it 5s better than having a second case of scarlet fever. Your own bodies should be carefully cleaned; if you have been nursing the infected child you should have a warm bath, and you should shampoo your hair, as hair is a happy hunting ground for disease germs. Sunshine and Disinfectants I have mentioned chemical disinfectants, but fresh air and sunshine may be used in abundance. Open all the doors and windows, and let a good, strong draught of air rush through the house. If you have the chance, expose Ihe bedding to the rays of the sun. Sluice the back-yard and the area with buckets of weak antiseptic. If we all combined, we could make a fearful onslaught on infectious disease. I cannot allow you to look on these diseases as things which are inevitable; you must not say, “I suppose my children will have to go through their childish diseases.” In some homes the mother almost welcomes measles as an old friend that is bound to come. Fight the germs; your weapons should be fresh air, sunshine, good well-cooked food, clean bodies; above all, clean mouths and teeth.