TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 192, 15 August 1931, Page 19 (Supplement)

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOOPJK

ABOUT 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 conies 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. It is astonishing how well babies can stand the operation. I have seen numbers done at hospitals, and the results are very good. Ono thing 1 most urgently impress on you, and that is, always have a rupture seen to while tho patient is quite young. Boys have not the sense of experience of life to take care of themselves, and the parents should see that a swelling in the groin is never 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 moans 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 make-shifts. They never cure the rup ture. The sooner a rupture is cured, once end 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 safe 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 life. It is better to avoid that risk by an earlv operation as soon as the rupture is manifest. Every year there arc a few regrettable deaths from strangulated rupture; and, of the children operat ed 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 good chance to heal firmly. Even though tho 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 on tho village green 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 icsult of eartlessness on the part of the man. A firm pad and bandage should be worn rfter the discharge from 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 a 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 bo recommended by a doctor, there is every hope of great benefit occurring. I enumerate them as follows: 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 to which no danger is attached, provided all precautions are taken by tho operator. Tonsils and adenoids may be com pletely removed by operation, to the enormous benefit of the subject. veins is another condition where the sufferer may welcome an operation as a speedy moans of relief from trouble. There are plenty of other instances, but this list comprises some of tho coiifmonest troubles that may be remedied by our friend the knife. Bad. Teeth and Chess Troubles. Will you please keep your eyes 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 you to notice how commonly bad teeth and chest troubles go together. The air that goes down into the lungs has first to traverse tho teeth, tongue and throat. If the teeth are unhealthy the air is impregnated with the bad smell from the decaying teeth, and, however pure the ah may be it is fouled in its passage through the mouth. Every breath if thus infected, and as wo breathe fifteen times a minute, a good deal of bad aii gets down into the lungs in the course of ten years. Face Sores. When a child has sores on his face covered by scabs, it is very important to remove the scabs before applying an} remedy ah the shape of ointment oi lotion. Sometimes the scabs are ver} light, and then they should bo soaket in warm water with patience until the} are soft and can be removed with thi aid of the blade of a clean pair of seis sors. If the ointment is put on the scabs, no good will result; the sore: will spread. The matter from one place infects another portion of the skin, and

unless some care is taken, the sores may spread all over the body. The one place where they must bo vigorously attacked is the head. Tho hair becomesmatted with the discharge, and the sores last for weeks. You must cut the •hair off. I am sorry to say some mothers like to sec the hair long no that it hides the ugly places; but, of course, that i? wrong.