TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 198, 24 August 1935, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

(By A FAMILY DOCTOR).

MORE LIGHT IN THE HOME What. I want to preach once a week —yon arc very patient with my sermons (there is no collection)—what I want, to preach is the doctrine of selfhelp. You and 1 are not concerned with Acts of Parliament. We arc concerned with our own homes. When Bills arc passed we will avail ourselves of them. But wc shall have to wait some time yet. The old-fashioned principles of light and air are not insisted on in the home. Long before any Act comes in you can make your homes healthier. You know as well as I do that iu the same row of houses one is c.can and the other not. 1 want the fathers and mothers to keep on repeating to themselves “How can J make my home brighter and healthier?’’ In these dark days we want all the light possible. Arc the windows clean or do they obstruct half the light? Please do away with the heavy dark curtains that keep out the light. Better have no curtains at all. Can you whitewash the area or passage way outside the window? Can you give the coiling a coat of whitewash? A light room makes everyone more cheerful. Choose a bright wallpaper, not a funeral one; let your house be a good place to live in, not a place to die in. Lesson of the Flowers I always recommend flowers as a plan teaching hygiene as well as a means of ornamentation. Most people •enow that geraniums in a pot like the light ; in fact, if you put the pot a ittle way from a window the plant will strain towards it. Splendid fellows, geraniums. No need for them to read “Talks on Health”; they know .t all already. Straining towards the light! What profound wisdom! What sound education! So please buy a pot a flowers this morning, and remember t int the same rule that makes the flowers grow towards the light applies to you and your children. You must strain towards the brightness and encourage every stray beam of light to enter your room. If you know of a lighter house, move iuto it. Light, light, more light! Take Your Weight Keep a record of your weight; lake the measure every six months and write it in a little book for reference. If your weight remains the same, all is well. If it is going up, you ought to know it. If the weight is going down, it is not necessarily a bad sign. Loss of suet may be a very good thing On the other hand, a steady loss ot weight may be significant of many things. If the digestion is upset, the stomach and bowels cannot carry out their proper duty of absorbing food. A nice dinner is served up ami is eaten, but it never reaches its proper destination—good sound flesh and blood. The food passes through without strengthening the body. 'l'hc loss of weight is a warning; if it is allowed to go on a limit may be reached when the unfortunate person breaks down. In the majority of cases the) teeth arc at fault. The. stomach com plains most bitterly that it cannot d" its work if the teeth go on strike. The avoidance of indigestible food is a sine qua non. A diet of vinegar ami pickles udl lower any man’s weight. A diet of strong tea ami half-cooked rice will lower any woman’s system. Food that is good in the shop may be spoilt in the cooking. Tell the Doctor Loss of weight may be associated with other symptoms. The most important accompaniment of loss of weight is a chronic cough. In a case of suspected consumption the evidence of the weighing-machine is of high value. A careful examination of the chest and a special analysis of the sputum will enable the doctor to clear up the diagnosis and save a valuable life by adopting early treatment. Some forms of tumour are associated with loss of weight. Patients so often make unintentional mistakes iu describing changes iu weight, fancied or real, that it is of great assistance to the doctor to have the actual record; weighing-machines have no or false sympathies. So when you find you are losing weight, you should take serious notice of it; it may be something or nothing. But tel) the doctor, and let him see you in bed .so that lacan satisfy himself on all points ami definitely cxlcude the possible causes of wasting which are passing through his mind. Cleaning the Sick Room When the patient you are nursing has recovered from the worst part ol the iliness and reaches the stage when all that he is suffering from is exhaustion, you may carefully lift him from his bed into a comfortable chair and carry him into the sunny corner of your little garden. He will be carefully wrapped up; hi s face will be protected from glare by a broad'trimmed hat or by a sunshade fixed lo the back of the chair. He will be given a nice cup of tea and thin bread ami butter and jam. Now. having made the precious patient quite comfy, you will go back Lo the sick room and work al it as you have never worked before. All the doors and window > ar ( > thrown open; the bed is to be aired by taking all the clothes off and exposing them to the sun; the mattress is turned and iron bedsead washed x.ith warm water containing a little car bolic. All the mats are shaken in the open air ; the flowers are rha..ge(l. the ornaments are dusted, and this la-l exercise will remind you that the fewer ornaments there are in the sick room the belter. Now go back to vour patient in the garden and you will find he is more tired than you expected; it is well not to overdo if on the first oc <asion. Carry or wheel him back into his nice fresh room. It will please him to see the fresh flowers, and he will appreciate the labour expended on his behalf. Hq will very likely have a doze after the slight exertion of sitting up in Ihe garden, and then you, too, can en .j°y yourself, feeling that your duty has been done.

Kiddies don’t understand; they’re so ibsorbedin their games, and often neglect laturc s call. Then they get bilious, lose :heir appetite and become irritable. Show me your tongue, Winnie. Y r es, it s coated—a sure sign she’s out of sorts. All she needs is ‘California Syrup of Figs’ —‘Califig’ —and she’ll be as happy as a sandboy in the morning. You’ll find it keeps the bowels regular, purifies the system and saves stomach upsets and If children are to thrive and grow strong and keen witted, they must fe.-i well and digest what they eat. There’s no better way than the regular weekly dose of ‘ California Syrup of Figs.* All children love it. If I were you, I would send for a bottle aow and give Winnie a dose at once. Be sure you insist on 'California Syrup of Figs’, Mrs. Grant. I am surprised that some mothers are ready to experiment with cheap and drastic preparations. It’s such a pity they don’t realise that ‘California Syrup of Figs’is a perfectly safe children’s laxative. 1 know myself how carefully and scientifically it is prepared.” ‘California Syrup of Figs ’ is sold by all chemists and stores. Be sure to say ' California' and look for ‘ Califig * on the package.