TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 30 November 1935, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

I I (By A FAMILY DUCTOB). THE PUBLIC CONSCIENCE. AJI our progress in making this world nioie conn oil able tu live in is the result, broadly speaking, of two lorces. One is the fiesn and original discovery cf one genius or a small group of men, and the other is the earnestness with which the new discovery is embraced by lire mass of ■tuie people. One man uncovered oxygen, the vital principle of fresh air, the rejuvenating gas of tlie atmosphere we breathe, the marvellous eiixir cf lite that is sucked into the lungs and carried thence all over the body by the blood to give health and vigour to every organ. But the mass of the people tai<(s no interest in the discovery. Beat parlours are stuffy, bedrooms smell nasty, some places of entertainment are black holes of Calcutta, and the worst of all are the churches and places of worship. What has been called tne public conscience has never been roused by the scien!tilic discoveries- grouped under the heading of heredity. No interest is taken in such a boring subject as the welfare of the offspring.

Phenomena of Heredity. Sume of the observed phenomena of heredity appear io be contradictory. We all know that some of the laws are absolutely rigid and unalterable. For instance, the offspring of negro parents is always black; the bauy of a black father and mother does not turn out to be a Chinaman; the black sl*in produces a black skin with the certainty of the law of gravity that brings a stone back to earth when it is thrown in the air. On the other hand, a musical brain does not always produce a musical brain. When a deaf mute marries a deaf mute you cannot prophesy that the offspring will be a deaf mute. A man who has six fingers may have four children, two having six*lingers and two the normal number. And if thc child with normal fingers grows up and has children, one or more of these last offspring may have six fingers, showing that we may pass on to the nxjxt generation characteristics that we do not actually possess | ourselves, but which we hold latent | within us.

| Influence of Environment. | Moreover, we must not confuse “heredity” with “environment.” A l young couple may have their first i child when they are very poor. Born healthy, the baby is brought up in mean streets, and is suckled by the milk of a woman who is overworked and underfed. When the second child is born a stroke of luck may have • come along —the mean streets have been left behind and country lanes have been substituted; roses are seen in the cheeks of the mother; the sweet breezes of the woods scented with violets, gently brush the brow of the sleeping babe, w.hen poor little Number One had to breathe the smutty and foetid atmosphere of the town, redolent with thc odour of drains and dead cats. Number One may be weakly and Number Two may be strong —same father and mother, but d i ffe rent surrou n d in gs.

A Question for Young Men. When all the scientific ooservulions on heredity, studied m man animals, and insects, have been tabu iated we do feel very strongly ti.a the man in the street ought not to b> allowed lo ignore the suoject. Jgno. ance in his matter is criminal. “Lik*fathcr like son” is a good rule lot , guidance. The struggle during the | next thousand years is going to be the attempt to induce men not to get venereal disease, or, if they do get it, not to infect their wives and children. At present the outlook seems almost hopeless. The nren of the present day openly declare that nothing on earth will induce them lo avoid venereal disease. The venereal wards in the hospitals are packed. Love of offspring is not so highly developed in man as it is in wild beasts, and the homos for children born with venereal , diseases are very busy. The demon of venereal disease is a clever fellow, and he derives enormous strength from the whole-hearted support given to him by his many devotees. The question that the young man of to-day must put to himself is, “Do I love my future wife and my unborn children too dearly to run the risk of getting venereal disease, or am I so determined to have a ‘good time’ and ‘enjoy life’ that I don’t care if my babies are born blind?” We must wait and see what answer he wili give in actions. Care of a Patient’s Mouth. A nurse must keep a patient’s moulh. nose and throat clean. If these parts

arc not kept clean' t>he air is fouled before it, reaches the lungs. If the patient’s breath is unpleasant when it comes out, you may be sure it is very unpleasant when it gc*es down into the Jungs. Willi a piece of rag or cotton wool on the end of a match, the teeth must be cleaned, especially where the teeth join the gums. A little boracie or very weak carbolic ( 1 part in 60 of water) may be used. A tongue much furred may be cleaned by gently scraping with an ivory paper-knife. Be Sensible. You know you .sometimes strongly oppose Hie suggestion that an abscess should be opened w-th a knife. You say you hate the knife. But surely you hate abscesses more? How much better to burn the matter from the abscess than to have it inside your body. But you try to wheedle me. You say, “Leave it till to-morrow, or “Can 1 not poultice it?” And from sheer cowardice you run th*e risk of the poison getting up your arm and into your -general system. As soon as an abscess is formed it ought to be freely opened. It relieves thc hot feeling and the

burning and tension. If I can persuade you to consent to the only sensible treatment you are grateful in the end.