TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 145, 20 June 1936, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

(By A FAMILY DOCTOR).

TO PREVENT COLES. Simple methods are often best. Due of the ways to prevent colds and bronchitis and catarrh of the throat is to use a handkerchief. Now children’s noses are near the ground, an the dust gets into them more readily than into the nose of a six-footer. Li the child’s little nose is blocked up with mucus and road dust .the air-way is closed mouth-breathing results a ith all its attendant ills, if the air docs go through the half-closed nose it carries road-uust into the lungs. A child has no instinct to guide it. A chicken or a fox-terrier puppy knows all that a self-respecting young animal ought to know, but a child has to rely on the wisdom and the guidance of parents and guardians. This nay bring home to you the enormous task a poor, unfortunate teach of hygiene undertakes. Poor me! I am indeed sorry for myself. 1 have to teach the people to take care of their children, and the mothers and fathers do not know that a child should be taught to blow its nose. They know nothing. The people know no more about hygiene than they know about the man in the moon. Out of Condition. Suppose you and I. who are getting on in life, were to try and run a mile we should lie down alter about a hundred yards and wish we had never been born; our poor old hearts and lungs would not bear the strain. But 1 dare say we could improve our condition if we tried. We might go for a smart walk twice a day and increase the distance each week or increase the pace. We all know that there is such a thin-' as being in bad condition; even professional runners and boxers may be badly trained, and, as we say, uut of condition. Well, all this applies to invalids. A man who has recovered from broncho-pneumonia is in very bad training; he can hardly walk across the room without pulling ami blowing. In a mouth he is able to go out in the garden, and he still feels like a piece of chewed string, as my patients say. Another few weeks to go by, and now he ought to take a little more exercise. | The time has come to get back the old strength and a little more. True Philosophy. Y’ou must always try and make an illness a blessing in disguise by building up your- health during convalescence; you must be able to say that you have never felt so well since you had pneumonia; if your firm allows you a good long sick-leave you must take full advantage of it. But you must not bo lazy when you are recovering. Part of your weakness is a mere matter of training. If you fill yourself up with food and never take any exercise, you are sure to be out of breath on slight exertion. You must mark out a chart for yourself. On Monday you walk as far as the pillarbox; on Tuesday as far as the milkshop, which is a little farther away. On Wednesday you stroll as far as the Pig and Whistle, choosing a time when the hostel is open or shut, according to your taste, but the point is you must walk, there and back, no riding on the tram. On Thursday you are surprised that you can walk so far; dear me, you would never have thought it. On Fri-

day you can walk right round the houses and home again with pride in your heart and defiance in your eye. Saturday you can take a rest if you like, but on Sunday you can continue your progress, and then on Monday, begin all over again. Lazy Invalids. Some of you invalids are dreadfully lazy and self atisfied; you accept all the sympathy that is given you and never think that you must cure yourself by your own exertions. You must never do less on any given day than you did on the day before; you must not be a back-slider. This graduated exercise is a most excellent way of restoring health, and 1 strongly recommend it to you. A Seat of Catarrh. The naso-pharyux is the name given to the part situated at the junction of the nose and throat. It is just behind the little soft curtain that hangs down at the back of the throat. It is an important part of the body because it is often the seat of catarrh. This catarrh cannot be treated by mouth-washes or gargles, as the;' do not reach the nasopharynx; it is too far back. Hence it is that the catarrh goes on for months and months, and nothing seems to cure it, because it is so difficult to get at. The only way the trouble cau be reached is through the nose. A Nasal Douche. The real importance of treating the naso-pharynx is sometimes overlooked. For instance, the unhealthy mucous from the back of the nose may fall down into the throat and voice-box, giving rise to hoarseness, and then the j proper way to treat the hoarseness is to apply, remedies to the back of the nose, and not to the throat, because if you can cure the nose you cure the hoarseness. A find a useful prescription for a nasal douche is the following: Bicarbonate of soda 7 grains, borax 7 grains, listerine 2 teaspoonfuls, and water to 1 ounce. The best way to use it is to dispense with all douches and syringes and apparatus and simply snuff the solution out of the palm of the hand. Glasses Needed. Constantly recurring styes on the i edge of the eyelid nearly always suggests that glasses should be worn, and the application of lotions and ointments will be useless if the true remedy is to relieve the sight with proper lenses. Do not fall into the common mistake of attributing a smarting of the eye to a cold when it is, in fact, due to a speck of dust under the upper eyelid. Remember that a speck affects only one eye; all forms of inflammation affect both eyes. If you have not learnt how to turn an eyelid inside out, it is useless to poke at the eye with the corner .of a handkerchief. Treatment of Ring-worm. Ring-worm is a bad name, because there is no worm, only a minute fungus that grows deep down in the roots of the hair. An ointment spread on the surface of the scalp will not readily penetrate at the deep roots, and the fungus grows quite happily under the thick skin. There is a sheath around the hair, and the ring-worm fungus lies in. that heath. The effect of the Xrays is to cause the hair to fall out, and with it comes all the fungus. Thus the scalp is made clean. When the new hair grows it is no longer infested. It is a very rare accident for the hair to fail to grow; one case will not occur in thousands treated. Ring-worm on the skin is not so difficult ‘■o get rid of. The best application is tincture of iodine or some antiseptic ointment.