Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 9 August 1906, Page 33

Domestic

By 'Maureen'

Sleeping With the Mouth Open. If you sleep with your mouth open, you will get about half the benefit you ought to from your night's rest. This is frequently the cause of 'that tired feeling on waking in tho morning. If there be an epidemic floating about, you double your chances of catching it, and lessen your chances of recovering, because the habit weakens the lungs. A Cure for Neuralgia. A biisk rubbing from lu-ad to foot with a Turkish towel night and morning will do much toward oft neuralgia and rheumatism. For neuralgia cut a thick slice of biead, soak one side for a minute in boiling water, rapidly sprinkle cayenne pepper over the hot side and apply to the face. It will not blister as mustard docs. Cleansing the Sick Room. To clean an invalid's room it should never be swept in the uidinaiy sense of the word. Instead carpet and flooi should be cleaned vi this way • To a bucket of cold water add one lablespoonful of liouid ammonia, W ring a clean doth out of this, getting it as dry as possible, and with this caiefully wipe over both carpet and floor, turning and rinsing the cloth and changing the water as it gets dirty This is a veiy much better and more hygienic method than sweeping the loom and raising much dust which to say the least, must be very obnoxious to the patient Ihe matter of dusting the room should likewise be done with a damp cloth, and thus all dust particles avill be pic\cnted from floating louad the room. Death in the Sponge. ' The " Lancet " enlarges on the dangers of the sponge Enormous quantities ol water pass through it and ' it is obvious that the sponge must arrest the unpunt.es of a water jus I as does a good filter, and sooner oi later slimy matter accumulates, the quantity and quality of which depend upon the character of the water supply. The use of soap would, as a rule increase the slime owin? to the foimation of insoluble curds of hme soap. The number of organisms and the amount of impurity m I lie water may be quite insignificant in relatively small volumes of the water, but when the accumulation caught in a sponiro represents some hundieds of gallons of water the sponge may obviously tcun with potentialities for evil.' The A alue of Onions. Onions are an old fashioned, but useful remedy for relieving earache wheie it probably pi oceeds from cold vet a Spanish or laige common onion, put it in the oven, or cut it in half, and loast (holding on a toasting fork before the die). When unite hot place on the ear, covered over (both sides) with thin flannel or cotton. Continue to apply, putting the onions on as hot as they can be borne, Ij|] the pain is relieved or gone. As hot onions will tend to melt the wax in the ear, it should be seen afterwards whether the ear is quite ch-ar, if not, syringe veiv gently with lukewarm water. A little lint or cottonwool may be placed in the ear after the onions are removed to avoid fri&h cold being taken. Cut two or three pood si/ed onions in halves and place them on a plate on tne floor. They absoib obnoxious effluvia, etc., in the sick loom in an incredibly short space of time, and are sieatly to be preferred to perfumery for the sune purpose. They should be changed cveiy six hours As a nerve tonic onions are invaluable. No other vegetable will so quickly nlicve and tone up a wornout system, and nothing will clear a poor complexion as quickly as the free eating of onions. Onions eaten just before retiritm; frequently prove effective in inducing sleep wheie oMier means fail The onions are sliced and placed on thin bread and butter and have a soporific effect.