Science.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 428, 28 July 1904, Page 7

Science.

CUBES WITHOUT"MEDICINE. ? SSBC2 GBEAT aany slight ailments, »M® suffloient to make one thoroughly. ffiSg unhappy, yet not bad enongh to warrant a doctor's visit, may be more or lees tffeetively treated by simple remedies usually obtainable at home. Toothache, for instance, every one suffers from at one time ,or another.' In' its' milder form it nearly always results from acids in the mouth. The acid is produced. by fermentation of the food, and all that is needed to cure the toothache is to neutralise the acid by means of an alkali. If the pain attacks several teeth at once, acidity is almost certainly the cause; and the 'cure is as follows:—Pat a pinch of bicarbonate of soda (bread-sod a) in the mouth;' take a mouthful of water, ar d well rinse the teeth. If the pain is in one tooth, get a piece of cotton-wool, wet it, smear it with the soda, and place in the cavity. If this is done in time, a bad toothache may be averted. Dyspepsia makes many very miserable. Thorough mastication, plenty of exercise, and judicious dieting t ill generally cure it. Drugs seem to be useless, or, at least, their good effects are only temporary. But some doctors say that liquorice is an excellent remedy. A little, piece of liquorice slowly dissolved in the mouth supplies the stomach with a soothing and protective coat. A great physician recommends a glass of hot water, in which an eggspoonful of salt is dissolved, to be taken fifteen or twenty minutes before meals. Sip it. Charcoal, w! ioh may be made at home, is another Very good cure. It absorbs the gases produced by fer-mentation-of the food.

According to Dr. Mnrrell, there is no better cure for a cold than a glass of strong and hot whisky punch. Bat it mast be taken at the very beginning of a cold, and after the sufferer has got into bed. An old-fashioned and very good care also is a few spoonfuls of black currant; jam (homemade) in a glass of hot water. Tins, with a mustard plaster* a mustard footbath, and an extra blanket* will drive away any cold, provided the measures are taken withont delay.. A roasted Spanish onion, or two, according to the Army Cook Book, is advised,

For cold in the head there are several excellent palliatives, although it is doubtfnl if there is ariy cute, even in the chemist's shop. One remedy is fine castor sugar, If nsed as a snuff, .this dries up the seoretion and protects the mucous membrane. Another remedy is snuff. At the very first symptom of a cold in the head, take a pinch of snuff, and it will not only avert the cold in the head, but often prevent a bad cold in the lungs. Burns, if severe, should be at once treated by the, doctor. But when he is not at hand smear them with vaseline and oover with cotton-wool. Every house where there are children, however, should contain a bottle of carbolic oil or oarroß oil, for a burn should be treated at once, or the consequences may-be serious. For slight burns cold water is an infallible remedy. If the finger,.for ißstance,.be burned by a match, plunge it into cold water and keep it there for five minutes. No pain whatever will be' felt then or afterwards.

To stop the nose blet ding sniff up cold water and throw the head backwards—not, as is usually done, forwards. For varicose veins rub the leg upwards for five minutes every night and morning. For sleeplessness try a glass of warm milk—not hot, for it is then stimulant—at bedtime. Or soak a towl in water and lay it on the stomach. Or sit up in bed, in the dirk, and try to keep awake. For hiccough press the finger firmly on the upper lip, just under the nose. For lumbago or sciatica, wear a flannel bandage round the back. There seems to be something in the superstition that red flannel is especially curative. For a pain in the stomach try some pepper in a git s a of hot water. If the eyes ache or are sore from dust, open them in a basin of tepid water in which a teaspoonful of salt has been dissolved, Never open the eyes in pure water, as it injures them, Salieylic acid is the infallible cure for corns and warts, but, failing this, rub them with an apple. Fruit and vegetables supply ua with a great variety of cures. Grapes relieve feverish colds by the citric acid they contain. Oranges allay fever. Dimes and lemons purify the blood, so much so that the law compels British Bhips to carry lime juice for the sailors, as an antiscorbutic Asparagus seethes as irritable heart. Indeed, a drug used for that purpose is prepared from it. Oalery relieves rheumatism and tones the nerves. Spinach has a reputation far clearing the complexion (it is perfectly valueless as. a food), and apples ward off the gout. Perhaps the most useful, hints to be known in the great n» jority of housohoMa are those that apply to infants. The eyes of a young baby should be cleansed with a little bit of Bof t linen. Old fine handkerchiefs should be saved and small pieces should be torn off ready for the bath every day. They should be thrown into the fire immediately they have been used. Take a piece of soft linen and dip it in a lukewarm solution of salt or boric acid, the latter for preference, using one-fourth of an even teaspoonful of either to one pint of water. Should pus, or matter, appear in the corners of the eyes and in the eyes themselves, or on the rims of the lids, the eyes should be cleansed every hour, missing not even one, except when the baby sleeps, with a solution of ten grains of boric acid to one ounce of water. Should the lids stick together, as when pus is present they will, a little fresh vaseline should be rubbed upon them at night, using the gentlest possible motion, A doctor's attention should be called to the weak eyes of any child, so that further mischief may ba averted.

No infant should be allowed to go to Bleep in the fall glare" of a brilliantly illuminated room, and when he is ont in hia bassinet-perambulator they should also be shielded by a white screen lined with bine or green, or one that is entirely bine or green. Soma nurses foolishly think that when a child is asleep light does net inflaence his eyes. This' is absolutely wrong, as any stnuble grown up p°reoH will readily admit. Try going to sleep in a room where there is a glare of eun or lamplight, and when you awake your eyes, if they are inclined to be at all sensitive, will feel weary and worn ont. Bemember, too, that a little child's eyes are very much more sensitive than your own.

It is sinus!; as nec(S3ary to clean a baby's month as it is to olean the eyes. Many nurses act upon the principle that it is more necessary, but I place the eyes first, because I am well aware of the many ills that ensue when they are neglected. The mouth is generally looked after, while the eyes are often forgotten. To clean the mouth, take another piece of soft linen-such as has already been ordered, and wipe the inside of the mouth with it using plain water, which, of course, must have been boiled, or, if the child is Buffering from thrush or liable to it, with a solution of borax or bicarbonate of sod—one-fourth teaspoonful to a pint of water.—'Daily Mail,'