HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 96, 7 August 1945, Page 6

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

VACCINES AND THE COMMON

COLD

(By the Department of Health). In this temperate land of ours the common cold runs through the commtinity from time to causing much distress and disability much absenteeism from work and loss of wages. Of late years vaccination has been suggested and tried out widely in many countries. If this were worth while it would prevent the common cold, or at least help in its control. But if vaccination fails to do then there's little point in adopting the practice and spending money to no useful end. Colds don't always have the same casual germ or virus, nor do they cause the same symptoms each visit. No one individual can prove or disprove the value of a vaccine for his own history of colds over a period of years will vary too much to make individual testimony a sale guide. It is only through the use of a uniform type of vaccine In big groups of people with equally large numbers of controls and over a sufficient period of time that proof of the value of vaccines can be obtained—provided ? of course that qualified observers undertake such controlled studies. Controlled studies have been done. Decisive, evidence of the value of any vaccine is not forthcoming. Careful studies have failed to demonstrate that vaccines prevent common colds control epidemics, soften the symptoms or shorten their stay with us; nor do they lessen complications such as bronpneumonia and middle, ear disease. The results of inoculation may seem encouraging one winter and then be very disappointing through the next. Any use of vaccines against the common cold at the present time, should be purely experimental. Use on single individuals does not increase our knowledge and unless used on numbers against controls is not really helping to find a worth- . while cure. In other words until experimental medicine has proved vaccines against the common cold to be valu- 1 able—.and this is unproved yet— they are not recommended for individual use.

BURNS AND CUTS

(By the Department of Health). For burns and scalds in the home don't put on any kind of messy oily dressings, such as rubbing the injured part Avith butter. Quickly ex-< elude air by plunging it into a [solution of baking soda—one dessertspoonful of soda bicarbonate to a [pint of warm water. Any clothing can be removed while the area is immersed. A dressing of lint in strips saturated in a fresh baking soda solution, should be. covered with waterproof material—oiled silk or jaconette-—and cotton wool. If

you've. ,no waterproof material handy moisten the cotton wool with the •solution to keep it wet as long as possible. If the. burn is more than a minor one this dressing kept moist is admirable while waiting for the doctor or on the way to hospital. Remember the strength—baking soda ! 1 dessertspoon to 1 pint. And don't go making a mistake and using ' washing soda! For clean cuts and scratches paint

the damaged area with tincture of or a 1 per cent, aqueous solution of gentian violet. This doesn't sting like the iodine and is very good f but it is a stain. So be careful if using gentian violet just as .you have to he with the iodine too. After painting cover with sterile gauze or lint, a little cotton wool and bandage. For dirty wounds wash in soapy water or a disinfectant solution. If there seems to be redness and inflammation give a long hot water soak, followed by a hot poultice, and repeat four-hourly until you get a doctor—it you are still worried.

A BAD HYGIENIC HABIT (By the Department of Health). Sensible folk agree that spitting is a filthy habit and one that spreads

hard spitters about. It should be a public offence to spit about our streets—or in fact to spit anywhere. There is however something which is just as bad as but far more common than spitting and which ' spreads diseases just as readily. It is the habit of putting one's linger in one's mouth, and moistening things with saliva before passing them on. A number of diseases are passed on by personal contact. Pneumonia influenza diphtheria scarlet fever measles whooping cough, chickenmumps and the common cold— these and other diseases are contact diseases. They spread from a person with the disease to another mostly directly, but. sometimes indirectly through things touched and infected by the sufferer. It's the bodily secretions anil excretions that are the transfer agents. When articles are moistened with saliva and pass-* ' ed on to others tliis is a most effec- '• tive and indirect way of passing in- ' fections on to others. It's really a ' very close method of personal con- e tact.

The clerk who moistens his lingers to turn over correspondence for .somebody the ticket seller Avho wets the tickets, with saliva to facilitate the snle ? the shop assistant who moistens the .sheet of wrapping paper with a wet linger to pull it oil a pile of paper ? and the folk who moisten papers to turn them over all those help to spread infection. Just keep your eyes open and notice how many lick-linger folk there arc about.

The cure of this bad habit is public recognition ot its danger that it's bad form—that licking of fingers, moistening them with saliva is dangerous to others, and socially wrong.