Summer Sickness Stalks In Sunshine -But Apples Help

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 24, 24 February 1948, Page 6

Summer Sickness Stalks In Sunshine -But Apples Help

(By the Department of Health) A seasonal enemy to beware of as warmer days arrive is summer sickness, or epidemic diarrhoea. It is particularly hard on babies or toddlers; their gastric juice's do not deal with the germs so well as -idult stomachs; more germs survive, and more little ones suffer than grown ups. But grown-ups get it too. It starts extremely suddenly, with a bout of diarrhoea, followed by frequent further bouts. Children usually develop a temperature and vomit. Babies go under very quickly. It comes from germ infection of baby’s foodstuffs. It is very rare in breast fed babies, and in them usually comes from neglect in care of the breasts. In bottle-fed babies it comes from unclean or contaminated milk, unclean utensils, food handed with dirty hands, dirty dummies, or through flies infecting any of these things. If your home is visited by summer diarrhoea, what are you to do? If it is baby, stop the feeds and put him on to boiled water only, until the doctor comes. If the doctor is busy and cannot come| put. the child on to grated raw ripe apple, frequent spoonsful, freshly grated, till the diarrhoea stops.

The apple has a curative effect on diarrhoea, due to a combination of the pectin, the acids, the sugars, and the traces of copper present in the apple. They combine to remove and counteract the poison from the germs and stop them multiplying. Next time you pick up a bout of summer diarrhoea try the water and the apple cure. Either take it by the tablespoon frequently, freshly grated, or better, dp it this way: Wash and slice 6 to 8 apples, including skins and cores. Barely cover with water, cook for 15 minutes, and when .cool squeeze the juice through a jelly bag. Drink the whole of this juice, unsweetened within two hours. •