HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Chronicle (Levin), 3 January 1948, Page 6

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

the Department of Health.) * -

SUMMER SIOKNESS.

(By

A seasonal enemy to beware of as warmer days arrive is summer siekness, or epidemic diarrhoea. It is partiCularly hard on babies or toddlers; tlieir gastrie juiees do not deal with the germs so well' as adult stomaehs; more germs survive, and more little ones s'uft'er than grown ups. But grown-ups get it too. It starts extremely suddenly, with a- bout of diarrhoea; .foilowed by frequent furth'er bonts. 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 brea'st fed babies, and in them usually eomeS f-rom neglect in care of the breasts. In bottlefed" babies it comes from unclean or eontaininated milk, nnclean utensils, food handling- with dirty hands, dirty dummies, or, through flies inf eeting. 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 caiinot 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 eombination of the pectin, the acids, the sugars, and the traces of 'copper present in the apple. They eombine to remove and countera,ct the poisoii 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, do it this way: Wash and sliee 6 to 8 apples, includ ing skins aud cores., Barely cover with water, cook for 15 minutes, and wher. cool squeeze the juice through a jelly bag. Driuk the whole of this juice, un sweetened witliin two hours.