HEALTH NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 13 August 1931, Page 7

HEALTH NOTES

VENTILATION. OUTDOOR AND THE HOME (Contributed by the Department of Health.) The tendency of mankind is to build ior himself some form of protection against the elements cold and heat, rain and frost, wind and dust. Indoor life is necessary in order to perform the delicate manipulations which cannot as a rule be efficiently conducted outdoors. '.lndoor life thus involves quietness and protection from sudden changes or extremes. The object of ventilation is comfort and health and does not as a rule mean bringing outdoor conditions inside. We require fresh air but at a different temperature and not hurled at us at too great a speed as with a strong wind.

The ventilation of bedrooms is slightly different. Here we want air as pure as is obtainable but there is no necessity to lveat it provided one is sufficiently covered. Thus in tho bedrooms the ideal should be to bring outdoor conditions inside. Ventilation can be considered from two aspects. Firstly external ventilation, secondly internal ventilation. In relationship to external ventilation model city planning should provide streets of sufficient width and' should regulate the height of buildings and also limit th eextent upon which the land may be built so as to allow a free circulateon of air about all structures and admit a flood of sunshine for at least a few hours during the day. The streets of many American resemble canyons rather than business thoroughfares with the result that the sun and air currents are excluded. External ventilation also includes the provision of a sufficiency of open spaces, children’s play areas and reserves. These not only beautify a city, but help to ventilate and add comfort and health to the inhabitants.

INTERNAL VENTILATION. The object is to supply to our houses air of a chemical composition as near as possible to that found outside. It has been proved by calculation and by actual experience that, an adult requires about 2000 cubic feet of fresh pure air per hour. This amount is the ideal one to be obtained if possible particularly in bedrooms which we occupy on the average about one-third of our lifetime. One of the practical difficulties of ventilation is that the composition of the air may be considerably altered without the body bding aware of it. . On the other hand alterations in the physical qualities of the air which disturb our heat mechanism are very much apparent. Thus wheii we complain that a loom is stuffy, R can be as a rule proved that the ■chemical composition of the air is within normal limits but the physcnl qualities have so altered that the body is having difficulty in keeping its temperature from rising above normal limits. In crowded buildings the temperature of the body immediately rises giving the symptoms of heat stagnation with which we are all familiar. Those symptoms are depression, headache, dizziness and tendency to sickness and culminating in actual fainting and death if relief is not obtained. An extreme example of heat stagnation is that of the tragedy known as “The Black Hole of Calcutta.”

BEDROOMS. In a climate such as ours if sufficient space is allowed for each individual there is never any difficulty in natural ventilation providing the windows are kept open to a reasonable extent. Ho vever, if overcrowding occurs, windows should be kept wide open to ensure 1 rapid air change. The problem in window ventilation is the prevention of draughts, and numerous devices are available to prevent this. A standard to be aimed at in bed rooms is an allowance of 500 cubic feet of space per individual with a floor space of about 63 square feet. The window area should be at least on L tenth of the floor space. A fireplace in a bedroom is also a very useful ventilator provided the vent over the fire is kept open. REMEMBER. The importance of sufficient fresh air in sleeping quarters cannot be overemphasized and many minor derangements of health are due to this cause. The effects- produced by long exposures to rooms slightly below normal in respect to ventilation include the dollowinpr:—Anaemia, debility, disturbances of digestion, depressed viteality and lowering of resistance to certain inf tions particularly common colds and othei-diseases of the nose and throat.