HEALTH NOTES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5398, 11 March 1929, Page 4

HEALTH NOTES.

PERSONAL HYGIENE.

(Contributed by the Department of

Health)).

The chief object, of. personal hygiene is to use and en joy the blessing of health. Good health makes possible the highest enjoyment of life and the the best service to the world. Health does not consist simply in keeping out of the hospital; it is positive not negative, states Professor Rosenau In his work on “Preventive Medicine and. Hygiene.” Good health consists in keeping the body and mind at the best level. It requites that each person study his powers., learn hisi needs, exercise his abilities, improve his resources, expand his possibilities, develop his mind and body, respect his limitations, and thus be prepared for the daily needs of lifeas they come from time to time. There are times when it may be noble to neglect, health ; there are times when it may be justifiable delib'ep.’ately to sacrifice health. Some things iu the world can be done only by paying the price. That is the cas.c with heroism, creative work, and child-bqaring. sacrifice of health sometimes made in the home and in the workshop, as well as. on the battlefield, but the sacrifice of health in the pursuit of personal or selfish gajn cannot receive approval. Many of t.ne gyeatejst contributions to the welfare of. mankind have been made by men in poor health ; the list is' legion.

We do not seek health for health’s sake, but for the sake; of usefulness in the world. Health is i>ot| the end but a means to. service and satisfaction. The strong and vigorous man, if selfish in these matters, is socially sick. A healthy man find. - joy inphiysatisf.action in work, and! inspiration in service. Health permits one to “live most and s-ejrve best” The physical and mental powers, if normal, should be exercised and strengthened; if handicapped, they shoud be corrected. If these deficiencies are not amepable to treatment, the indivdual must learn tq adjust his activities within the powers of his body. This is a problem of. compenga-. tion. To drive at high, speed a machine that is’built to go thirty miles an hour invites disaster. Thi:» is a problem of personal hygiepe—it, is individual. It depends upon the recognition of trouble, its nature, its course, and its effects ; then an intelligent adjustment to make life satisfactory within our limitations. Those w‘ho are endowed with a robust frame, sturdy constitution, and hereditary advantages must also learn the limits to which the human machine may be driven without perman-, ent harm. One of the important lessons of personal hygiene is to dev'qK’b that self-temperate normal life. This is a problem of. character building, and the most significant aim of personal hygiene which each, person must learn for himself. To follow piur instincts blindly would be to live on the; plane of. the lower animals. Persons who do this fall into grave error, especially‘in matters of hunger, exercise, a.pd sex. Instinct'fails to protect us f.ro|m disease germs ; it fails to appreciate the needs and rights of others, and thus, fall far short of the mark. Our sensations are not always to be trusted ; we may feel tired yet need ex'ejrQise; we may feel energetic and excited yet need restwe;. may not be thirsty yet need' water ; we may feel hungry yet not need food. Our sensations negardt ing sex may lead us astray and de-: pletfi cur vitality. Instincts and; sensations must be watched, studied, interpreted, and piften curbed., sometimes, sublimated. Although we are still ignorant of. many of the fundamental factors which underlie the art of hygienic, living, and there are many unsolved problems concerning diet and nutrition, etc., the safest plan is a common-sense middle ground that will regulate our health habits do. accord with clean, moderate, and moral living.