HEALTH HINTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1094, 8 May 1913, Page 4

HEALTH HINTS.

a— NASAL BREATHING

Konrad Euster bag found that, with the exception of certain diseases, such as hypertrophied tonsils, adenoids, etc., which obstruct nasal breathing, snoring is only a habit which may easily be overcome (says the Family Doctor). Snoring is due to the position of the mouth during sleep ; the snorer stops snoring as soon as mouth is closed. The condition is aggravated when the patient lies on his back. The

author constructed a bandage to hold up the lower jaw and to prevent its dropping during sleep. These bandages may be used ou children who habitually sleep with their mouth open, thus producing catarrhal conditions, deafness, etc. They should be applied every night until the child has become used to nasal breathing.

TO DEFY ODD AGE. When the ravages of old age have really begun, the march towards final decay may be delayed by attention to those rules of nutrition by which life is sustained with the least friction and the least waste. The prime rules for this purpose are to subsist on light but nutritious diet, with milk as the standard food, but varied according to season; to take lood in moderate quantity three times a day, with a very light meal before going to bed ; to clothe warmly, but lightly so that the body may iu all seasons maintain an equal temperature ; to keep the body in fair exercise, and the mind active and cheerful ; to maintain an interest In what is going ou iu the world, and to take part in reasonable labours and pleasures, as though old age were not present; to spend eight hours iu bed at the least, and to take care during the cold weather that the temperature of the sleeping room iu maintained at sixty degrees, Fahrenheit ; and to avoid passion, excitement and intoxicants.

NEURALGIA. A sufferer from neuralgia ought to seek the advice ot a physician at once, lor no oue but a physician can tell what causes the pain. If the neuralgia is the "symptomatic” ■ form, caused by some organic trouble ot which it is a symptom, treatment must be directed to the removal of the underlying disease. If, on the other hand, it is caused by functioual disturbance, such as maluutriciou, debility, or anaemia, or is the result of exhausting illness, rheumatism, or malaria, the treatment must aim at building up the general system. Again, neuralgia may be what Is called a “reflex” —that is, a warning of something wrong—in the adjacent parts. Then the region of the aching nerve must be searched for the cause. It may be a matter for the dentist, the oculist, or the laryngologist ; when the tooth has been filled, the eyes properly fitted with glasses, or the nasal cavity attended to, the neuralgia will promptly disappear. Whatever the cause of the pain, the general treatment must correct any errors ot daily life. The diet must he full and nourishing, and contain enough bofh of fluids and of fats. Many neurasthenic patients never get enough of either of these elements. In some obstinate cases a complete rest iu bed is most effective, especially if combined with a judicious diet. Neuralgia patients often suffer from digestive disturbances, and if they are simply told to eat more food they are iu danger of adding severe gastric disturbances to their other troubles. For this reason stubborn cases of neuralgia often improve if treated away from home at a good health resort, where they are under constant supervision. When the case is severe enough to call for drugs, the constant oversight of the physician is essential. Narcotics should be used only as a last resort, and the patient should never administer them to himself.