HEALTH NOTES.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 270, 10 January 1929, Page 2

HEALTH NOTES.

LIFE IN THE OPEN. bints to Holidaymakers. (Contributed by the Department of Health) The spirit of holidaymaking is everywhere. Tired city dwellers are picturing idyllic scenes—by sea, or river, or bush, with a blue sky overhead and undiluted sunshine. They grasp the opportunity of realising the joy of life out of doors, and plan Lo crowd into a few days many pleasurable experiences denied them in the routine of life. This is as it should be, but some forethought is necessary to secure the maximum of health and happiness from the long-looked-for vacation. Sunlight, for instance, we know to be one of nature’s most beneficent agents, but injudicious sun bathing may be not only harmful but actually dangerous. A famous medical man has said with regard to sunlight treatment that a blister is a major blunder of technique. A healthily-tanned skin cannot be acquired in a few days, and sea bathers should refrain from too sudden and reckless exposure of the body on hot beaches. Little children especially should wear shady hats. To prevent sunburning and protect the face, cold cream, simple talc powder or even ordinary flour may be used. To relieve the pain of sunburn, if acquired, a solution of bicarbonate of soda (one teaspoonful to the pint of warm water) is useful, followed by a soothing application, cold cream, etc. Calamine lotion is also a good application for acute sunburn. Exercise and Bathing.

Again, we all know that exercise in the open air is an aid to health, but here again excess is harmful. The essence of a holiday is relaxation. The same brain controls the muscles and the mind, and excessive, bodily fatigue is not an antidote to mental and nervous overwork. It is unscientific and harmful for those of mature years to indulge in violent athletic exercise without proper training. A 20-mile tramp with muscles flabby with disuse means exhaustion without benefit to compensate. People suffering from weak hearts should exercise moderation in outdoor bathing, as the exertion added to chill may be serious. Cramps attack the strongest swimmers without warnirg. Hence swimming far out beyond reach of help is unwise. Leave off before you are exhausted. Even the most ardent i holidaymaker is better for a sound ! sleep at night. Remember that a badly-pitched tent may be stuffier ; than a shut-up house. Every-tent should have a drain dug ; round it to carry' off water after rain, afid the , tent ropes must be slackened each night to allow for shrinkage from moisture. Waterproof ground sheets are invaluable to • rest on by day or to put beneath the mattress at night. The use of

judiciously-suspended mosquito netting gives peace and security at night where insect pests abound. The irritation of mosquito bites may be allayed by bathing with weak ammonia or sodium bicarbonate solution. lodine may be applied subsequently to prevent the development of infected sores. Sandflies do not readily bite a mud-covered surface—fortunately for bare-legged children disporting in the creek beds. Diet and Clothing. The diet of campers is necessarily simplified, but it should contain a liberal supply of fresh vegetables and fruit and a minimum of tinned food. One fact not sufficiently known is that milk should not be added to tea before putting in a thermos flask, as by this means a good medium is provided for the growth of bacteria,' which may be present in the milk. Milk should be carried separately and kept cool. Water from wayside streams may or may not be safe, according to its source. It is safer to boil it, as is fortunately done in the popular pastime of teamaking. Meat for campers may be kept fresh and uncontaminated hy flies in an improvised safe of butter muslin stretched over iron hoops and hung from a tree in a cool place. Butter may be kept cool in an unglazed pottery dish with wet muslin over it.

When packing remember that though we hope for summer at this time of the year we sometimes meet winter, and warm clothing cannot be left out of the bag. Simple Remedies. Shoes are important. No one, even on holiday, can be happy with sore feet. For little children sand shoes are good at the seaside. Shoes for tramping must have thick soles and broad low heels and must not cramp the toes. They should be worn with thick stockings, preferably undarned. Stockings should be soaped before use and the feet dusted with fcoracic powder. Regular daily bathing of the feet is advisable. If blisters form they should be let out by tunnelling under the edge with a sterilised needle. Fine strips of adhesive zinc oxide plaster should be evenly applied in latticework pattern over the affected parts.

Campers should carry simple first aid requisites, e.g., a few bandages, some common antiseptic such as lysol or boracic acid—tincture of iodine ia generally useful. Friar’s balsam is not only beneficial for use in sore throats (a few drops every few hours on loaf sugar) but makes an excellent external protective covering for cuts.

In conclusion, good campers do not deface the landscape with debris, such as old tins, waste paper, decayed vegetable and animal matter. Such rubbish forms a breeding ground for flies and may form a fertile source of infection. In any case it is an eyesore. A true lover of nature will always leave a scene as beautiful as he found it.

SOME REASONABLE EXPERIMENTS

I have no objection to your trying reasonable experiments with your health; only please note that I say “reasonable.” There was once a man

who thought he would like to try the starvation cure, and he took less and less to ant, and was getting on grandly, when one day he died of starvation. But, you know, there are some people whos e habits get into never-changing grooves, and they think the world would come to an end if they alterea them. Old Bill has always had meat three times a day, and thinks he could not do without it. He would probably be better if .he took less meat, only he would never find it out if he did not make the experiment. The New House. You may meet a man who says his wife has never been so well as she has been since they moved to their new I house. There is a chance for vou to put on your thinking cap. It may, alter all, that what your wife wants is I not a bottle of cure-all, but a change to ja Uiier house. You never stopped to j think whether your place was at the bottom of a hill, where all the undersoil water collects. Perhaps just round the corner is a house that would suit you quite as well, and it gets all tho suu. Sunsh.ne makes a house healthy j and, what is more, gives an air of i cheerfulness to vour rooms. Nothing ( depresses me so much as a dark, room where the light and air never seem to | penetrate, especially when the walls are ornamented—if you can call it that I —with funeral cards ; n memory of I Great-aunt Jane, with lots of skulls and l cross-bones on them. Winter sunshine is precious, and to no one more precious than to the growing child. Nurseries must be bright. The Matter of Diet. Another experiment, well worth trying to a tired worker, is to go to bed one hour earlier than usual. Tho brain and heart and muscles will be veiy much obliged, and will impart a sense succeeds it will have been a tribute to my wisdom in recommending it. Then in your diet you can do so much to he>j- • oui tnte.uai organs to do theii work ‘ftiriently. Most of you cau be divided into two classes —those who eat to.* -Ui.ch. aud those who eat too little, if • mly the too muehers would give a bit to the too littlers. what r happy world it would be. The nruchc s would be relieved of their goutf and liverishness, and the littlers would not faint at thair work. Ft Foolish Girls The girls are the great offenders. They get up aud, declaring with much l ill-humour that they can’t bear the sight of food, they go off to business with nothing more than a strong cup of tea in thei- insides. That is no good for a hard working girl. Then luer-time comes, and they take four cups of strong tea and some pickles to carry on with. Men have more sense; they have strong muscles, and they understand that those muscles cannot work unless they are supplied with fuel. But girls are well-nigh hopeless. They will uot spend the money on nourish’ng food while there is a fur cost to be bought. Gastric ulcers are about, five times a- common in women as in men. Experiments can .1 ways be tried. Eat more slowly; that maycure you. Drink a tumbler of water three »*■ four times a day. More than half our body weight is water, and n'entv of water is needed to keep the blood healthy and the kidneys and bowels working properly. You may fi"d brown bread suits you better than white.