Health Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 305, 16 March 1928, Page 12

Health Notes

SUNLIGHT

HEALTH-GIVING EFFECT Ancient civilisations, such as Aztecs, have svorshipped the sun it is only during the last few v e W ■ this country that any attention been directed towards the treat**!? of disease by sunlight, although r? Rollier. at Leysin. in Switzerland been practising this method with *** tonisiiing success for about °o yea 4 *” When we speak of mean sunlight and not sun heat, a** light is but one form of radiant"?" ergy, over 90 per cent, of which arS" able on this planet, we obtain from the solar radiations. Sunlit comprises the primary colour* can be split up into them bv ting a beam of light to pass throws* glass prism, varying from red at!L a end to violet at the other. This baS of spectrum consists of one octnvJrS forms of radiant energy by the sun travel across the intern? ing ether in the form of waves. Tw "waves” differ in their length—m-as' ured from “peak to peak”—and vibrating or pulsating at rates. According to their wave-lenJ*f and periodicity, they have physical properties an I produce dk ferent physiological and biological ef fects upon the human organism The wave-lengths which comDr*, what we call the visible spectrum?* light form one octave—i.e., the wav«! at one end of the spectrum are vibrat ing at twice the frequency of those at the other end. The human eye k only capable of registering visual im pressions from this one octave. g." low the red end of the luminous specl trum are the heat rays: below th«» again a number of octaves of infrared rays. or Hertzian waves and" again, the wave-lengths of enercr used to-day in wireless and broadcast ing. At the other end of the luminom spectrum we come to no less thaa three octaves of ultra-violet light. low these, again, are the X-r* vs ani the gamma rays of radium. ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS. Hundreds of these octaves htve beea investigated more or less thoroughly by the physicist. They are ail form's of radiant energy. The harmiui om* are filtered out by the earth’s atmosphere. These wave-lengths vary from microscopic proportions to many miles in length. It has lorg been known that the therapeutic rays of the solar spectrum lie principally in the ultra-violet zone. Niels Finsea the pioneer of ultra-violet radiation therapy, discovered this upward of a quarter of a century ago, and finding the inconstant sun a failing source, devised in the carbon arc lamp an artificial source of these rays for the treatment of lupus. Now, these ultra-violet rays are easily filtered out, moisture, dust, and smoke arresting them, so that natural sun cure is impossible in lowlying, damp and misty lands, save in certain seasons of the year and in a few favoured spots. Even at its best, the sun, as in the higher Alps, never contains more than half an octave these rays—speaking of quality—and then very diluted. Snow, ice, blue skies, and water all reflect ultra-violet rays, while clouds ; the soil, etc., aih sorb them. So that the sun cure a best best practised at an altitude or at the seaside and where there Is a blue sky. Also, the early morning or late afternoon hours are the best, as there is a relatively less amount of heat rays present. Heat rays in excess are harmful, and negative entirely the beneficial resuiti of the ultra-violet. This is one reason why the tropical sun is harmful. THE SUN CURE The high priest of modern sun worship is Dr. Rollier, of Leysin, in Switzerland, where as long ago as Jltl he began a systematic use of the sun cure. He was among the first to recognise that sunlight has a specific influence on the tissues in improving resistance to germs and even in preventing injury from certain food deficiencies, as in the case of rickets. There is now an accumulation of evidence to show the benefit to be derived from sunlit air, especi:illy in conditions such as faulty nutrition and tuberculosis, and this method of treatment is la rgely used in Great Britain, the Continent of Europe and America. It is .reasonable to conclude that a sunbath can materially contribute to the well-teing of average people who do not sufi er from any particular complaint. anr there is no doubt that tiw sunbath, like the air bath, should be more generally employed as a hygienic measure. In taking sunbaths, however, common-sense must be exercised. It is important that the bo# be exposed to the direct rays of the sun, even glass will obstruct the curative rays. It is well to shade the eye* from the glare of the sun and it* reflection from the sand or the surface of water. The head should be covered. Treatment should be gradual Blonde and red-haired people as a rule show greater sensitiveness to sublight, and the slightest over-exposiaf may react unfavourably*, product? headache, fever and malaise. Both tie front of the naked body and the back should be exposed not more than five minutes the first day until an hoar more is reached, with the progressive bronzing of the skin. The generaeffect is manifested by increase* healthiness usually in proportion to the bronzing. HEALTH-GIVING MEASURE Bearing these cautions in daily exposure of as much as P O98 "\ of the surface to the body tc direct rays of the sun, not, of to the point of blistering or extre ®! sunburn, is a health-giving measu£ which should be more widely em P :o *Lj The instinctive tendency to lie aro in the sand on the seashore before after a surf bath, and the feeUt J® well-being resulting from the corn* of the body with the air and sun a. thus explained. “The national tion of the open-air school.” wro • Leonard Hill, “the garden otjr, open-air factory, and °P en ‘^ ir #n cises, cannot fail immeasurably , prove the health and the enjoyna © life of all concerned. There co * no more far-reaching or bene *- * eE: construction work done at tne time, both for the health of the and the adult, than the mtrod what I may call the practic open-air life both in s^oo l an factory. ... It is sunlight, cw dryness, diversity of cooling L.-,» esget movement of the air which a health-giving effect.” I