Health Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 383, 18 June 1928, Page 11

Health Notes

PERSONAL HYGIENE CARE OF THE BODY (Contributed by Department of i Health.) From a health point of view, the i terms “cleanliness” and “personal hygiene’ are practically synonymous. Personal hygiene is a distinct aid to health, and, therefore, to efficiency. There can thus be no question of its importance. So much so that instruction in personal hygiene is of inestimable value in primary schools in order that lifelong habits of right living may be inculcated in each individual. We may now consider what steps must be taken to keep the various parts of our body in good order. Care of the Skin The skin, by surface radiation and evaporation, regulates the temperature of the body. It is also an excretory organ, as it contains innumerable sweat glands, whose ducts open on the surface. There are other glands of the skin—sebaceous glands. The skin is therefore exuding sweat and sebaceous matter which, mixed with shed epidermic scales and scurf, accumulates on the surface, and must be periodically removed if the body is to be kept in a clean and wholesome condition. To keep the skin in good health a hot bath should be taken at least once a week, preferably at night, in order to avoid chill. Cold baths are less cleansing than hot, but more stimulating and invigorating. The best time for a cold bath is on rising. Very young and delicate people do not as a rule stand cold baths well, and for them a daily tepid sponge is preferable. Special attention to the care of the feet is essential, as a large amount of perspiration is given off by the sweat glands on the soles of the feet, even in the coldest weather. This, together with the scales which collect in the spaces between the toes, must be daily removed by washing, as otherwise the feet rapidly become offensive. Other parts of the body which require special attention are those parts where perspiration is most active, such as in armpit and in the groin. The head should be thoroughly washed at least once a week. A good deal of the soot and dust in the atmosphere of large towns is prevented from reaching the lungs by becoming lodged in the nasal cavities just -within the opening of the nostrils. The nose therefore performs the useful functions of a filter, but like other kinds of filters, it should be periodically cleansed. It is important therefore that children should be taught the proper use of the handkerchief and that they be encouraged at all times to breathe through the nose. Vermin Dirty skin and clothing attract lice. ! There are two kinds of lice commonly infesting the human body, the head louse (pediculus capitis) and the body louse (pediculus corporis). The head

I louse infects the hair of the head. | The female Mays numerous eggs—nits j —which are attached to the shafts of j the hair. The embryos take some eight or ten days to hatch out, and then appear as grown lice. Hence measures taken to get rid of lice must j be carried out thoroughly for at least ten days. Lice bite the skin and suck blood, the bites inducing great irri- | tation, which leads to scratching, and | the formation of sores, accompanied by painful enlargement of the neck i glands. The body louse resembles the head louse. It lives and breeds in the creases of the garments next to the skin, and also sucks blood from its victim. Both head and body lice are j transferred from person to person by close contact or by the wearing of infested caps or clothes. Head lice is best got rid of by cut- . ting the hair very short and thoroughly saturating it with kerosene overnight. Next morning the hair should be washed thoroughly with soft soap and hot water, and then combed with a fine-tooth comb. The removal of nits can be assisted by dipping the . comb in warm vinegar. Body lice are destroyed if the garments they infest are baked or disinfected by steam ■ heat. Care of the Nails ; Nails should be kept short and their : cleanliness ensured by a thorough ■■ scrubbing with a nail-brush in hot 1 soapy water. Dirty nails often carry ' infection to the food. Small children, J for instance, often reinfect themselves > with thread worms by conveying the ' ova into the mouth from dirt underneath their fingernails. } Care of the Teeth > Decayed teeth are a potent cause of • disease. A person with bad teeth ; swallows poison with each mouthful * of food. A dirty mouth and foul breath ; are most repulsive, as well as injuri ious to health. Hence, care of the l teeth is important. Teeth should be brushed after each meal if possible, especially the last thing at night, t Meals should be ended by food of a } cleansing character, e.g., salivary , stimulants such as lettuce, celery, , apples. t Remember that dirt decreases phyt sical efficiency and takes away self- - respect. Cleanliness not only gives - bodily comfort and health, but contributes toward a sense of personal - dignity, and hence adds greatly to 3 one’s power of achievement.