NATURE’S WARNINGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1042, 5 August 1930, Page 5

NATURE’S WARNINGS

DO NO NEGLECT “VAGUE PAINS” Pain in every form is nature’s warning that we have done, or are doing, something contrary to her laws. Yet we disregard the signal, recognise only the pain itself, and rush to alleviate it without giving thought to its cause. Perhaps the most dangerous pains are those which at first are no more than mere twinges or uncomfortable aches that go unheeded till irreparable mischief has been done.

A typical example of this negleci is the all-too-common practice of talk I ing airily of "growing paints.” When a child complains of a constant dull ache in his leg, nine times out of ten this is really a sign of incipient rheu matism, which, if not taken in time, may end in rheumatic fever or an impaired heart. Be wise if your child speaks of painful and easily-tired limbs, and arrange for a doctor to see him at the earliest opportunity. Pains in the head may be the forewarning of many things both nervous and physical. Tracjj them down to their source as quickly as possible, instead of rushing off to get some pill or potion. Many of these remedies are excellent in their way, and are useful so long as they are recognised as palliatives, not as cures. The cause of the headache—whether digestive, nervous, ov due to overfatigue—is the essential point. Note the warning it gives you, treat the cause, and then, its work done, the headache will depart. Repeated twinges of earache, especially in children, very often denote the presence of adenoids or- septic tonsils. Again, they may be the forerunners of more or less serious disease of the ear, and thus are indications which should never be heglecled however slight they may be. A sudden spasm of toothache, or constant discomfort and pain in the gums, is yet anothei danger call which should be answered speedily, for there is no place where destructive germs work more quickly, or in a more deadly manner, than in the mouth. Internal pains and those felt in the region of the heart must never be overlooked. Though many of these may have a simple explanation, the chances are that they indicate some derangement, the curq of which depends largely upon the promptitude with which it is tackled.

Neuralgia is a word behind which many pains shelter. Wherever it appears, it must be regarded as one of nature's favourite means of calling attention to the fact that something is wrong.