MEDICAL NOTES.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 253, 25 April 1888, Page 4

MEDICAL NOTES.

I Pure Air.— Health depends, to a very largo oxtont, on the purity of the air we breathe. The blood requires oxygen ; tho oxygen of the air is tho great blood purifier. In breathing, we deprive tho air of part of its oxygon, and supply its place with carbonic acid gas, a gas which is injurious to tho lungs. In crovvdod rooms, or close bedrooms, this gas accumulates, and if breathed for any length of time, headache, weariness, faintness, or loss of strength ensue. Persons who spend a great part of their lives in rooms filled with bad air cannot oxpoct to be healthy ; and they are more liable to disease than those who .study the importance of fresh air. Too much food may easily be taken, but too much air cannot. A (iooi) (J<mri,K\!ON. — Some women are born with beautiful skin:-, clcai, soft, and peach-liko, but (hove arc few women who can keep their complexion clear without considerable care. The first thing a woman should lemember when she wants to improvo her completion is diet' propeily. Butter, tat meat, gieasy food of every kind must not bo eaten. Collce and tea must be given up ; so must claret and all kinds of wine Fruit and \ cjrotablos should be oaten ftccly, and oaken avoided. Pies never should be touched, and pickles and acid food generally should be dispensed with. Tender gicen vegetables —fresh, of coiiihu - should take then place. A woman who follows theso rules will find that her skin w ill become smooth and clear 'if tor .several months have uas.scd. Of course the dieting must be thorough and careful. No improvement can be made unless it is. 1 Soiling water is also one of the best things with which to keep tho complexion in good order. A tumblcthtl should bo drunk about twenty to fittcvn minutes befoie every meal. If it is disagreeable by itself the juice of half a lemon should bo added. Sugar should not be used. The sun is excellent for the complexion ; but not too much of it. A little browning and freckling is often beneficial; but when the face is exposed to too groat a measure of the sun's rays the skin is apt to becomo co.ir.se. I)u.i,stio\ --It is no le-s tiue of th° w ork of digestion than it is of any othe r work, that the final .success depends upon the thoiough peiformance of the prclimi n-uy work, and you may be voiy mho of life-long fieodoin fiom st,omach-acho if, ha\ ing seemed the tight kind of food, 3'ou caictully follow nauue's plan lor the piopaiatory wot k ot the mouth, while }'ou may be equally bine of becoming a continned d\ -peptic in your pi line if \ou neglect 1o use youi teeth faithfully on your food, and, in adilition to that, was)) it down with much cold water or other cold dunks. So much mi-chief is walked, iiist by diluting tha u;.istiic juice, and second by icduciug tho tempoialuie of the stomach. Our <;astiie juices need to leach f.he solid food undiluted, to attack it with tho nt length they possess ; to add much v atcr at the same moment i& to atk them in one bieath to do a thing, and to hinder tlicm fiom doing it. "Shall we then diink no water . you will sa\. Theio is a litiio to diink as well as to eat, and since w atei constitutes thiee-fourths of the body, and .since thiee or four pounds of thiwatei d.ul\ passes out of it by way of the lungs, the sl;ni, and tho ktdnejs, it ievident that an eqimalent for this daily loss must be pio\idod. Not only this, but the lining of the aliment aiy canal- or tube the nourishment passes along requires to be washed after it has done its work, just as much as the mouth, teeth, and face do ; thus it follows that a good time to fake a hill glass of watei i- two or throe hour* after eating. Two other good times aie half an hour befoie breakfa-t and on going to bed. Many people find \eiy hot water better than cold then. RhiMhlMl'/i ACMNST Most.Hl IOK.S. — ■ It is cuiious, indeed, how often one finds that iceij)e^, which have been u-ed by some persons w ith perfect success, aie dcelaied by otheis {,o be ineffectual No doubt certain iudi\ lductls* aie unusually subject to the attacks of m.-eet-., which seem to have their likes ,nul thi-H di-hkes, and will puisne -ome {km sons much moiepertinaciously than otheis . but it is probable, aKo, that in many ca-e- the allcired ineflicacy of a recipe i- due to it- not been properly made up. luuggi-ts ha\e not at all times the drugs icquiied, and the} ha\o been known occasionally to omit what is wanting, or to substitute -oinething else ; and at other times, when they ha\e the necexsaiy insome may havo been kept so long in stook as to have lost their viitue. It is ret tain, for example, that tho flowers of tho P\ietluum rohCiim (commonly known as I'oi-iau insect powder, and by other trade name-) foi m a most useful insecticide, when ft o-<li and good ; but the powder .soon loses its ctheaey by cxposuie to the atmosphore. It is not sin prising, theiefore, that one }>cison should say he had used with success a tinctuie made from pyrethium iloweis. steeped in spirits ; and that another pei.son having tiicd the same recipe should dtclare it to be uttoily useless. A .simple recipe which has been successfully tried by many poisons as a pioventive of the attacks of 111scct.s, is a mi.xtuie of cedar oil and olhc oil in equal parts. Rub the face, neck, hands, and whiskeis o\er with the mixture; and cany a phial ot it about you, to icuew the application occasionally. Cedar oil, or essential oil of cedar wood, as it is also called, is a distillate of the wood used in making cedar pencils. Another is as follow* : Oil of pennyroyal, two drachms, oilof cedai two drachms, glacial acetic acid half adiachm, puce carbolic acid one drachm, camphor three drachms, and castor oil three ounces ; mix. To make a clear mixture tho acetic acid mu->t be of full strength and the catholic acid tho melted crystals. It is in no way unpleasant to use, but should not be allowed to touch the eyelids. Another : Dissolve in a cupful of water as much alum as the water will contain - in other woids, make tho strongest solution possible of alum and water; add one-third propoition of aromatic vinegar and onefouith of glycerine; keep it in small Hat phials convenient, for tho pocket, and apply it constantly during tho day. j Lio.uu> UuJi'\ toKkki I.—With1 .— With any desired quantity of glue use ordinary whisky, or methylated alcohol, instead of water. l»i oak the gluo in small fragments and put these in a suitable glass vessel, and pour tho \vhi«ky over thorn. Cork tightly, and .set aside for tlneo or tour days, when it will be ready tor use, without the necessity of applying boat Thus prepared the mixture will keep unaltered for yoars, and will lomain permanently liquid, except in vory cold weather, when it may be found nccessai y to place the bottle in warm water for a little time before using. The vessel in which it is kept must, of course, bo kept always tightly corkoc?, to prevent the volatilising of tho soivpnt. A French formula for a liquid glue directs that a solution of eight ounces of glue be mado in half a pint of water, in the usual way, by placing it in a vessel of wator until solution is effected. To the solution it is directed that two and a half ounces of strong nitric acid be added, stirring all tho whilo. Efl'ervo&cenco will iako placo with tho evolution of orange nitrous f umos When all tho acid has been added tho liquid is allowed to cool. It should be kept in a well-stoppered bottlo, and will remain permanently liquid. Ifc will neither gelatinise nor putrefy, and is

said to make a very serviceable comonb for various domestic uses such as repairing cabinet-work, china ware, etc. Another formula directs that a jar or bottle be filled with glue broken into small fragments, and the same covered with acetic acid. It should then bo placed in a vessel of hot water for several hours until all the glue is dissolved.