HEALTH NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 7 April 1928, Page 10

HEALTH NOTES

TUBERCULOSIS. • PREVENTION OF INFECTION. (Contributed by the Department of Health.) It is generally recognised that many individuals become victims to tuberculosis either in early years or adult life owing to their having been exposed to infection from that disease in their own homes during childhood. We also know that the disease could be prevented in the majority of instances by providing suitable treatment for those who would otherwise become affected. It is essential therefore that every precaution be taken to safeguard the children of households where an inmate is a sufferer from tuberculosis. The following measures are advocated:—ln the first place, parents and guardians are urged to do their best to arrange -that the child should sleep, work, and play as much as possible in the fresh air. If possible let the child sleep cut of doors on a verandah or balcony or in a proper open-air shelter. This is probably of more importance than any other single measure. The child should avoid stuffy, overheated places of entertainment. Fresh air and sunshine are his best friends. The child must have adequate rest. Dr. Blackmore, medical superintendent, Cashmere Hills Sanatorium, writes: “I am convinced that at the present day very many children have their resistance to tuberculosis broken down through not getting sufficient rest in the twenty-four hours. Children under ten years of age Should sleep twelve hours, those under thirteen should sleep eleven hours, and those over thirteen at least ten to eleven hours. These children, especially if of the slight, highly strung type, should be encouraged to lie down for an hour on their return from school, and for little children a morning rest is desirable as well. Do not allow reading, talking or toys during these rests. .See that they do not frequently and persistently overtire or overstrain themselves. Indulgence even in such an excellent thing as sports must be reasonable, not excessive. Weigh the child regularly and see that it gains in weight satisfactorily. If this is not so, consult the doctor in order to find out the cause. FURTHER ADVICE. iFood should be simple, nutritious, and well cooked, and Should include wholemeal bread, butter, fresh vegetables, fruit, a little fresh cooked meat, and a pint of fresh milk daily. Cod liver oil and. malt are not necessary if the child’s weight is satisfactory. If otherwise, the doctor may recommend them. •See that the child has a satisfactory daily movement of the bowels. After any illness (such as measles, influenza, etc.) or any operation (as removal of tonsils and adenoids), see that recovery is complete before the child returns to edhool. No, not on any account made an invalid of the child; do not alarm the child, and do not alarm yourself. Remember that children are very sensitive to suggestion, and reflect their elders’ state of mind unconsciously. It is therefore most important for parents not to worry themselves and not to allow children to think there is any need for worry. The above may be summarised into four “Do’s” and four “Don’ts,” namely: Do’s: (1) Open-air sleeping and living; (2) adequate rest; (3) simple and nourishing food; (4) gain weight normally. Don’ts:. (1) Don’t allow the child to be persistently overtired; (2) don’t let child return to school after any illness till complete convalescence b undoubted; (3) don’t alarm yourself or the child; (4) don't allow the child to frequent stuffy places of entertainment. BED AS A TONIC. (By a Family Doctor.) You are feeling wearied out, and . want a tonic? Well, try going to bed two houre earlier than is your usual habit for a fortnight. The extra rest, even if you do not actually sleep, is beneficial. It relaxes your nerves and your whole body to lie quiet on your back, and it aids digestion to rest quietly after a meal, and so you get all the goodness out of the food you have swallowed. If you do manage to sleep the extra time it will do you a lot of good. Sleep is the panacea for all evils. I. ought to add that the sleep should be natural; the sleep, or rather stupor, produced by powerful drugs is not nearly so beneficial and such a sleep may be followed by a headache on waking. Also many of the drugs used for sleeping draughts are harmful in other ways; some weaken the nerves in the end, others are dangerous to the heart or upset the digestion. I am always very careful about ordering sleeping draughts. It is a real calamity when a patient, especially if she happens to be a highly-strung woman, is trained to depend on drugs for sleep —her last state is worse than the first. A doctor knows when to order a soothing draught, and he exercises due discretion, but the indiscriminate use of mixtures and tabloids to induce sleep cannot be too strongly condemned. SLEEPING DRAUGHTS. If you cannot sleep an attempt should be made to discover .the cause by experimenting. Perhaps you eat too much late at night, or, on the other hand you may have your last meal too early, so that you go to bed hungry or wake up at two in the morning feeling hungry. Some people find that a satisfactory sleeping draught is to be found in a few biscuits, eaten slowly, when sleep deserts the pillow. I have known cases where the stuffy air has awakened the sleeper early in the morning; the air is used over and over again, and the stuffiness makes the iungs cry out for fresh air; in some houses there is so much anxiety to keep the ail' out that even the chimneys are blocked up. Sleep with the windows open. It is easy to say "Don’t worry”; it is not so easy to carry out the injunction. But still some effort should be made to keep worries outside the bedroom door; you can either welcome and brood over your troubles, or you can make a resolute effort to throw them off. If the sleepnessuese cannot be overcome, it is a good plan to try a change of air. If you lead an indoor life, a sharp walk for an hour or two may ax?t as a sleeping draught. I have often found, that reading a suitable book brings '-bleep to wakeful eyes. I say “suitable,” be--1 cause manv books are the reverse of

soothing. I don’t want you to road tho blood and thunder style of book.

HAIR AND THE HEALTH.

The condition of the hair is dependent on the condition of the General health. In many cases the principal object of the physician is to improve the patient's health in the confident anticipation that the condition of the hair, will also improve. Take as an instance a grave illness such as typhoid fever. The whole system is profoundly depressed; nothing is working right; appetite, digestive apparatus, heart and lungs are all temporarily out of order. And what happens to the poor old hair of the head? It falls out in handfuls. Then as the patient get better a fresh crop of new, strong hair appears until, the health completely restored, the hair is luxuriant' as before. TREATMENT GOOD AND BAD. The application of lotions and ointments is not by any means always necesary. An anaemic girl should treat her hair only through her general system. Of course, the hair must always be well brushed and washed at certain intervals, but it must not be forgotten that there are two ways of treating the hair-—one by direct attention to the scalp, and the other through the medium of the blood that nourishes the roots. Do not be impatient; even if the treatment is highly successful, it will take some weeks before the good effect is fully shown. A hair once grown is unalterable; the blood does not run up the hair as the sap runs up a tree. You must wait for the old hair to fall off and the new hair to take its place. THE LN' TABLE Singeing the hair is useless; the treatment of hair is the treatment of the scalp; to burn a bit of hair three or four inches away from the scalp cannot possibly do any good. There comes a time when you must accept the inevitable; when once the root from which the hair grows is dead, no power on earth will resuscitate the defunct hair. You cannot grow a hyacinth unless there is a bulb to grow it from. Baldness, especially when it runs in the family, may occur very early in life, and it is often very difficult to overcome. Do not be deluded in thinking that a bald scalp can be covered with a luxuriant growth of hair. One ’of the commonest causes of falling of the hair is scurf. The best treatment is to wash the scalp with a solution of soft soap in rectified spirit. Once f>r twice a week is often enough.