TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 41, 18 February 1939, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

THE MENTALLY AFFLICTED When a patient is discharged from a hospital for mental diseases the prevention of a relapse depends largely on the conduct of the relatives and friends. It is best to avoid all mention of the patient’s affliction; his life in the asylum should not be discussed; and, of course, all joking or gossip avoided. The sufferer must have plenty of nourishing food, so that the brain can have a plentiful supply of rich blood; and he must have plenty of sleep. Nature's sweet restorer. Constipation should be guarded against, chiefly by diet, and drinking water and daily walking exercises; not by drugs. Sleeplessness is a bad sign, and if it occurs a medical man should be consulted at once. All worry and annoyance should be spared the patient; unnecessary cares should never be placed on his shoulders. He needs kindness, patience, and t'orebearance. His surroundings should be bright and cheerful. If his bedroom window overlooks a burying ground he should change his residence. At the first sign of eccentric conduct a medical man should be seen. The sooner remedial measures are taken the sooner will the patient be well. Although he may not be able to return to business, he should be encouraged to take up hobbies: gardening, wood-carving, photography—anything that will keep his brain pleasantly occupied; he must not be allowed to brood in silence. Alcoholic liquors should be forbidden; alcohol inflames the brain. There is no reason why a man should not recover from an attack of mental disease just as he does from pneumonia.

Change of Occupation.

A change of occupation may be necessary. An outdoor life may be the means of saving a man from misery; no man should be asked to spend all his days in an office with insufficient I light and ventilation. If after two or [three breakdowns it is established be- ■ yond all doubts that the man has an unstable nervous system, he should be dissuaded from marrying; unfortunately, he is just the sort of man to undertake a rash step without heed to the future. In looking through the records of the patients admitted to hospitals for mental diseases, it is a striking fact to find the word "heredity” occurring over and over again. In the eyes of the law it is not a crime to bring into the world a string of chidren tainted with hereditary weakness; but in the eyes of all decent people it ought to be regarded as a grave offence. Public opinion is rotten on the subject. Thi.. is a Land of L berty, and the lunatic claims the right to exercise his liberty in propagating children destined to fill our , asylums.

Care of the Eyes.

The care of the eyes should begin at the moment of birth. Nearly half he children in a blind asylum owe heir terrible affliction to the infection jf their eyes when they were newly „orn. Every midwife nurse and mother is now instructed to see that ffie eyes of the baby are thoroughly cleaned at once; ' they must be ponged, and then a few drops of a weak solution of silver nitrate are put right into each eye. That is an absolute preventive, and the blind asylums would be much emptier if only that simple precaution could be taken. When you engage a nurse you must say before the interview is over, “And, oh, nurse, I do hope you are always careful about the baby's eyes.” I do [not wish to be hard on a deserving set ” i W women, but the old-fashioned mid- — wife, although she may have a golden heart, has not had any really scientific I training, and does not put the drops in the baby’s eyes. She has never done it before, and what was good enough for her grandmother is good enough for her. The “new-fangled rubbish” is ignored, and the baby, a few years after, is refused entry to the blind asylum as there is no room to accomodate another case.

Something in Your Eye.

When a speck of dust or coal gets into the eye it is wiser to let it alone than to rub the eye. When you come home from a dusty bicycle ride you will see a little deposit of dust in the corner of the eye, and you will think how wonderful it is that Nature takes every speck of dust from the eye and deposits it neatly in a heap in the corner. If the speck of dust does not come out of its own accord the eye must be systematically examined. First the upper eye-lid must be turned inside out —this is not a difficult manipulation and can be soon learnt, and if nothing is seen, pull down the lower eye-lid and tell the patient to look first one way and then the other so as to expose the whole eye to your view. Finally, look at the front of the sight to see if the speck is stuck on the sight, ft is impossible to see the black speck aganst the black pupil unless you get the light right. Look at the eye sideways and also from below, then the light shines in a different direction and the speck may become visible. If it is embedded on the front of the eye do not attempt to get it off; it must be removed by a doctor, after a little cocaine has been instilled into the eye. Beware of making the mistake of thinking you have a cold in the eye when all the time there is some foreign body irritating it.

A Fire in the Sick Room. It it a good thing to have a fire in a sick-room. The fire sucks the air of the room into the grate, and all the disease germs are cremated and their burnt bodies are sent flying up the chimney. The air that has been sent up the chimney has been replaced somehow, and that explains why the outside air comes rushing in through the chinks and crannies round the window and door. Every encouragement should be given to this outside air to enter. Do not ruthlessly repel it by stuffing up every crack with old

flannel petticoats. Open the window at the top at least four inches. Remember the consumptives lying in the open air at the sanatoriums. Do not put the bed between the window and the fire, but in the other corner out of the draught. A fire is a grand cleanser. Throw all the dirty dressings into the fire; do not let them lie about in the room. In infectious cases, such as a sore throat, the scraps of food left on the plate should be thrown into the lire.