The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-04-05
Keep Your Mouth Shut.

Keep yOurmOuth shutin cold weather.
The nOstrils are the proper inlets and
outlets of the breath. They are pur-
pOsely circuitOus. The air thus has its
chill taken off before reaching the lungs,
while on its return, it restores again the
warmth it has abstracted. On the con-
trary, the air taken in through the mouth
strikes, perhaps alta temperature OF zero,
directly on the most delicate of the To-
cal organs, causing, often, hOarseness,
cough, bronchitis or pulmonary cOnges-
ton.
Moreover, the n0strils are natural in
haling tubes, better than the best sold
in the shops. When the breathing is
done through them, the slight resist
ance to eXpiratiOn-and it is this resist
ancc which leads most people to form
the habit of breathing through their
mouth, causes the lung gs to fill to the
full, thus calling every part of them
into necessary action, more: completely
Oxygenating the blood, and greatly di-
minishing any cOnSumptive tendency.
In this latter view, it is important to
| breathe through the n0strils in warm
weather as well as in cold, and also to
accustOm ones self to sleep with the
mouth closed.
Keep the mouth shut when infectious
diseases are around. Air breathed
through the mouth is borne into the
Windpipe with strong rush, carrying
along the morbid particles with which
the air may be filed, directly to the
lungs, the thin membrane of which in
tGrposes but little hindrance to the ac-
ton of the contagious matter. When
the air is breathed through the nostrils
these particles are likely to be lodged
on THEM moist walls, and to be sOOu
washed out by the natural secretion.
1t is we'll to heed this rule wher
breathing the air of any sick room
even consumption may prove infectious
to one long shut up with it in badly
ventilated room-but it is Of prime i'm
pOrtance in cases of typhoid fever
) scarlet fever, diptheria, smallpox ant
other diseases similarly Infectious. o
course there can be no substitute TO
thorough ventilation - even the bes
disinfectants are of little worth withou
it-still, it is often necessary to ente
rooms over whose arrangements W
have no control.
Keep your mouth shut when the al
is filled with dust of any kind. Dus
habitually inhaled may prove, in time
/ as fatal as nlas1na, or smallpox et1iu
! vium As with the particles of mOrbi
, matter, so it is with dust particles; in
= spiratiOn through the mouth carrie
p them directly into the lungs, irritatin
/ their delicate membranes, while resp
q ration through the nostrils lodges mos
q of them along the nasal passage
h whence they a1e easily dislodged: Nil
!, tresses, considerate of the welfare {
> their servants will duly enlighten the
n on this point.
:. But our rule is as good morally ;
T., physically for sometimes worse mattt
o. comes from the mouth than ever ente
f it. We say, then, though it has bee
y said a thousand times, keep your mOut
# shut when you are angry. A smOtherC
n fire, however fierce itmay be, is soon OF
d We cannot fOrbear adding, now V
i are in the mood for it, keep your mou
d shut when you have nothing worth sa
y ing. If you have nothing within b
s. commonplace, or nonsense, or TAFT lie,
q, evil thoughts, better let them rot insit
~ than pour them out on other peop
3 Besides, all bad kept in by a strong wi
D. reacts in good.-B0ston Vatcbnean a
ii Reflector. .