Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-01-12
Comfort In slight Illnesses.
by MARY ASsABLE rAsros.

So much is done for the really
seriously sick person by relatives
and friends and trained nurses, tha
sometimes think that it Ia th.
"Half-sick," those with colds and
indigestion and headaches who act
ually suffer the most.
II Is really these small illnesses
that make martyrs Of busy people
The man who goes to his Office and
counts up figures with o sick head
ache and the woman who gets
through the family cooking with q
Q bad attack Of dyspepsia come
pretty near being heroes.
But who sympathizes with them OF
brews delicate dishes or adjusts the
light or stops the noise or brings
fiowers.T hey are unsung. unherald.
ed, and it will always be SO. Your
own courage is generally q substi.
tute for other peoples sympathy.
The important point to be made
however, is not just how much con-
dolence is meted out to the partly
sick. but that so many of the small
illnesses can be prevented by just
o few. simple, inexpensive precau-
tions.
Half the tiresome headaches could
be done away with by careful scien-
tific ventilation, colds and even grip
prevented by the right sort of cold
morning plunge, and no.end of poor
appetites cured by the proper hygien-
ic cleaning of rooms with harmless
disinfectants.
We forget that it is normal to be
well, and that most of our little sick
nesses are caused by lack of circula-
tion, lack of distributed air, lack of
sufficient alert outlook for the gre
garious energetic microbes.
Now there are three easy methods
of meeting these difficulties: the first
is by distributing air in sleeping
apartments by opening one window
little at the top and the other q
little or much, il you will, at the
bottom. This keeps up q constant
movement of fresh air through the
room, as no airing wholly from the
lower part of a window can. II the
bed is in a line with the window,
opened from below, place a screen
in front OF. out foot or SO, and all
possibilities of draughts or cold is
obviated.
IL you have a warm bed d-room or
bathroom, stimulate the circulation
by a daily morning cold bath. In a
tub-if you have the reaction-but
cold sponging of surely. Nothing
is so certain preventive of sensi-
tive lungs and throat as this splash
ing OF cold water over the chest and
neck every morning.
And even when a cold is started.
it can be checked by regular cold
plunges if followed by an alcohol
rub.
To get the full benefit of a cold
bath you must rub dry very quickly.
This is impossible IL the bath is tax
en- in hard water. So ifyou can Z get
rain water, add little borax powder
to the bath, and you will find the
water as soft as a summer shower.
The third important method OF
saving oneself from small ailments,
is by the use OF a certain amount OF
disinfectants in cleaning. So many
OF the most useful anticipates either
render the hands sore or have some
sort of unpleasant odor, or are ex-
pensive or poisonis that even the
best housekeepers get in the way OF
depending upon soap and water,
which means rooms fresh and pref
ty, but not hygienieally clean.
The simplest, cheapest and one
of the best antiseptics il solution
Of borax water. Hwoodwo floors,
hardwood chairs, windows, bath
rooms and sinks are all regularly
cleaned with hot water holding a
solution Of borax, a teaspoonful to q
basin of water, the house win be
absolutely clean from physicians
point OF view; that is germs rs well
as dust will be gone. aad with the
germs will vanish many headache,
many an attack of dyspepsia and
much Of so called malaria.
This solution will not injure
woodwork, and leaves the hands
soft and white.
It is Of course. very fine thing
10 be brave and patient about our
small illnesses; but it is far more
cheerful to be normally well and
put our nerve force into pleasure
and business