West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1915-12-30

noseT IL you do you are an excep.
tional person. Listen to this from
Dr. +. Harrison Griffin OF New York
writing in the Medical Record
Il have specialized in the nose and
throat for over thirty years, and in my
hospital experience In the old Belle
Vlue clinic and in my private practice
1 do not think have seen twenty-five
patients who know how to blow their
noses properly. unless they had pre-
viously been taught The failure 10
clean the nose by the handkerchief
thoroughly is responsible for over as
per cent of the catarrh cases that ap-
ply for treatment. The incorrect way
OF cleansing the passage is also re-
sponsible for any number OF ear
cases"
Dr. Griffin says the average winter
cold starts in the head. Instead of
properly using the handkerchief the
sufferer snufiles. hawks and spits. But
he always leaves mucus clinging to
the back OF the soft palate, and this
gives him what is known as a winter
cough. Cough medicines do not reach
IL and the pharynx remains irritable.
Now. the nose is "the great central
terminal" OF the air tract. IL is here
where the various branch lines have
their juncture. The passage that be-
gins at the nose runs down behind
the mouth into the throat, Just below
which 1t divides. one branch going to
the right lung and one to the left
These branches divide and subdivide
until they ramify through the lungs
In minute passages and tiny air cells.
DR.. Griffin insists that this entire sys-
tenn must be used in blowing the nose.
For 1t is through the nose that all the
air that goes into them must enter.
and 1t Is through the nose that every
thing that goes out OF them ought 10
be driven.
Into the bony chambers in the up-
per part OF the nose many cavities in
the forepart OF the head drain. Among
these are the frontal sinuses, which
are holes in the bone between the eve
brows; the antrum OF Highmore. a
cavern in the bone OF the cheek. un-
der the eyes, and the lachrymal ducts
which drain the tears from the eyes.
All OF these produce mucus, and the
only exit for this mucus is through
the nose
III Is not the nose that breathes; Il
is the chest. The nose must remain
passive. The chest is the bellows, the
nose merely the end or nozzle OF the
tube leading to the bellows.
ITO blow the nose properly" writes
DR.. Griffin. lit is best to look at IL as
double shotgun, the nose as the muz-
zle OF the gun and the chest as the
air receiver, the mucus in the nase as
the bullets and charge.
"A deep inspiration to fill the chest
with air. then one finger is placed
upon the ala OF one nostril to obstruct
the passage. With one violent expira-
tion the air from the chest is forced
through the open chamber OF the nose
and the offending discharge is caught
by the handkerchief. This maneuyer
is repeated on the other side. II is a
simple, mechanical process. and one
that have pointed out before. but is
seldom known.
I'VE have our toothbrush drill I'm
the public schools. why not the nose
drill? If It was instituted and the
pupils taught the proper use of the
little piece of linen catarrh would be
diminished, ear cases would be less
common and the germs that first find
their way into the anatomy through
the nostril would be expelled before
they had time to find sleeping place
in the human network"