New Britain herald., 1926-10-18
Your Health How to Keep It.
 Causes of Illness
BY DIR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American
 Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine

BY DIR. MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine 4 healthful child must be health, ful not only as regards menta activities but also in its physica, body.
 Up-to-date schools and institu tions arrange for regular examin. ations of the children to learn whether they suffer from remedial physical defects. The children are weighed regularly to determine whether the body weight is kept up to the average.
 Dr. Hugh Chaplin of Columbia university recently listed the out ward characteristics of a well built body.
 The eyes of a normal child are clear and bright. They focus directly on an object, and move in unison. There are no signs of inflammation or of definite squinting. When the child squints, he probably needs eye glasses, or has an inflammatory con- dition of the membranes covering the eyelids.
 What Dark Rings Mean
 Dark rings around the eyes and a loose, baggy puffiness of the skin of the lower lids may be considered usually a sign of general fatigue, all though swellings about the eyes are sometimes associated with more serious disorders
 Rosy cheeks are not necessarily signs of healthfulnesS since fever or heart disease may sometimes pro- duce a similar appearance. White ness of the skin is not necessarily a sign of poor health. since some per sons tend more to have white ap- pearance than others
 On the other hand. the general impression that a distinctly ruddy color in the cheek is associated with healthfulness Is not to be denied. The only real test of the quality of the blood in children is the de- termination of the number of red blood cells and of the amount of red coloring matter in the circulation.
 A physician in Connecticut, noting that the children in a school looked unusually pale, made careful tests and found that all these children had higher percentages of coloring matter than their appearance seem ed to indicate. They were Polish, and of a group which tends to a rather pale yellow appearance.
 Sign of Good Blood
 However, if the finger nails, lips, tongue and ear lobes appear ruddy, it is generally believed the blood has in it the proper amount of hemo- globin, or red coloring matter. This is important, since this portion of the blood is charged with carrying oxygen.
 The teeth of a healthful child, as described by Dr. Chaplin, are clear smooth, well enameled and free from decay. The gums are firm.
 Obviously teeth that are dirty with many points of decay, and gums that are spongy or retracted, are the opposite of good health. The teeth should. moreover. be placed far enough apart to be even, and their grinding surfaces should meet directly.
 The upper incisors, or front teeth, should slightly overlap the lower teeth so as 10 provide proper cutting action. If the teeth are not properly aligned or protrude or press one upon the other, a dentist, seen early, can provide suitable correction.
 If the child is permitted to grow to adult life without proper dental attention, the mouth conditions tends to become worse, the teeth will de- cay earlier, and sestcmic disease may eventuate.
 Tomorrow: Hair, Skin and Feet.