The Nome daily nugget., 1936-07-11

| have been carrying on study of the skin for quite num- Der of years.
 We find that clean healthy skin dis infects itself rapidly. Dirty skin does not do this and hence dirty hands are dangerous hands.
 Germs can rest on top of the dirt on solled, unclean skin, just as easily as they can on dirty cloth or on sticky dOorknobs, telephone mouthpieces and receivers. We also find that washing the hands with good soap and warm water removes most of the germs along with the dirt, and then the clean skin can kill most of the remaining germs within the space of ten minutes. and all of them within the space of thirty minutes.
 If the skin Is broken or otherwise 1 injured, however it will not disinfect itself at the broken or injured place. Hence broken skin surface will carry alive any germs put on it.
 We have also made study of the lips, and we have found that where the mOistened membrane of the mouth and the skin meet, bacteria do not die so quickly as they do on other parts of the skin, but will live from two to three hours. This discovery Is of spe- cal significance in the spread of lung and throat germs. When person with tuberculosis coughs, the germs live on the lips for at least two hours afterward. This means that when a tuberculosis person puts his fingers or a cup to the lips any time during two or three-hour period after coughing spell the fingers or the cup will get dose of germs. We can thus see that disinfecting and burning the sputum are not the only preventives necessary against the spreading of tuberculosis germs.
 In our study of common colds, we have found that persons susceptible to cOlds-those who catch colds easily, are different from the persons who sel. dom have head colds. The difference can be stated briefly as follows: By using a special apparatus, we have been able to measure the temperature | of the nose, throat, forehead, cheek and | arm all at the same time. Now, when l a normally head cold-resistant person dips his foot into cold water, or puts cold towel on his back or his chest, the skin temperature on the face and l f,, ota1 ha fop1 perature of the lining membrane of the nose lowers likewise to the same de- gree But within ten seconds the nose temperature starts rising and it keeps on rising until 1t is higher than normal temperature, or is at fever heat, as we say. The skin tempera- ture is much more sluggish. but grad ually it starts to rise, too. And 1t is not until it is back to normal that the nose temperature comes down to nor nal. To repeat, the normal reaction of a person who does not catch cold easily is-skin and nose temperatures drop at the same time for the first ten seconds, then nose temperature quick ly rises to above normal temperature and stays that way until skin tempera. ture has coEle back to normal. when both become equal again.
 Now, when the same experiment is performed on person very suscep- tible to colds or on one who has a hs- tory of four or five colds year, we find that while the nose temperature makes the same sudden drop as the skin temperature does, 1t does not quickly rise to above normal, as 1t does in the healthy person.
 Dr. Irwin Spiesman and other work CTS on our staff have found that the only way to make people with frequent head colds less susceptible to colds, is by first training their skin temperature regulatory system to react as 1t does in cold-resistant people.
 Then the diet should be watched to see that it contains plenty of fresh fruits and green vegetables and lean meat. Sweets and pastry should be avoided, and corn bread used in prefer. cnce to wheat bread.
 Doctor Spiesman has learned also that cold-susceptible persons are in clined to worry. He asks them: Did worrying about thing ever helpi It's a question that makes one think.
 O. Western Newspaper Union