The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-14
Medical Care
Bv LOGAN CLENDENING, M. D.

Swimming is accepted as the
best form of all round exercise
For the non-professional atnlete'
it has many advantages. Ihere IS
no strain on the feet and 1t, there
fore, appeals to many VINO cannoI
play golf, tennis or go on, walking
tours on account of flatfoot, ar
thrills or other pedal disability
And swimming exercises 'pract1-
cally every muscle of the body.
Beware Infections
Swimming has some health haz-
ards of its own. One that is con-
~stantly debated is the possibility
of nose and ear infections. These
are generally blamed on dirty ana
contaminated water - pools,
springs, lakes or rivers - but DR..
H Marshall Taylor, of Jackson
vile, Florida, has been calling our
attention to other mechanlsms.
DR.. Taylor had a number OF pa
tients with sinuses and ears in
fected as a result of swimming, in
which contaminated water could
hardly have been a factor, because
they frequented a swimming pool
fed by a spring having a flow in
excess of 145, 900 gallons of fresh
water a minute. These pools had
a very low bacteria count, and
thew contained no irritating chem
icals.
We're Landlubbers
The other factors which bring
about these infections r struc-
tural in mans anatomy. Man is
not adapted to an aquatic exist
ence. AS in all air-breathing ami
mails, the epithelial cells which
line the nose are admirably adapt
ed to resisting air-borne infection,
but are not capable of dealing with
water-borne infection.
A~ir-breathing animals who lead
a semi-aquatic existence, accord
ing to DR.. Taylor's extensive stud
les, are capable Of closing the nose
and ears while under water, and
so protect their respiratory mu-
cous membranes. The alligator
has a muscle around the openings
of the nose SO that they can be
closed while he is under water.
Semi-aquatic birds have no nos
trils - the pelican and the cor
imoraht.
The hippotamus is a mammal,
lilo ~oon h11f 11n1iEn mon and
aquatic mammal and it's under
water mechanism is perfect. Did
you ever e a hippopotamus with
sinus trouble? No, and you new
will! The reason is the nostrils OF
the hippopotamus are a pair o.
Sits which can be opened and
closed by the action of circular
muscles surrounding them. They
close when the hippopotamus SUBJ
merges.
Breathing Protects
The lesson is that the protection
you have against respiratory in
lection under water consists in
proper breathing - exhale through
the nose while under water and
inhale through the mouth while
swimming on the surface and you
maintain a positive air pressure in
the nasal cavities which protects
the nose and ears from infection.
Use Ear Drums
Aquatic animals also h a
means of closing the ears under
water. We can initiate this by
using ear drums, but this is of
less Importance because ear in
lfections from swimming come al
most exclusively from nose and
throat infection, which invades the
ear by going up the Eustachian
tube.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Mrs. B. - will you please
tell me whether using fresh lem
ons diluted with water for a rinse
after shampooing my hair will do
any harm to it? 1t is blonde and
I would like to keep it that way"
Answer - On the contrary, it
is generally considered that a lem
on rinse is a good thing after a
shampoo. I have no reason to be-
lieve that it will change the color
of the hair. 81