Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-11-25


fQ.longer periods of time
thu during any other sea-
son. The common cold is catch
ing. 1t is basically a virus in
lection which has an incuba-
ton period of two or three
days. 1t can be spread like wild
fire during the few days before
you feel sick enough to stay at
home. BY the time you are
ready to 60 to bed with cold,
you are no longer the health
hazard to others that you were
the couple of days that you
worked with a hot dry throat,
watering eyes, and a running
nose. Colds cause coughing and
sneezing. Every coug h and
every sneeze scatters cold virus
and bacteria to all the people
within range. If you have to as
30 eAte with others when you
have cold, cover up the
coughs and sneezes. Better yet,
stay home where you belong.
A person who is fatigued is
more likely to catch a cold than
one who isn't. If you are all in
when someone sneezes at you,
the C h a n e of developing a
cold are much better than if
you are rested and relaxed. So
it is important to have reason
ably regular hours and get
your quota of sleep. The type
of air we breathe effects the
mucous membrane that lines
our nose and throat. The aver
age steam heated apartment or
office building has a moisture
content about equal to that on
the Sahara desert. Our nose and
throat become all worn out try
ing to moisten the air that we
hAhe. In this state of fatigue
Il 'are more susceptible to the
infections that we encounter
practically every hour of the
day. Some protection can be
had by adjusting the moisture
content Of the air we breathe
SO that our nose and throat
have less work to do. Most
people who are fresh air fiends
throw open the windows and
take into their romms large
volumes of very cold air, which
Immediately picks up all of the
moisture available in the room.
The end result is an air that
smells better but for breathing
purposes is very dry and worse
than what we had to start with.
Another factor that l think has
quite a bit to do with colds is
the rapid temperature changes
toGDuhich we subject ourselves.
Chilling of the body, particular
ly a body moist with perspira-
ton, produces marked changes
in the blood supply to the nose
and throat. Chilling alone, in
the absence of the cold virus,
probably has little effect on us.
But during the winter we are
constantly in contact with other
people who have colds and this
factor should be kept in mind.
7Overwork in Older People
Winter time living takes
more energy than summertime
living. We eat more, because
we need more fuel to replace
the heat loss. We wear heavier
clothes which we must carry
around. Many of us have the
added responsibility of shovel
Il snow. Some of us must
sh53el coal and to do it we
climb a flight of stairs several
times each day. These added
burdens, s m i as they may
seem taken one at time, add
up to a lot of physical labor
which can precipitate heart
attack in susceptible people.
This simply means that if there
is any suspicion of heart dis
ease, we should be very care
full not to pass our limit of
tolerance for physical labor. In
fact, many people past forty
have a small amount of heart
damage un know to them.
They should think twice before
engaging in any increased or
unusual activity because of the
possibility of f urt h er heart
damage. l don't mean you must
be packed in cotton, but it is
Shtinctly foolish for a person
past forty who is not in prime
physical condition to run for a
street car with all of the added
load that winter clothing gives
him, or to clear a heavy snow
fall from his sidewalks without
once S oppin to catch his
breath. 1t is not good sense for
a desk worker or a machine
operator who is rather seden-
tary the rest of his life, to un-
dergo a sudden violent exercise
that will over-tax the unframed
muscles of his heart and cir
culatory system.
On the accident prevention
side of the picture of winter
hazards, falls are a major cause
of death disability. Though any
body can fall, older people
seem to suffer the greatest
Rage. 1t is more difficult for
t1em to quickly regain their
balance when they lose it, This
all adds up to the fact that they
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