The blog is about health and gives useful information on health and disease.

Millions upon millions of people, especially in Asia, Africa and parts of southern Europe, are completely or partly disabled by the so-called tropical diseases. Of these, malaria is the most important. Men in the armed services are protected from these diseases by vaccinations, medicines, and the vigilance of their health officers. But civilians are frequently careless or uninformed. If you are going to a tropical or semi-tropical country for a visit, a vacation, or a job, be sure to ask your doctor about the health hazards you may face, and follow his instructions exactly.

Travellers and new residents often fail to realize that there is a tremendous amount of tuberculosis in most tropical countries. It is extremely important to see that household and school contacts, especially of children, are checked for tuberculosis.

Remember, too, that maids and other domestic workers coming from tropical countries may bring diseases with them. This is another reason for a careful medical check-up of all intimate contacts in your home.

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If you know in advance that the sick person will have to spend a long time in bed, consider hiring, or even buying, a hospital bed. Since home nursing care frequently will not include a hospital bed, here are suggestions applicable to the ordinary household bed.

To keep the patient from falling out of bed, place a kitchen chair with its back against the bed, or tie a row of chairs together and put them with their backs to the side of the bed.

You can improvise a bed table on which to serve meals. Try setting up the ironing board so that it extends over the patient’s lap.

The diagram below shows methods of placing the pillows to make the patient comfortable. Another pillow at the foot of the bed will also keep him from slipping, keep the blankets off his feet, and will give him more room to move his legs.

Relieve or prevent pressure on parts of the body such as the elbow, hip, heel, or ankle by using a doughnut cushion that can be purchased or made by rolling some cotton and wrapping it with a bandage.

How to make the bed

Hospital beds are made up with the following, in the order listed: mattress pad, bottom sheet, drawsheet (a narrow sheet placed crosswise underneath the patient’s trunk and pulled tight), top sheet, blanket(s), spread, and pillowcases.

The square corner is essential. With a little practice, you can learn how to make a square corner and pull the under sheet tight enough to keep it from wrinkling. Stand at the side of the bed on which you are working, facing first the head and then the foot, and complete one side before going around to the other.

Making a bed with someone in it seems difficult, but can easily be learnt. Follow these directions: (1) Remove the spread and loosen the blanket at the foot and sides. Reach under it and remove the top sheet, leaving the blanket to cover the patient. (2) Loosen the drawsheet, fan-folding it towards the patient so that it lies close to him, parallel with his body. Loosen the bottom sheet; you do not need to remove it unless it has become soiled. Smooth the mattress pad and the bottom sheet, and tuck in the bottom sheet, squaring the corners and making certain it is neat and free from crumbs. (3) Put the clean drawsheet on the bed with its midfold in the centre of the bed, tucking in the side on which you are working. Fan-fold the other half of the drawsheet that will cover the part of the bed on which the patient is lying. Put the fan-folded part over the fan-folded old sheet. (4) Help the patient to roll towards you over the fan-folded part of the two sheets, so that he is on his side facing you. Now go to the other side of the bed, and attend to the mattress pad and the bottom sheet as you did on the first side. Pull out the soiled drawsheet over which the patient has rolled, and put it aside to be washed. Next pull the clean drawsheet tight, and smooth and tuck it in. (5) Put a clean op sheet over the blanket, and remove the blanket while you tuck this sheet in at the foot of the bed and spread it over the patient. Replace the blanket, and make the foot and sides of the bed. Then change the pillowcases, and the bed is finished.

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1. During the child’s first year, he is absolutely dependent. I consider it unwise to put any responsibility on him for either his cleanliness or his safety. Babies and toddlers are not wilful; they are just eager to explore the world. We must help and encourage them in their courageous explorations and not frustrate them whenever they go for an appealing object. But it is up to us to protect them from danger.
   
2. At the beginning of the child’s second year, he should be taught that certain things must be avoided. 1 le must be met with a firm No when he plays near the stove or climbs on a table or starts for a sharp knife. However, we must prohibit his exploring activities as little as possible. By the time the child is three, he is ready to accept a definite amount of discipline, as far as his own safety and that of other people—and of some objects—is concerned.
   
3. To discover whether you are demanding too much, count the number of times a day you and the other adults in the household say No, or exert pressure in another manner. If there is a continual chorus of Nos, Don’ts, and so on, you can be reasonably sure the discipline is too strict. Try to find ways to assume more responsibility yourself or to make it easier for your child to assume responsibility.
   
4. Your child does not ‘need’ to be punished. When a good relationship exists between parents and children, most difficulties can be resolved without resorting to punishments. Watch how a good nursery-school teacher or camp counsellor handles a number of children! The trouble is, however, that parents have other things to attend to besides their children, and a punishment is often a shortcut. I realize that you have not all the time in the world, and so I will not say you should never punish a child. If, for example, your firm No does not prevent him from reaching for a forbidden, dangerous object, a slap on the hand will probably stop him. In my opinion, it will, in most cases, cause him little more than momentary discomfort.
   

Punishments are usually two-edged swords, frequently causing more harm than good. It is almost impossible to find the ideal punishment that will accomplish what you want without causing any harm. Nagging, threatening, or shaming a child can have a very bad effect on him. Never punish him for things that are not his fault, or for acting like a child instead of an adult. Whatever disciplinary measure you take, make it clear that he has not lost your love.

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The emergency department

Doctors in the emergency (or casually) department of a general hospital treat accident and emergency cases that come in during all hours of the day and night. They diagnose and treat almost every type of disease that entering patients may have.

Very sick patients who require treatment in hospital are admitted into a bed. Other patients may need some special treatment from a clinic in the outpatient department.

The outpatient department

The outpatient department is often arranged according to the specialties of medicine, with clinics for heart disease, surgical conditions, and other illnesses, as well as for prenatal, baby, and child care. In these clinics, patients can secure the valuable services they possibly could not afford from private practitioners.

It is important to realize that there is no stigma attached to using a hospital clinic. The diagnostic techniques required in some illnesses have become so technical, and the treatment so specialized and extensive, that hardly any but a very well-to-do person can be expected to assume the entire cost of a lengthy medical examination.

The social work department

Social workers in a hospital help patients to solve their personal problems, such as home conflicts that interfere with recovery; worries regarding convalescent care and treatment; and the fear of being unable to secure a job after discharge from the hospital. Medical social workers are concerned also with restoring the patient to a functional place in the community after he leaves the hospital.

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A great deal. Many scientists are studying ways of attacking the bacteria that dissolve the enamel by producing acid. Bacteria on the tooth surfaces demand carbohydrates (sugars and starches) for food. Therefore, if deprived of carbohydrates, these bacteria will have nothing to convert to acid, and so the enamel will not be penetrated.

We can go a long way towards starving these bacteria without cutting down on our sugar intake too much. The worst enemies of the teeth are all-day suckers, toffees, and sweetened chewing gums. Sweet carbonated beverages contain concentrated sugars. Also, the eating of pastries, pies, and biscuits should be limited.

Yet most children love sweets, and we do not like to remove them entirely from their diet. I meet this problem in my family by restricting sweets to a special treat once a day, but not just before bedtime, because children—as well as many adults—do not remove all toffee and cake from their teeth when they brush. It is preferable to see that the eating of sweets is followed by other foods like apples or carrots that cleanse the teeth rather than stick to them.

Teeth grinding (bruxism)

A cause of damage to the teeth that is mechanical rather than bacterial is teeth grinding. Nervous tension causes some adults and children to grind their teeth so strongly in their sleep or at other times that the enamel may be worn away. An alert dentist will usually recognize this symptom, and he may recommend that the person wear a rubber bit to protect the tooth surface from constant abrasion

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