The Health Blog

Women who have the following disorders should avoid becoming pregnant unless they have their doctor’s approval:

Heart disease

Kidney disease, especially Bright’s disease and chronic pyelitis

High blood-pressure

Diabetes

Tuberculosis

Venereal disease

Some of these illnesses can be cured completely. Others, if they are not too severe or can be controlled, will not necessarily endanger the life of the mother or baby. Even heart disease does not, in many instances, constitute too serious a problem if proper care is taken. But only a doctor can decide whether pregnancy will be dangerous in each individual case.

Other disorders

I feel it is most unfair to bring a child into the world if the mother is mentally ill. In most cases, it is scarcely less unfair to do so if the father is suffering from serious emotional illness. Also, I very much doubt the wisdom of having children if they are apt to inherit a disease that may make their lives miserable. Fortunately, such diseases are very rare, and there is, of course, the possibility that a cure will be found for them. I am thinking, for example, of haemophilia, the bleeding disease that is disabling and often fatal.

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A vacation should not be considered a luxury. Getting away from the regular routine is a necessity for both physical and mental health.

Tell your doctor not only where you plan to go, but also how you plan to get there, whether by train, plane, ship, or car. Your doctor has medicines to help prevent most cases of motion sickness. He will advise you to avoid places at certain seasons if you have a tendency to hay fever. He will tell you what inoculations you need if you are going abroad. The following items are suggested as a medical kit for all vacationers:

Aspirin, for headache, fever, muscle aches and pains Antiseptic, such as hydrogen peroxide, tincture of iodine or

benzalkonium chloride Skin lotion, to protect you against sunburn and windburn Anti-nauseant, for motion sickness Antacid, for mild stomach upset

Sedative, for emotional upset, overstimulation or nervous upset Broadband antibiotic, effective against a wide range of bacteria,

in case of serious illness; to be selected by your doctor and

used precisely as he instructs you A container of small bandages Sterilized gauze squares Roll of adhesive tape, one half inch wide Pectin-kaolin compound for diarrhoea Decongestants, for the common cold

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The eye is like a camera. The front part consists of the cornea— the transparent area in the centre—surrounded by the sclera, as the white of the eye is called. Behind the cornea is the coloured part, or iris, in the middle of which is the pupil, which grows larger or smaller to control the amount of light let into the ‘camera.’ The clear, transparent lens, located slightly behind the front surface, focuses the image on the retina, which is about three quarters of an inch behind it. The optic nerve carries the picture from the retina to the brain. The eye also contains muscles to do this work and fluid to keep the parts in working condition.

If I asked you whether you would mind being blind, you would call it a ridiculous question. Most people consider blindness the worst thing that could happen to them. But you would never guess it from the way they treat their eyes!

Probably some of you who are reading this have to squint to do so, or hold the book close to your nose, or wish your arms were longer so you could hold it farther away. You know you should have your eyes examined—but you put it off because it can wait, or because you do not want to be told you have to wear glasses. Even some serious eye conditions have been neglected, with tragic consequences, for these foolish reasons.

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