Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-05-01 | Page 19 | Important Functions of the Skin

9 DAILY DAILY HEALTH o- o 1 Important Functions of the Skin 11 v By DR MORRIS FISHBEIN Editor Journal of the American Medical A and of Hygeia Hy Hy- geta gela the Health Magazine Once upon a time Um the sl skin ln was VIlS regarded merely as a covering ering of oft 1 t l' ta 3 a human body or 01 as a sort of envelope to hold the tissues to tod gether Nowadays it is realized that the tile skin shin is one i l the m t t Important organs we have and that it carries on all sorts of important functions in relation to the prevention prevention prevention tion and ana cure of disease a e. e Of course the skin acts as a radiating surface to permit the dissipation dissipation dissipation dis dis- of ot heat and to stabilize the temperature of ot the tho body It also keeps the body from drying up through the tha evaporation of the fluid in the body although the glands lands that are in the skin help to get rid of Water m m the body through the sw sweat at There are ate also other glands in the skin that secret an oil or grease greaso On the palms of the hands there are more than 5 6 00 s s sc sat at glands In Ina ina ina a square inch of surface e. e MARRED SKIN Most peo people le are disturbed when the skin Is marred or varied by moles warts freckles tanning or other changes from the white of which the white man is so unneCessarily unnecessarily proud Changes in the col color r of ot the skin are re due to the ef effects effects ef- ef of light The burning of the skin that follows elp exposure sure to the sun is mostly a light effect The rays cause the deposit of pigment pigment pig pigment pig pig- ment in the skin Later the blood may carry away tway the pigment nt but If It gets into layers of the skin shin where the blood cannot act net upon it the pigmentation remains Pigments are also deposited in relationship to tow Inflammation of ot the skin w w. w or and color changes occur around seals scats I Drug substances can get into the skin by mixing with the grease and then being picked up by the blood Mercury has been riven iven in this w way y for many years Any substance that dissolves grease such as gasoline ether or also can be taken into the bod body through the skin Aniline oil and lar sub ances antes are dangerous when placed in contact with the skin 4 y since A QI vary an all tall doses of ot these substances substances sub sub- stan stances s will change the tho chemical al natUre of the blood and produce se severe severe severe se- se vere poisoning HOW IT REACTS As a mirror of ot the conditions ns Inthe in inthe inthe the human hun b body the skin reacts to sensitization of the body to various protein substances by eruptions in inthe inthe the form of blisters rs and wheals Physicians take tako advantage of this fact nowadays s 's to fid fi d out whether or not a person Is susceptible to Various various various va va- rious bacterial poisons On the basis of this knowledge investigators have d developed the Schick test for diphtheria the Dick test for scarlet fever and the Various va various various va- va rious skin t t N q for ma ilIa hay feYer fever fe- fe vex Yer and similar conditions