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Show Uncle Sam. M. D. y. Can you tell me something , about rickets'1 Is It a dangerous 'lis-' 'lis-' ease " Anxious mother. A Rlckeis, also called rachitis.'' affects children at the period of their inost active growth, and hene. Its great seriousness Though probably 11 condition affecting the body gem-rally, it works most of its havoc on the skeleton. In conspqucnte, the bones im unable to absorb th calcium which gives them their stabillo Arreel of growth and softening 'of the bones are Its chief characteristics, h.-nce the dwarfism and the deformities. 1 The limbs of the rachitic child are feebl. aid weak, the child cannot support himself In the upright position, posi-tion, he is long in learning to walk ami. when he does commence to do so. the bent and deformed bones further fur-ther Impair his gait. The ribs, like the other bones be. ome soft. and. us It Is by the firm ribs that the proper cxpenslon of the lungs comes about,' HiIm is very defective in the rachitic 1 hild Thin Imperfei t expansion of the chest anil lungs. Is the reason why such children, when they develop measles and whooping-cough suffer jio severely from bronchitis and pneu-, monla and so frequently die Th cutting of the teeth la also delayed, and hence the child Is not able to partake of the proper foodl which Is suitable for It age. I'n-i fortunately . too. these sa-vie teeth which were late in appearing decaj early, and thus rickets Is one of the cau5-s for the bad condition of teeth Of our population. Whether convulsions are part and parcel of rm'.'ets is a debatable point, t ut there s no doubt that rachitic chii-, dren are more subject to convulsions than normal Children. There Is. un -doubtedLv. one type of convulsion ' which ha. the medical name of "tetany," "te-tany," and Inoludt s most of the con-1 vuleiona of the teething period, which would Beam to be for all practical purposes only found in rachitic Ohll-d Ohll-d ren Rickets 1-. not .1 dlaease which kills directly, and this Is. no doubt, the1 rvason why It Is not feared by the Keneral public a are InflaeOSS and the plague, though It is probably responsible responsi-ble for a geit.-r wastag. of life than Ither of them. Indirectly. It Is the cause of man) deaths among Infants and JfOUng children, as It not only In-, creases the tendency to and severity of the lunir diseases ( bronchitis and pneumonlaV complicating measles and whooplng-OOUgh, but also makes ret .ner iron, tbe.se complications less likely ... 11 n r Q. Can you tell me what to do I for any one who has had an opera-j tlon for goiter and had It removed and Is In a very nervous state' A. Disorder of the thyroid gland1 and "goiter ' are entirely too serlouv to be treated without the best obtain-I obtain-I able medical advice A a rule, the! 1 .1".- for so..,. -Kful medical treatment! Is absolute rest, though often thi must be supplemented bv medication. DURATION in FY Pt'iII,s. i What makes the pupil In the eye dilate" Sometimes It Is as largo as a shoe button. A. The pupil dilates und contracts in respond to the amount of light which enters the eye, and also in accordance ac-cordance with the distance from th. eye of the object on which the gaze Is directed. In bright light the pupil contract, and It opens widely in the dark. Unless, iron .re troubled with poor rlslon. or have ome other eye trouble vou reel not worry about th h.mge In the ize of the pupil. I |