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Show $''.rtr. A?'- AK aV aK ot'- of' f', M, a'. -vr I Let Our Motto Be ! GOOD HEALTH I BY DR. LLOYD ARNOLD I i Professor of Bacteriology and Pre- I i ventivc Medicine, University of I I Illinois, College of Medicine. . vv. ..v.. LET THE AIR BE MOIST IN YOUR HOMES I remember as a boy going with my father past a very pretentious house. It w a s i below zero that morning, and recalling re-calling our own frozen windows at home, I exclaimed ex-claimed : "G e e, they must keep it awfully warm in that house. See, there Isn't any frost on the windows." And my father answered, "Those people sliould be ashamed that there Isn't frost on their windows on a cold morning like this. Those clear windows win-dows mean that the air in their house Is too dry. You may be sure they have a good deal of sickness." I knew that was true, for the girl was in ray room In school, and she always had a cold. Then we went Into a house on whose windows the frost was so thick that there were only spots of blank glass. But I can always see In my mind that big cheerful kitchen kitch-en with the teakettle singing on the wood-burning stove. The children, not allowed to go out yet, werd rosy-cheeked and noisy In an active way, and there was a big bowl of apples on the table and pitcher of milk. "That's a healthy family," said my father, when we were outside again. "Did you notice that there was steam going Into the air all the time? You could breathe with comfort there." One of the first things I learned In medicine was that my father's observation was true. People who live in houses in which the air is too dry are almost always ailing. If you will notice the next time you go out on a wintry day how many of your neighbors have too dry air, and then think over what you know about their health, you will find, I believe, that they are apt to be rheumatic and they are bothered with a good many head colds. Human beings are not so constituted consti-tuted that they can stand winter dry air in their houses without showing the effects of It. We have in ourselves the best barometer that will tell us whether or not the air we are breathing Is too dry for health. Between your nostrils is a thin membrane. If the mucous lining of that feels dry when you touch it with your finger, then you are a good subject for a cold. Breathing began with the first animal capable of living on dry land, so the breathing apparatus is one of the oldest pieces of our body machinery. It ventilates the body as we all know, and the capillary network of blood vessels Intertwining Intertwin-ing within the wall of the nose brings blood close to the surface of the nose to warm or cool the air we breathe, and to give It the proper humidity. When air gets to the windpipe, it is always body temperature, temper-ature, summer and winter. The wall of the nose is our thermostat and humidifier. But If there is not enough humidity humid-ity In the air, then how can the nose get sufficient moisture to transmit to the lungs? Without proper "conditioning," "con-ditioning," the air passages are open to attack by the cold viruses that seem constantly waiting for such chances, and the result Is a cold. Furnace heat Is one of the big reasons why the air In our houses Is dryer than it was in the days of our forefathers when they had to do most" of their heating of water In open kettles on top of the stove or over fires. But It Is not necessary neces-sary to have dry air with furnace heat. Pans of water can be placed on tops of radiators or In the pans Intended for that purpose In hot air furnaces. If you are subject to fr&-quent fr&-quent winter colds, then give close attention to the humidity In your house. Fortunately our houses are better bet-ter ventilated than they were In the past. We are a little more particular partic-ular about our "smells." But even so, there are still far too many people peo-ple who sleep with closed windows at night. They seem to think It Is too costly to warm cold air. They do not realize that the most difficult thing of all Is to warm stale air. A cold house In the morning filled with fresh air can be warmed very quickly. A house with dead air never feels warm. Most persons who have the air too dry or too stale in their houses also dress too warmly when they are indoors. in-doors. It is all right to dress as warmly as you need to, to feel comfortable when you go out, but If you wear heavy clothes Inside so that you sweat, then when you go out, the damp clothing gives you a chill, and you are a good subject for a cold. Every person, unless bed-ridden or ordered otherwise by a doctor, should go out Into the open air every day. . "Western Newspaper Union. |