HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Grey River Argus, 11 May 1943, Page 2

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

THEY ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU. No. 106. [By the Department of Health.] Many people still cling doggedly to the old idea that boils are “good for you.” This is nonsense. Nature does nbt use boils and carbuncles and pimples as a means of getting rid of body poisons. This form of skin eruption 'is anything but “good for you.” It is definitely dangerous. Boils are caused by certain germs called staphylococci—tough germs to survive drying and blow about in the air. These germs are nearly always somewhere on the skin of even a healthy person, and they enter by way of the sweat glands, hair follicles or perhaps skin abrasions. They are, in short, localised infections processes in the skin. ■ Uncleanliness and lowered vitality are predisposing causes, and the germs generally attack the part oi the body offering the least resistance. On infection Nature at once combats the germs by sending an extra supply of blood to the spot, and this causes the slight swelling, 'inflammation, and pain that are typical to bdils. „ „ x -x A .boil must be allowed to run its course. On no account should it be pricked or squeezed to relieve the pus. A good treatment of an early boil consists of covering the bo'il with two or three layers of elastoplast or plaster. This protects and splints the inflamed area. Cut a small circular piece and cover the whole boil. Put a much larger piece on top. Should the boil be discharging, cut a hole in the centre of the first piece, and change the top as it gets soiled. The pus, which is composed of dead germs, destroyed tissue and white blood corpuscles, is a fertile source of in feci ion, and if allowed to spread may give rise to a painful crop of boils. Also, be very careful of tonics for the blood. Some poor ones marketed may do harm. In short, treat a boil as a very serious complaint, because it is.