YOUR HEALTH: HERE'S HOW!
Stafford, Jane
YOUR HEALTH: Here's How! By JANE STAFFORD SOME feet do peculiar things when warm weather sets in," a bulletin from the Illinois State Medical Society points out. "They burn, perspire, swell."...
...Certain foods also give trouble, and outbursts of anger, fatigue, and nervous tension may bring on an attack...
...Heartburn can be relieved in many cases by readjusting the diet, improving general health, and relieving nervousness...
...Some Navy doctors in the South Pacific are using successfully a copper-plating method to treat athlete's foot in sailors and marines...
...Like the mold that grows on bread, this fungus thrives in a warm, moist atmosphere such as that between toes encased in heavy shoes on a hot day...
...COMMON as the complaint of heartburn is, not much is known about it...
...Talcum powder on the soles and between the toes or a little witch hazel, the medical society bulletin states, will help relieve burning...
...Some persons find tepid foot baths helpful, others get more benefit from alternating hot and cold foot baths...
...If you have athlete's foot, you doctor will give you directions about disinfecting your shoes...
...In either case, be sure to dry your feet thoroughly, especially between the toes...
...It is often found on the floors of gymnasiums, swimming pools, bathing establishments, locker rooms of clubs, and other similar places where people walk around on bare feet...
...If you suffer much with what you think is heartburn, however, it would be wise to consult a physician to make sure the condition is heartburn and nothing else...
...In fact, a statement from the Illinois State Medical Society calls it "another curious puzzle remaining to be solved...
...Most people are familiar with the burning feeling, often severe, at the lower end of the breastbone and extending up to the neck...
...Sufferers may be reassured by the statement from the medical society that heartburn is not due to or particularly associated with any organic disease of the digestive tract, not even ulcer...
...The discomfort, says the medical society statement, seems to be due mainly to the regurgitation of stomach contents into the esophagus, or gullet, that has in some way become sensitized...
...Fast eating is one of the most common causes of heartburn, the medical society states...
...Even in these days of shoe rationing, you should have enough to alternate and not wear the same pair every day...
...The normal esophagus usually does not seem to feel acid stomach contents passing through it...
...Your doctor will have a method for treating the condition if it attacks you here at home...
...The spells, which may last for days or years, come and go suddenly without any seeming cause...
...Pain, a feeling of distention, spasm, and water-brash may also be present...
...You can, however, do a number of things to keep your feet comfortable in hot weather and even, perhaps, to prevent development of athlete's foot...
...When it is present in a person with ulcer, it does not come with the hunger pain but only when the ulcer seems to be quiescent...
...Besides these kinds of discomfort, you may be attacked by the fungus infection popularly known as athlete's foot...
...Pregnant women are often bothered with it...
...They should be kept fresh and free from infection...
...Fresh air and sun are good for the feet, and suntan-ning them, according to the bulletin, increases their immunity or resistance to infection...
...No one has come to any bad end because of heartburn," the medical society states...
...Be careful to have them well fitted...
...Shoes are also important in keeping feet comfortable and healthy...
Vol. 8 • July 1944 • No. 29
