Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 212, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1916 — Fresh Air and Pure Water Will Keep the Doctor Away [ARTICLE]

Fresh Air and Pure Water Will Keep the Doctor Away

By DR. R. H. BISHOP, JR

Commissioner of Health, Cleveland, Ohio. If everyone would drink as much pure water as they ought and breathe as much fresh air as they think they do, no one would have to think about a doctor. Air is the first necessity of life. It is more important than good food —it is even more important than water. We can live days without food, a considerable time without water, but we cannot do without air more than a few minutes. Air that is good for breathing purposes should be fresh, cool, have motion and the proper degree of humidity. Drafts signify danger to most people. Yet a gentle draft is one of man’s best friends. Colds do not come from drafts. They are various forms of catarrhal disease and are caused by germs. Of course too strong a draft will chill some portion of the body so much as to lower its resistance to these germs, but as a general rule air currents do more good than harm. The proper way to get good ventilation in a house is to have a crosscurrent of air. To do this you must have an entrance for fresh air and an open window or door on the opposite side of the room for the used air to go out by. When this is not practical, circulation of air can be secured by having a window open both top and bottom. Stagnant air is almost as bad as no air at all. If impossible to obtain this natural motion of air, artificial means should be employed. Electric fans are good. Hand fans help. American men could well adopt the custom of the Jap, who goes to his business with a fan in his hand. In this country there are 35,000 deaths annually from typhoid f eve r-_-most, of the cakes being caused by infected drinking water. In European cities where for many years especial care has been taken to provide safe water supplies, the annual death rate from typhoid fever seldom exceeds 10 per 100,000 people, while often the rates are lower than 5 per 100,000. The water we drink* should be wholesome, absolutely clean, and free from an excessive amount of minerals.