Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 172, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1917 — THE SOLDIER'S HEALTH AND HOW HE CAN PROTECT IT. [ARTICLE]

THE SOLDIER'S HEALTH AND HOW HE CAN PROTECT IT.

No duty of the soldier is more important than the care of his health. A sick soldier is worse than no solNot only is he adead weight, but he requires the services of other men in taking care of him. A company which has 20 sick men would be better off if it were actually 20 men short of its quota, because the 20 sick men are of no military value and put an extra drain upon the regimental organization. Much, if not most, sickness is avoidable, with proper sanitary nnd medical precautions, and much of it, certainly, may be a man’s own fault. The matter of health is especially important to the new soldier, since those jwhose liveshave been„sedentary„ are exceedingly susceptible to illness when they first start to live under camp conditions. The change of food, change of surroundings, change of air, and change of habits are often too revolutionary for the system all at once, unless the soldier pays particular attention to his health. The stomach, especially in warm weather, rs the principal seat of illness, and it is here that the new soldier has his fate—his efficiency as a soldier and his usefulness to the command —largely in his own hands. If, before he Is well seasoned in camp, he eats between meals; if he eats food not set before him. at mess—especially the most tempting pies and cakes and cream-puffs from home; if he hangs about the canteen buying candy, nuts or cookies, he is almost certainly destined to be ill. And such illness may be no trivial matter, at that, since it may start a whole train of disorders, from cramps to dysentery. The extent of the illness will probably depend upon the degree of the new soldier's vitality, that is, his capacity to resist it. .

Another prolific source of illness may be in what a man drinks. Alcohol in every form should be avoided; a glass of beer may disturb the whole digestive organization. And the dyed fluids sold at the “pop shacks” at the edge of the camp are to be severely shunned. , They are responsible for much ofttte work which devolves upon army surgeons. They often are poisonous to the system, and at best are conducive of indisposition. The one way in which the young soldier keeps himself in health, except for circumstances' which are beyond his control, is by his care of the body and its habits. If he is always clean, his pores function properly and throw off the wastes; if he keeps.the body well clothed, that is, protected against the weather, he will not catch cold and the pores will not therefore become clogged and cease to work. He should keep his lungs filled with fresh air. He should keep the body thoroughly exercised, but without exhaustion, for exhaustion lowers the vitality and the consequent resistance to disease. For the same reason, he should keep the body refreshed by a sufficient amount of sleep.