Health Lessons Part 8

The Germans a few years ago pa.s.sed a law in their land forbidding all boys and girls under sixteen years of age to use tobacco in any form.

Seeing the good results of this law in Germany and the harm that tobacco was doing the boys in the United States, the Emperor of j.a.pan on the 6th of March, 1900, proclaimed this law: "The smoking of tobacco by minors under the age of twenty is prohibited."

In our own country several states have pa.s.sed laws against the use of cigarettes by boys. One country after another is learning that if they want strong men, to fight, to work, and to win, tobacco must not be allowed to weaken the bodies of the young.

=How the White Man becomes a Slave.=--Before the Civil War the black men of the South were slaves. They could not do as they pleased because they belonged to their masters whom they must obey or else they would suffer punishment. No boy can begin the use of tobacco without the danger of becoming a slave to it.

The use of tobacco either by chewing or smoking gradually causes in any one the growth of an appet.i.te which makes him feel miserable and unhappy unless it is kept satisfied. It can be satisfied only by the use of more and more tobacco.

Many men would like to quit the use of tobacco if they could do so without suffering. They are slaves, and tobacco is their master.

=Cigarettes and Health.=--A cigarette is a tube of paper filled with tobacco. The tobacco is usually not so strong as that used in cigars and pipes. For this reason, boys like it better, and because it is so mild they draw the smoke down into the lungs. This gives the poison a better chance to be taken up by the blood. On this account, and because one is likely to smoke oftener when he smokes a small piece of tobacco, cigarettes are thought by some to be more harmful than the use of tobacco in pipes and cigars.

=Tea and Coffee.=--Tea is made from the dried leaves of the tea plant.

Tea plants are raised in North Carolina, China, and j.a.pan. The drink called tea used at the table is made by pouring boiling water on the tea leaves. The leaves should not be boiled as this draws out a substance which keeps the stomach from doing its work in the right way.

Coffee is the seed of a plant growing in South America and Asia. It is roasted, then ground, and boiled in water to make the drink called coffee.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 43.--Branch of a tea plant.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 44.--Branch of a coffee plant with bunches of coffee berries near the bottom.]

Children should not use either tea or coffee as they are likely to hurt the stomach and may injure the heart. One or two cups of tea or coffee daily seem to have little or no bad effect on the health of most grown persons. Coffee taken at supper may keep one awake by sending too much blood to the brain.

=Opium and Morphine.=--Opium is a dangerous drug which is got from the heads of the white poppy plant grown mostly in the far East. From gashes cut in the poppy heads a juice runs out and hardens into a gum from which the pure drug is made.

Some persons smoke opium for the drowsy and pleasant feeling it gives.

Its use is very hurtful and ruins both body and mind. _Morphine_ is a pure form of opium. Persons take it to kill pain and make them sleep.

You should never take it except when given by the doctor, as a habit is quickly formed which will make you miserable through life.

=Patent Medicines.=--These are medicines advertised to cure ailments which generally cannot be cured by drugs. They are the medicines much advertised in the newspapers and magazines. Never use them unless your doctor tells you to do so. Many of them contain harmful drugs, such as morphine and alcohol. When you are sick, go to your doctor for advice.

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

1. Explain how tobacco is raised.

2. How is tobacco used?

3. How does tobacco affect a boy using it for the first time?

4. What is the name of the poison in tobacco?

5. Tell how tobacco keeps boys from growing.

6. What countries do not allow boys to use tobacco?

7. What is meant by being a slave to tobacco?

8. What is tea?

9. What is coffee?

10. Why should you not use opium or morphine?

CHAPTER XII

THE SKIN AND BATHING

=Parts of the Skin.=--The skin is about as thick as the leather of your shoe. It is fastened to the muscles beneath with fine white threads like spider webs. This is called _connective tissue_ because it connects the skin to the lean meat.

The skin is made of two layers (Fig. 45). The upper layer is formed of cells. This is named _epidermis_ or _scarfskin_. The deeper layer is made largely of fine threads woven together. It is the _true skin_ or _derma_. There is no blood in the scarfskin, but there is a network of blood tubes in the true skin. It is the crowding of these with blood that makes the skin look so red when we get hot or excited.

=The Use of the Skin.=--The skin has three chief uses. It protects the softer parts of the body from being hurt by rough or hard things which might touch it. It contains the organs of feeling. It helps keep the right amount of heat in the body.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 45.--A thin slice through the skin, showing sweat glands, a nerve, and blood-tubes. Much enlarged.]

The top part of the skin is dry and dead. This gives better protection than if it were moist and tender. Particles of it are wearing out and dropping off while other bits are growing beneath to take the place of the worn-out parts. The more this top skin is pressed on and rubbed, the thicker it becomes. For this reason it is twice as thick in the palms of the hand and on the soles of the feet.

Scattered through the true skin are millions of tiny organs fastened to the ends of the nerve threads leading to the spinal cord and brain.

These organs tell us when the skin is touched or when it is hot or cold or is being hurt.

=The Pores and the Sweat Glands.=--On a warm day the skin becomes wet with a salty fluid called _sweat_ or _perspiration_. This flows from the tiny holes or pores in the skin. A good magnifying gla.s.s will show these pores arranged in rows on the ridges in the palm of the hand.

From each pore a tube leads down into the true skin to a coiled tube forming the _sweat gland_ (Fig. 45). Sweat glands are present by the thousands in the skin of all parts of the body. They give out from one pint to a gallon of sweat daily. The more we work and the warmer the weather, the more the sweat flows.

There is a little waste matter carried out of the body by the sweat, but its chief use is to cool the body. It does this by pa.s.sing off in the air and carrying the heat with it. In this way the body is kept from getting too hot in summer.

=The Color of the Skin.=--In the African race the color of the skin is black, in the Chinese it is yellowish, while in our race it is nearly white. The different hues are due to a coloring matter called _pigment_. This lies in the deep part of the scarfskin. Going out in the wind and sun causes more pigment to collect, and we say we are tanned. If the pigment collects in spots, it makes freckles.

There is no way of removing at once freckles or tan. They usually disappear in the winter. No powders nor any other kind of medicine should be taken to make the skin white and smooth. Such medicines may contain poison and are likely in time to hurt the body. The skin may usually be kept soft and smooth by was.h.i.+ng well with soft water and good soap. If it becomes harsh or cracked, a little glycerine rubbed on after each was.h.i.+ng may help it.

=The Nails and their Care.=--The nails are hardened parts of the epidermis. They are intended to prevent the ends of the fingers from being hurt and to give a neat appearance to the hand.

The ends of the nails should never be chewed or torn off, as this makes the fingers blunt and the flesh sore. They should be filed or cut neatly with the scissors so that they do not stick out beyond the ends of the fingers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 46.--Photograph of hands showing at the right how the nails should appear, and at the left how biting off the nails makes the fingers blunt and sore.]

Many boys and some girls spoil the appearance of their nails by letting a line of black dirt remain beneath them. A piece of a stick or a nail cleaner should be pa.s.sed beneath the nails every time the hands are washed. If the fingers are much soiled, a stiff brush is useful in removing the dirt under the nails.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 47.--A slice through a hair in its sac. Much enlarged.]

=The Hair.=--Some hair grows on nearly all parts of the body. It is much thicker on the head than elsewhere. Each hair grows from a little k.n.o.b at the bottom of a tiny tube in the skin called the _hair sac_ (Fig. 47). If hair is pulled out, another one will grow in its place if the k.n.o.b at the bottom of the sac is not hurt.

One or two _oil glands_ open into each hair sac and give out an oil to keep the scalp and hair soft. No other hair dressing is needed.