Child's Health Primer For Primary Classes Part 16

The good, pure air makes your blood pure; and the blood then flows quickly through your whole body and refreshes every part.

We must be careful not to stay in close rooms in the day-time, nor sleep in close rooms at night. We must not keep out the fresh air that our bodies so much need.

It is better to breathe through the nose than through the mouth. You can soon learn to do so, if you try to keep your mouth shut when walking or running.

If you keep the mouth shut and breathe through the nose, the little hairs on the inside of the nose will catch the dust or other impurities that are floating in the air, and so save their going to the lungs. You will get out of breath less quickly when running if you keep your mouth shut.

DOES ALCOHOL DO ANY HARM TO THE LUNGS?

The little air-cells of the lungs have very delicate muscular (mus'ku lar) walls. Every time we breathe, these walls have to move. The muscles of the chest must also move, as you can all notice in yourselves, as you breathe.

All this muscular work, as well as that of the stomach and heart, is directed by the nerves.

You have learned already what alcohol will do to muscles and nerves, so you are ready to answer for stomach, for heart, and for lungs. Is alcohol a help to them?

REVIEW QUESTIONS.

1. Besides carrying food all over the body, what other work does the blood do?

2. Why does the blood in the veins look blue?

3. Where is the blood made pure and red again?

4. Where is it sent, from the lungs?

5. What must the lungs have in order to do this work?

6. When do the lungs rest?

7. Why should we not wear tight clothes?

8. How does the air in a room become spoiled?

9. How can we keep it fresh and pure?

10. How should we breathe?

11. Why is it better to breathe through the nose than through the mouth?

12. Why is alcohol not good for the lungs?

CHAPTER XVI.

THE SKIN.

[Ill.u.s.tration: T]HERE is another part of your body carrying away waste matter all the time--it is the skin.

The body is covered with skin. It is also lined with a more delicate kind of skin. You can see where the outside skin and the lining skin meet at your lips.

There is a thin outside layer of skin which we can pull off without hurting ourselves; but I advise you not to do so. Because under the outside skin is the true skin, which is so full of little nerves that it will feel the least touch as pain. When the outer skin, which protects it, is torn away, we must cover the true skin to keep it from harm.

In hot weather, or when any one has been working or playing hard, the face, and sometimes the whole body, is covered with little drops of water. We call these drops perspiration (p?r spi ra'shun).

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Perspiratory tube._]

Where does it come from? It comes through many tiny holes in the skin, called pores (porz). Every pore is the mouth of a tiny tube which is carrying off waste matter and water from your body. If you could piece together all these little perspiration tubes that are in the skin of one person, they would make a line more than three miles long.

Sometimes, you can not see the perspiration, because there is not enough of it to form drops. But it is always coming out through your skin, both in winter and summer. Your body is kept healthy by having its worn-out matter carried off in this way, as well as in other ways.

THE NAILS.

The nails grow from the skin.

The finger nails are little s.h.i.+elds to protect the ends of your fingers from getting hurt. These finger ends are full of tiny nerves, and would be badly off without such s.h.i.+elds. No one likes to see nails that have been bitten.

CARE OF THE SKIN.

Waste matter is all the time pa.s.sing out through the perspiration tubes in the skin. This waste matter must not be left to clog up the little openings of the tubes. It should be washed off with soap and water.

When children have been playing out-of-doors, they often have very dirty hands and faces. Any one can see, then, that they need to be washed. But even if they had been in the cleanest place all day and had not touched any thing dirty, they would still need the was.h.i.+ng; for the waste matter that comes from the inside of the body is just as hurtful as the mud or dust of the street. You do not see it so plainly, because it comes out very little at a time. Wash it off well, and your skin will be fresh and healthy, and able to do its work. If the skin could not do its work, you would die.

Do not keep on your rubber boots or shoes all through school-time.

Rubber will not let the perspiration pa.s.s off, so the little pores get clogged and your feet begin to feel uncomfortable, or your head may ache. No part can fail to do its work without causing trouble to the rest of the body. But you should always wear rubbers out-of-doors when the ground is wet. Certainly, they are very useful then.

When you are out in the fresh air, you are giving the other parts of your body such a good chance to perspire, that your feet can bear a little shutting up. But as soon as you come into the house, take the rubbers off.

Now that you know what the skin is doing all the time, you will understand that the clothes worn next to your skin are full of little worn-out particles, brought out by the perspiration. When these clothes are taken off at night, they should be so spread out, that they will air well before morning. Never wear any of the clothes through the night, that you have worn during the day.

Do not roll up your night-dress in the morning and put it under your pillow. Give it first a good airing at the window and then hang it where the air can reach it all day. By so doing, you will have sweeter sleep at night.

You are old enough to throw the bed-clothes off from the bed, before leaving your rooms in the morning. In this way, the bed and bed-clothes may have a good airing. Be sure to give them time enough for this.

WORK OF THE BODY.

You have now learned about four important kinds of work:--

1st. The stomach prepares the food for the blood to take.

2d. The blood is pumped out of the heart to carry food to every part of the body, and to take away worn-out matter.