Pollen allergies and eye irritations on aging population

 The eyes are irritated and reddened, and tears flow. Some hay-favorites have a daily cycle, awakening with symptoms in the early morning, experiencing relief from late morning until late afternoon, then becoming discomfited again. Some patients notice that symptoms are affected by environmental factors such as humidity, heat or cold, strong sunlight, or wind. One patient, very sensitive to high humidity, noted severe aggravation of symptoms whenever he took a hot bath. He improved greatly by changing to sponge baths. 

Air conditioning helped his attacks, too, by reducing humidity as well as by filtering out pollen and dust. Usually, the symptoms and their seasonal nature are all that are needed for diagnosis. In addition, the doctor tests for sensitivity to a large variety of allergens, by injection or scratching them into the skin.

 These tests help determine the substance or substances to which the patient should be de- sensitized. The outlook for hay fever is varied. At best, there may be only minor symptoms easily controlled by filtering air in the bedroom and perhaps by occasional use of one of the medicines employed for hay fever. At worst, there may be severe symptoms which prevent enjoyable living and working for weeks; danger of sinus blockage with headaches, middle ear pressure, or infection (especially in children); development of nasal polyps; and appearance of asthma. 

Most cases fall between, with several weeks of annoying symptoms during which the victim is uncomfortable and unable to work or live at his usual productive level. With most patients, the end of the season brings an end to all symptoms, and the malady may be forgotten until the next season comes around.

Doctors often warn hay-feverites to avoid, at all times, house dust, fumes, heavy tobacco smoke, etc., because these may set off a hay-feverlike attack between seasons or aggravate attacks during the season, Effective treatment will frequently prevent the formation of the little benign cystic tumors in the nose called polyps. Also, such therapy will help prevent development of asthma. One form of preventive treatment is to avoid the allergen.

 People who can afford it, or whose work is not de- pendent on a special locale, may go to an area in the United States or abroad where the particular sensitizing pollen does not occur. While this is not possible for most people, many can take their two- to four-week vacation at places away from the pollen or where the humidity and other atmospheric factors are pleasant and helpful. Another form of prevention is to remove the pollens.

There are effective filters for ventilating and air conditioning units; also, there is a special device which precipitates out pollen. Your doctor or a specialist in allergy (allergist) will tell you where you can purchase these and what rooms to use them in. For homeowners who can afford it, a central unit that filters out pollens and controls humidity makes life comfortable; sometimes the cost of such a unit is not greater than the loss of time from work or the expense of distant vacations. Those who do not have such methods of removing pollens some- times prevent serious attacks by going to an air conditioned movie, theater, or restaurant when they feel symptoms coming on. Desensitization treatment is often effective. 

For this, the doctor administers small, gradually increasing amounts of the offending allergen by injection before the season starts in order to build up tolerance. Even after the season has started, desensitization treatment may sometimes help symptoms, at least to some extent.  

Sometimes, there is obstruction to breathing because of a deviated nasal septum or the presence of polyps. At present, there is little need for electrical or chemical cautery of the nasal membranes, but occasionally cautery may prove helpful. Other Inhalant Allergies Symptoms similar to those of hay fever may be caused by many allergens other than pollens. Such allergy is called inhalational allergy, perennial hay fever, or perennial allergic rhinitis. 

House dust is a common cause. House dust is not simple dirt or dust or sand but has been described as a mixture of "cotton, bits of wool, Feathers, animal hair, pesticide, powder, insect scales, mites, shreds of kapok, shreds of cellulose, and other foreign material, and colonies of mold (mildew) and bacteria." Other causes of year-round hay fever include hair and dander of pets, horses, goats; wool; feathers; cotton- seed (from mattresses and furniture stuffing); pyrethrum powder; flaxseed; orris root; and such miscellaneous items as gums and resins, soybean, glue, castor bean, flour, jute, hemp, sisal, coffee, and sawdust.

There are still others which doctor and patient may have to track down in individual cases. Desensitization to these allergens is more difficult than to pollens. There- fore, avoidance or removal of an offending substance becomes important and is usually fairly easy if there is clear-cut recognition of a single allergen. For example, the person who sneezes only in the presence of a cat can have another pet. A voidance of house dust is more difficult, but the doctor will discuss various ways to reduce it in the home. 

Pollen and skin allergies on aging people

Allergens hit their body "target organs" in different ways. Airborne or inhalational allergens strike the nose ,IIH.1 bronchi and lungs; food allergens M" absorbed through the intestine and distributed to various parts of the body, frequently showing their effects of the skin; contact allergens affect ski 11, lips, eyes; allergenic medicines also may affect the skin. 

Some persons have physical allergies, developing typical allergic responses to sun lights, heat, cold, or humidity. The symptoms ofallergy depend upon the target or shock organ affected. If it is the nose, there may be congestion, watery discharge, and sneezing, as in hay fever; if the skin is I he target, there may be rash, hives, or eczema; if the bronchial tubes are the target, there is the wheezing of bronchial asthma.  

 Allergies affect both sexes and may appear at any age. There is a strong hereditary factor. One patient with severe hay fever has a son of 21 who had asthma from age 6 to 14 and has had almost no attacks since, as the result of avoiding cats; and a daughter who had hay fever for several years as a child and then "outgrew" it; the remaining child has not been allergic. It is important for any person with allergy, or with even a family history of allergy, to mention the fact to any doctor or nurse who is treating him. 

An allergic or potentially allergic per- son usually will not be given penicillin or certain other medicines known to commonly produce allergic reactions unless the medication is absolutely necessary.

Hay Fever Chief among airborne allergic diseases is hay fever. Curiously, it has nothing to do with hay but is caused by pollens of trees, plants, and weeds. The typical case is seasonal except in a few parts of the South where there may be pollen in the air all year. In the northern United States there is spring hay fever caused by pollens of trees and grasses, and the summer- autumn variety caused usually by ragweed pollen.

The symptoms, which develop, when pollen contacts nose and eyes, include congestion of the nose, watery discharge, tickling and irritation, and sneezing

Aging and Allergies understanding the problem and prevention and treatment

The older person needs a good, understanding physician to help him with the more numerous illnesses and minor annoyances to be expected with aging. Also, as friends and relatives die, the doctor becomes a needed friend. What of so-called rejuvenation operations and other methods purporting to stop or even reverse aging? As far as medical science can determine, there is no validity to the claims for any of these methods: e.g., transplantation of animal glands, injections of Novocain. We are very much in the early in- fancy of biological and medical research into aging. 

It is entirely possible that some "Peter Pan" substance may yet be found to keep us young longer. We have to learn why the white rat rarely lives more than three years, a dog no more than twenty, and man seldom more than one hundred. Possibly out of such research, with animals as well as man, will become new knowledge to provide clues to longer, youthful life. Until then, we can only learn how to prevent the diseases and ravages of the years so we may enjoy to the full a near century of life. 

Note: Problems of the later years- e.g., retirement change of location, hospitalization for surgery, choice of physician-are discussed in additional detail in a book by one of us: The Complete Medical Guide, by Benjamin F. Miller, M.D., published by Simon & Schuster, 630 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10020. ALLERGY With all the talk about it, one might assume that nearly all Americans are allergic. This is not true, but allergic ailments are common enough if one considers all the people who have hay fever, asthma, hives, and sensitivity reactions to medicines, pets, foods, cosmetics, and industrial substances.

The term allergy means altered reaction. A person with allergy has become sensitive to a specific sub- stance which is perfectly harmless to the non-allergic population. The word specific is a key one because an allergic individual may have a violent attack of asthma, for example, when exposed to cat dander but may be perfectly comfortable with dogs, hamsters, canaries, or other pets. The offending substance is called an allergen and is protein in nature or has the capacity to combine with protein in the body. 

Thus a person may be sensitive to such proteins as those in milk, egg white, or lobster but be able to take fats, such as butter, and starches and cane sugar in any amount without symptoms. When a person becomes allergic to a non-protein substance such as iodine or penicillin, it is believed that the offending substance is itself a partial allergen and becomes. 

Dental care tools and how to use?

Dental Care TOOLS

 A toothbrush, preferably soft-bristled, never hard, since it will be used at the gumline as well as on the teeth

 Dental floss

 An irrigator, or water spray, attachable to the bathroom faucet

 Many types are available. Your dentist may recommend one.

A small, inexpensive, plastic-handled mouth mirror, available from your dentist or drugstore

How TO PROCEED

BRUSHING

 Properly used, a toothbrush can clean three of the five surfaces of the teeth-chewing, cheek side and tongue side. Note: A critical, often missed zone is the last one-sixteenth inch of the tooth at the gum margin. Plaque and bacteria near the gum as well as on the rest of the tooth must be removed. Direct the brush bristles gently into the crevice between gum and teeth. 

Mildly vibrate brush handle so bristles do not travel and skip about but can dislodge material in this area. A soft-bristle brush gently used will do no damage to gum tissue; a stiff bristle brush may. Next, move brush, applying gentle but firm pressure, so bristles travel over surface of tooth. Brush upper teeth with a downward motion; lower, with upward motion. 

Brush surfaces next to tongue and surfaces next to cheek. Then clean the chewing surfaces, brushing across tops of teeth. Brush at least half a dozen strokes in each area.

FLOSSING

 Plaque must be cleaned away from the other two surfaces of the teeth-the sides, or interdental surfaces. Floss can accomplish this. Cut off a piece of floss 18 to 24 inches long. Wrap the ends around the forefinger and middle finger of each hand, leaving the thumbs free. To floss between upper teeth, use thumbs as guide; hold thumbs about 1 inch apart, keeping floss taut. For lower teeth, use forefingers as guide, keeping them 1 inch apart.

 Slip the floss between each pair of teeth. Do not try to snap floss through a tight area; work it gently back and forth until it passes through. Carry the floss to the base of one tooth, stopping when it is just under the edge of the gum. Scrape the floss up and down against the side of the tooth until you get a rough or "squeaky" feeling, which indicates you have broken through the plaque and are actually touching the tooth. After cleaning the side of one tooth, clean the side of the adjoining tooth.

 RINSING

 After brushing and flossing, vigorous rinsing will remove dislodged food particles, plaque, and bacteria. An irrigating spray also helps clean under any bridges or braces and in gum pockets where brush and floss cannot reach. Place the spray tip in the mouth pointing toward the tongue and adjust water flow until pressure and temperature feel good. Move tip so warm water washes spaces between teeth and between gums and teeth. The spray should not be painful at any time. 

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM 

The endocrine glands differ markedly in appearance and are widely separated in the body. The pituitary is a round mass about the size of a large green pea, attached by a stalk to the brain stem. The thyroid, deep in the throat, has been likened to a small oyster, though it is beefy red in color. Attached to the thyroid are the parathyroid-generally four, although there may be more or less-which somewhat resemble BB shots. 

The adrenals, rising like mushrooms from atop the kidneys, are two in number. Each consists of a core, the medulla, and a casing, the cortex. The pancreas, lying against the back wall of the abdomen, might appear at first glance to be no endocrine gland at all, since it has a duct leading into the intestine. But in the tail and elsewhere it also has a few tiny segments, called islets, which form an endocrine gland, pouring their secretions into the bloodstream. The gonads, or sex glands, consist of testes in men and ovaries in women. In addition, there are the pineal gland in the upper back part of the brain, and the thymus which is found below the thyroid in young people. and withers away.

Very little is known as yet about the pineal and thymus

 The hormones these glands send through the blood to various parts of the body act like messengers (the word hormone comes from the Greek word meaning to excite or stir up). The hormones do not actually create processes; instead they give the orders for certain processes to speed up or slow down. And the endocrine glands form an interdependent system. In a sense, they can be likened to a family in that what happens to one affects the others.

 If one gland is removed, the functioning of all others is altered. Similarly, if the functioning of one increase so its secretions increase, others are affected. This is one reason why it can be dangerous to dose oneself with a hormone, glandular tissue or extract, or whatever it may be called, (or the purpose of reducing weight, getting rid of .'X oo ",,, hair, developing the breasts, becoming more virile, or for any other reason. 

As an example of how the glands work together, the pituitary secretes a hormone that moves through the blood to the adrenals to stimulate the latter. In turn, the adrenals secrete a hormone that travels to the pituitary and signals the latter to slow production of the adrenal-arousing hormone. Actually, the pituitary secretes hormones to stir up each of the other endocrine glands, and each gland responds in the same way. Until recently, it was thought that the pituitary was the "master" gland. But it is now evident that the pituitary is no all-powerful monarch on its own. It is connected to the floor of one of the ventricles in the brain called the hypothalamus. 

Sense organs- Ear- taste buds - skin touch

THE OTHER SENSES 

Man has about 3,000 taste buds. They are mainly on the tongue, although there are a few on the palate, tonsils, and pharynx. There are four primary or basic tastes sensations-sweet, bitter, sour or acid, and salt. You can't taste all flavors on all parts of the tongue. Sweet flavors register near the tip, sour on the sides, bitter on the back, and salty all over. The sense of smell is located in odor receptors in the upper passage of the nasal cavity. 

The size of the membrane containing the odor receptors is only about one-fourth square inch in man as against an area 40 times as great in the dog. The organ of smell, which can detect things at a distance, is obviously more important as a danger warning system in animals than in man. It's because of the location of the receptors that you may not smell delicate odors at first.

It takes several whiffs to get the odor into the upper nasal passage. Before you can taste anything, the substance must be moistened, and the salivary glands supply the moisture. And to be smelled, an odor must be dissolved in the mucus secreted by the nasal membranes. Smell receptors in man, although they do not have the same capacity as in lower animals, still are sensitive enough to allow you to detect a substance diluted to as much as one part in 30 billion. 

No special care is required to guard the senses of taste and smell. You may wish to read, in connection with these senses, the section dealing with care of the mouth and the nose. Touch, sometimes called the fifth sense, is actually five senses: touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. Skin: sensations are registered in nerve endings all over the body. Nerve fibers carry them as impulses to the spinal cord and then to the brain where all these feelings register. If you place your hand lightly on any object, the first sensation is touch.

Press harder and you sense pressure. And if the object has a rough surface and you press hard enough, you may feel pain. The senses are closely related though distinct from each other. Also in the skin are separate nerve endings to register heat and cold, which is absence of heat. A discussion of sense organs could go much further but would serve no useful purpose here. 

For example, you can feel the pain of a stomach- ache, but you can also feel hunger, which is quite different. You can also feel thirst, which is not among the sensations classically classified. Some investigators have suggested that the senses might well be divided into a dozen or more categories. In addition to the usual five-sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch-pressure, heat, cold, and pain deserve individual categories, and so, too, the ability to sense vibration, position, and equilibrium. 

Nasal and sore throat

A sore throat also may be due to irritation from excessive smoking. If cutting down on smoking and a trial of gargling every two or three hours using a third of a glassful of warm water containing two crushed aspirin tablets do not help, if the sore throat persists for more than a few days, you should see your physician. 

Serious conditions may begin with a sore throat. Any acutely sore throat accompanied by fever in either adult or child may mean trouble. It may indicate early stages of diphtheria, scarlet fever, septic sore throat, or serious infection of the tonsils.

 If these conditions are treated promptly by your physician, they can be cured quickly and serious complications can be avoided. In some individuals, even moderate use of cigarettes may produce irritation in the throat and larynx, leading to a hacking cough. There is no magic medicine for this.

The problem can be solved only by greater moderation or even complete discontinuation of smoking. Hoarseness is a sign that something may be wrong with the larynx. If you have been cheering at a football game the day before, the reason is obvious enough. But if hoarseness or a change in your voice appears without apparent cause and lasts longer than a few days, it may indicate a tumor, tuberculosis, or some other potentially serious condition, and immediate medical attention is essential. 

What commonsense precautions should you take to care for your lungs? First, considering what we now know about the effects of smoking on the lungs-in terms not only of lung cancer but of emphysema and chronic bronchitis you should give up smoking or at least switch from high-risk cigarettes to lower-risk mild cigars or a pipe. 

The moist, warm air passages of the lungs provide ideal growing conditions for many types of bacteria and viruses. This is the reason nature has provided so many barriers to these organisms, in the form of sticky mucous membrane secretions and cilia. But it is impossible to keep the passages 100 percent free of microorganisms.

HICCUPS - SINGULTUS - PREVENTIVE CARE- foul smell

HICCUPS (SINGULTUS) 

Hiccups are short, sharp inspiratory coughs involving spasmodic lowering of the diaphragm. They may be due to indigestion, overloaded stomach, irritation under the surface of the diaphragm, alcoholism, and many other possible causes. There are many home remedies, anyone of which may work in simple cases: warm applications to the diaphragm region, protrusion of the tongue, holding of the breath, drinking water, applications of cold to the spine, exhaling and inhaling into and from a paper bag. In severe persistent cases, medical attention is required.

PREVENTIVE CARE

 It goes almost without saying that the most common respiratory problem -in fact, the most common disease in the world-is the common cold. You will undoubtedly want to read the special discussion of this. Other conditions, as well as the common cold, may produce nasal congestion. They include hay fever and other allergies, chronic infections, nasal polyps, sinusitis, and a deviated or crooked septum. Enlarged adenoids may also be a cause of nasal congestion in children. 

Your physician, or a specialist to whom he may wish to refer you, can do much now not only to provide relief for such problems but very often to use preventive techniques that will avoid recurrences and possible progression to more complicated problems. Ozena is a disease of the nose involving the turbinates and mucous membranes. It is accompanied by considerable crusting and discharge and a very offensive odor. 

It should have medical attention as soon as possible. Actually, a persistent, foul-smelling discharge in children is much more often caused by some foreign object such as a bean or pencil eraser lodged deep in a nasal passage. Always have a physician take care of this.

An occasional minor nosebleed is no cause for alarm. It may stop by itself-and often does. Cold compresses to the nose and back of the head, and pressure on the soft portion of the nostril on the bleeding side for five minutes, may help. Or the bleeding may stop if the affected nostril is plugged with sterile cotton. Frequent nosebleeds deserve medical attention. 

They may simply mean that a particular small blood vessel in the nose is at fault, and the physician may be able to attend to it in a few minutes. On the other hand, nosebleeds in children sometimes may indicate rheumatic fever. They may also herald onset of typhoid fever. Contrary to a popular notion, they rarely stem from high blood pressure. If your nose bleeds frequently without apparent cause, your physician will try to determine exactly what is involved and then use suitable treatment. 

Should an unsightly nose be changed by plastic surgery?,perhaps. This is a matter to talk over with your physician. If the advises an operation for cosmetic reasons, he will refer you to a surgeon specializing in this type of surgery. Surgery may be appropriate, too, when an abnormal situation.

The Nose and Sinuses

The Nose

On both sides of the septum are rounded ridges, called turbinates, outgrowths of soft bone covered with mucous membrane. Air is warmed and moistened in the turbinates, and the sticky surface of mucous membrane catches any foreign particles that have gotten by the nostril hairs. The mucus, which is continuously secreted by the membranes covering the turbinates, drains into the throat.

 In addition to the mucus, the membrane contains hairlike filaments, called cilia, which wave back and forth a dozen times a second, helping to clean incoming air and move foreign particles trapped in the mucus down the back of the throat and into the stomach where impurities are inactivated by gastric acid.

Extending into the nasal cavity from the base of the skull are large nerve filaments which are part of the sense organ for smell. From these filaments, information on odors is relayed to the olfactory nerve which goes to the brain.

THE SINUSES

 The sinuses are cavities lined with mucous membranes which are continuous with those lining the nose. There are eight sinuses: the frontal on each side of the forehead; the maxillary in the cheekbones on each side; the ethmoidal in the walls between nasal cavity and eye sockets; and the sphenoidal behind the nasal cavity. Filled with air, the sinuses lighten the head bones. 

They help equalize air pressure in the nasal cavity, aid in warming and moistening air, and serve as sounding chambers to give resonance to the voice. Many of us undoubtedly would be happy to do without the sinuses if we could be spared the pain of sinus infections-for, linked as closely to 208 / Preventive Body Care the nasal cavity as they are, the sinuses can be affected by infection spread from the nose. It is worth noting here that excessively hard nose blowing is a factor in spread of infection to the sinuses. 

Heart Problem heart foundation heart beat

 The atrium and ventricle on the right are separated from their counterparts on the left by a wall of muscle, called a septum. Into the right atrium comes "used" blood returning from coursing through the body, during which trip it has given up its oxygen to body cells in exchange for cell wastes. It now needs freshening and it flows from the atrium through a valve into the right ventricle. The valve, the tricuspid, is there to prevent blood from being pushed back into the atrium when the ventricle contracts. The contraction of the ventricle pushes the bluish "used" blood into the pulmonary artery toward the lungs. 

Thus the right side of the heart is a pump devoted to moving blood toward the lungs for oxygenation. When the blood, freshened in the lungs, returns through the pulmonary veins to the heart it enters the left atrium. From here it goes, through the mitral valve, to the left ventricle. And it is the contraction of the left ventricle that sends a surge of fresh blood into the aorta, the great artery which comes out of the heart and from which branches run to all parts of the body. Valves to prevent backward flow of blood are also located where the aorta and pulmonary artery emerge from the heart.

 THE HEARTBEAT 

The beat of the heart-on the average, 72 times a minute--starts in a knot of tissue called the sinoatrial node located in the atria. The node contains nerve cells and fibers and muscle cells and is called the heart's pacemaker because it gives rise to the impulse, or spark that starts a wave of contraction. The wave spreads over the muscle of the atria and, upon reaching another node near the junction of atria and ventricles, produces an impulse which leads to contraction of the ventricles. 

As already noted, the heart does not lie entirely on the left side, de- spite a popular notion to that effect. Rather it is near the midline with about one third of its bulk on the right and two thirds on the left. The flatter base of the heart faces backward, and the sharper apex faces out and downward. It is the apex that reaches to the left, and because it pulses with each beat; the heart appears to be centered at that spot rather than stretching toward it. 

Acne Skin RosaCea allergies

ACNE ROSACEA

Although somewhat similar in name to common acne, acne rosacea bears no resemblance to it in appearance or mechanism. Popularly, it is often termed "whiskey nose," which could hardly be more erroneous. Rosacea occurs in people who have never touched alcohol. It involves excessive flushing of the blood vessels of nose and cheeks. A nervous reflex may be a factor in such excessive flushing, and drinking alcohol may encourage the reflex, but the alcohol is not essential. With long-continued abnormal flushing, the blood vessels become more apparent, and nose size may increase. Even the worst case of acne rosacea can be cured. And, in mild or early stages, the problem often can be controlled by simple measures: frequent application of cold water, witch hazel, or ice to help contract the blood vessels. Pat or rub on gently; do not massage. It is also often helpful to minimize intake of alcohol and of hot and spicy foods.

SKIN ALLERGIES AND SENSITIVITIES The skin, if a tough organ, is also a sensitive one. It can mirror emotions; it can also mirror internal allergic states. People have long been familiar with one form of allergy manifested in the skin-hives. In hives, superficial areas filled with a watery fluid appear and disappear on the skin, often itching quite severely. Hives may pop up after a particular food is eaten. Nettle rash, drug rash, and urticaria are other names for similar conditions. Itching from allergic reactions can be relieved by application of calamine lotion available in any drugstore or by bathing in water containing a cupful of bicarbonate of soda per bathtub of water.

Of course, the best thing to do, when possible, is to identify and avoid the substance that produces the reaction. Sometimes, this is not difficult. Many people have been able to determine for themselves that they get hives or "break out" after eating strawberries, for example, or after using a perfumed soap, wearing certain types of fabric, or taking a certain medication. It is certainly not difficult to discover that one is allergic to poison ivy or poison oak. There are instances, however, when it requires the detective skill of a specially trained physician-a dermatologist or allergist-to determine whether, in fact, a condition is really due to allergy and, if so, what the culprit substance or substances maybe. 

Main Occupational Hazards - Skin Diseases

1.       SKIN DISEASES

      These are among the most widespread industrial health problems. Almost anything-chemicals, dirt, and oil, as well as germs-can irritate the skin. Chief troublemakers are petroleum products, such as machine oil, naphtha, and cutting oil compounds; solvents which include degreasers such as kerosene, gasoline, and trichlorethylene; alkalis, such as lime, caustic soda, and strong yellow soap; and plants, including poison ivy, sumac, and poison oak. Florists are particularly subject to skin irritation from plants.

Furriers may be affected by parahenylenediamine. Workers who use chromium in electroplating may develop chrome ulcers. While the list of possible skin afflictions that may develop in connection with work is an almost endless one, there are several important precautions you can use to avoid trouble. Immediately, after finishing any dirty or oily job, and also before eating lunch and leaving for the day, apply soap and water generously.

Special soaps may be required to re- move some substances that cling stubbornly or penetrate into the skin. Don't try to rub away oils that get on hands and face; this may only force them into the skin, clogging the pores, causing irritation and pimples. Wash off oil with soap and water, using repeated applications if necessary; then dry with a clean towel. Special ointments are available to cover the skin before contact with offending substances, providing protection and greatly simplifying the removal of some otherwise difficult-to-remove materials.

Gloves, sleeves, and aprons can afford protection. Pull sleeves over the cuffs of gloves to make certain no skin is exposed. Keep protective clothing clean; change it often. Do not use advertised ointments for any skin problems compounded by self-treatment. The self-treatment-actually overtreatment by a worried victim-may produces skin problems of its own. Over- treatment dermatitis is a common problem that confronts dermatologists -skin specialists to whose care serious victims often must be referred. If you have used the precautions mentioned above and still suffer because of certain oils or chemicals, you may have developed an allergy to them.

See your physician, who may be able to help with special de- sensitization treatment designed to increase your tolerance for specific materials. If this does not help, it may be essential that you move to another job. But let your doctor decide this.  

MAIN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS - Dust

1.       DUST

Whether it comes from grinding, crushing, cutting, or drilling, or from other sources, dust can be a serious problem. One type of dust encountered in industry is organic-from substances whose source is plant or animal life, such as coal, leather, flour, sugar, feathers, and cotton. 

Many such dusts are not harmful, since the particles are too large to reach finer and more delicate body tissues; many are not composed of poisonous compounds. Organic dusts, however, may produce allergies, skin irritations, or asthma. Miners of both soft and hard coal may develop a disabling shortness of breath because of the effects of coal dust on the lungs. 

Inorganic dusts, the second major type, generally are from metals and minerals. Most dangerous is silica, which causes silicosis. Silica dust may, lead to formation of fibrous nodules in lung tissue; it also encourages development of tuberculosis, which can be severe enough to be fatal. Asbestos dust also causes a lung inflammation, asbestosis. 

Workers such as diamond cutters, rock drillers, asbestos-products workers, foundry and furnace men, abrasive-soap makers, and packers are among those who may be exposed to silica and asbestos dust.

Most likely, workers exposed to such dangerous dusts will be protected by exhaust systems or suction devices which catch the dust at the point of origin, or by the use of oil or water to cover the dust and keep it from rising, and by good ventilation and the use of respiratory masks. 

Even so, they should have regular; periodic chest x-rays to detect any early presence of silica or asbestos in their lungs. They should be constantly alert for colds that do not seem to get completely better, for prolonged coughs, and for other symptoms of tuberculosis.