215. Diseases like colds.—Diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and measles all begin like a common cold and often look like a cold during the whole sickness. Colds do not turn into any of these diseases, for each of them comes from its own germ, just as corn comes only from seed corn.
216. Curing a cold.—If you have a cold, you ought to stay at home and rest, or lie in bed. Then your white blood cells can gain strength to fight the disease germs. You ought to have plenty of fresh air in your room. You ought not to eat much food for a few days, so that your stomach and intestine and liver can use all their strength in throwing off the poisons of the germs. But you ought to drink plenty of water, so as to help wash away the poisons from your body.
217. Keeping colds from spreading.—You should keep away from other persons while you have a cold, or other catching disease, so as to keep from spreading the sickness. You ought not to go visiting, or go to school, or to church, or to other meeting places. When you cough or sneeze, you should hold a handkerchief to your mouth, so as to keep from blowing disease germs from your throat and nose. You ought to sleep in a bed by yourself, so that no one may take the disease germs from your bedclothes. No one else should use your towel, or handkerchief, or knife, or fork, or spoon, or dish, until they have been washed in hot water, so as to kill the disease germs on them.
218. Keeping from catching cold.—You can keep yourself from catching cold by keeping your body strong and in good order. You should keep your clothes dry, eat good food, breathe pure air, get good rest and sleep, and keep your body, your clothes, and your house clean. You should also keep disease germs out of your body. You should not form a habit of putting your fingers or a pencil to your mouth (p. [127]). You should keep your nose, your throat, and your mouth clean.
219. Cleanliness of the nose.—The inside of the nose is wet with a slippery liquid. If you have a cold, the liquid is thick and stops your nose, and is called phlegm. The liquid catches and holds dust and disease germs, and keeps them from going into the windpipe. It also kills many of the disease germs.
You should always carry a handkerchief and use it so as to blow the germs out of your nose. You should have a clean handkerchief every day.
Photograph of model of the
nose and throat.
A. tonsil; B. adenoids;
C. opening of Eustachian tube.
220. Adenoids and large tonsils.—Sometimes children have large tonsils growing in the back of the throat, or soft bunches of flesh called adenoids back of the nose. These children cannot breathe well through the nose, but must breathe through the mouth. Then they take dust and disease germs deep into the body, and so take colds and other sickness easily. If a child has adenoids or large tonsils, an operation should be done to take them out.