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Our breathing tract is one continuous sheet of membrane,
stretching from the topmost sinus in the skull to the smallest
tube in the bottom of the lungs, it is lined by millions of tiny
hairs, just like velvet. These hairs work day and night wafting
the catarrh down from the sinuses and up from the lungs to the back
of the nose and throat where it collects, and where in time it
gradually obstructs and paralyses the action of the hairs. In
addition, virulent germs simply love these juicy collections of
catarrh, in which they quickly multiply and soon spread around extending
the damage and inflammation.
The volume of the sinuses in the face and skull alone would
measure a cupful. That of the bronchial tree is much greater. So
you see that when this enormous area gets inflammed as the result
of attacks of germs the pouring out of secretions is considerable;
in other words the catarrh is bad.
As you all know having this catarrh is a constant state of
affairs - it is always there. When there is a heavy attack of germs,
as we get from others coughing in trains or cinemas or schools,
there is a flare-up of our defence mechanism and a fight occurs.
The cold, and its complications - bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections
- are therefore the flaring up of the inflammation which
is constantly with us.
Now let us see what happens when, instead of trying to kill
germs with high-powered drugs, we simply wash them away. If we
gargle with plain warm water, we find that with each gargle masses
of catarrh are brought away from the throat. The more we gargle
the more we wash away, and the more room we leave for the enormous
amounts of catarrh imprisoned in our sinuses and lungs to escape
and leave the spaces free for life-giving air. This gradually
occurs over a period of time depending partly on the severity of
the catarrh. The catarrh is thus gradually cured.
At the same time, the millions of germs which thrive on the
catarrh are washed away before they can establish a foothold. The
chances of a flare-up of illness are thus considerably reduced.
In addition to simple gargling, you will find that spraying
the throat with warm water from a shower while in the bath, augments
the effect of the gargling in washing away the catarrh.
A third way of getting rid of germs and catarrh is to blow
them away. But we all know that blowing into a handkerchief makes
our noses more stuffy and sore. We know too that the handkerchief
is a dangerous germ carrier. Then let us abolish the handkerchief.
You will be surprised and gratified at the freedom of breathing
and feeling of well being this 'blowing the nose like a navvy'. into
the bathroom basin will bring you.
Finally, we must, as far as possible, prevent germs getting
into us. One of the most dangerous spots is the tooth-brush rack
exposed in the bathroom. The brushes collect millions of virulent
germs from the air-borne spray every time somebody coughs or spits
into the basin. These germs are transferred straight to our mouths
and are a source of serious but preventable illness. Let us then
abolish tooth-brush racks. So clear out the accumulation of useless
medicines and antiseptics from the bathroom cabinet and keep the
the tooth-brushes and glasses in it.
Here then are four very simple measures to cure our catarrh and
at the same time keep us free from colds.
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