YOUR HEALTH Treating the common cold By DR. A. GUEST oe season for colds is here, and in the next six months each of us will probably have one to three viral upper respiratory tract infections. It is pertinent therefore to discuss the organic basis of the symp- toms encountered and reason- able methods of treatment. The inside of the nose and respiratory tract is lined with a single layer of cells under which is the connective tissue framework that gives form to the cavity. Coursing through the connective tissue are the arteries and veins which supply the surface layer of cells with nutrients and fluids, and nerves which are sensitive to painful stimuli and warn the body of danger in the respiratory area. The many varieties of viruses which can give rise to the cold attack the surface cells, multiply within them, destroy them and move on to their neighbors. They also irritate the - mnerve-ending near the cells and thus the origin of the sen- sation of a parched sore throat or dry nose that we have in the first stage of a cold. @ As destruction of the surface cells proceeds the viruses pe- netrate the tissue below releas- ing histamine from the tissue cells. Histamine is a potent di- lator of blood vessels that in- _ creases the permeability of the vessels allowing fluid from the blood to escape. It also facil- itates invasion of the nearby ar- teries and veins by viruses. They enter the blood stream, and it is either the viruses themselves of toxic products re- leased in the destruction. of cells that cause the muscle aches and pains in the second stage of the cold. Another frequent symptom in the second stage, more often seen in children, is fever. This also is due to the virus particle of toxic products of cell break- down which act directly on the fever center in the brain located in the thalamus. Fevers are more common and severe in children because the tempera- ture regulating mechanism is . less developed and functions less adequately. 6 The third stage of the cold is characterized by recovery and repair of damaged tissue, but during this process symptoms are often most aggravating. The surface of the nasal cavity and upper respiratory system is de- nuded of cells. The underlying arteries and veins are swollen with damaged walls from the combined action of the virus and histamine. Fluids from the blood easily leak into the tis- sues from the veins, and no bar- rier prevents its entry into the nasal cavity. This is the period of the run- ny nose and the post-nasal drip. If the destruction of surface cells extends into the larynx and bronchi in the neck and chest, a productive cough may be seen. These symptoms last until the surface cells have re- grown to line the respiratory tract and prevent further flow of fluid into the cavities. — e Treatment of colds is unfor tunately only symptomatic. We can neither prevent them nor cure them. Such obvious health ~ MEDICAL TREATMENT in the U.S.S.R. Medical treatment is now available to Canadians at 8 Soviet Health Resorts for the low cost of $8.00 per day. You will receive accommodations and all medical examina- tions, treatment and medication as perscribed by a : physician _ MINIMUM STAY OF 26 DAYS FOR TREATMENT AT Sochi, Yalta, Odessa, Essentuki, Pyatagorsk AND OTHERS ° oe. 615 SELKIRK AVE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact: GLOBE_TOURS a AGENCY - WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - JU. 6-1886 _astronomical. measures as good diet, ade- quate clothing and rest are helpful in-keeping up the body’s power of resistance, but will not guarantee a cold-free season. As colds are caused by vi- ruses, there is no way to cure them. Antibiotics are ineffective in destroying viruses. With the exception of people extraordin- arily prone to the development of bacterical infections, anti- biotics have no place whatso- ever in the treatment of colds. Antihistamines can be of some use in decreasing symp- toms if used early enough. Once the destruction of tissue cells has occured with the release of histamine, they are no longer helpful. However, if used when the first symptoms appear, they may prevent some of the symp- toms due to engorged, boggy blood vessels. For the rest, simple treat- ment would seem to be best: as- pirin for pain and fever, rest to decrease demands on the body, and fluids to aid in the excre- tion of any toxic products formed. © The cold is going to be with us for a long time. The number of viruses causing it is probably Immunization to prevent it may always be im- practical. We had best accustom ourselves to suffer periodically from the visitations of this small enemy that, like the guer- rilla fighter, attacks and then disappears mysteriously only to reappear just as active at a later time. FILM LIFE OF NEHRU “India’s Great Son,’ a docu- mentary on the life of Jawah- arlal Nehru, has been released by a Moscow film studio. Shots taken by both Soviet and In- dian cameramen over a num- ber of years have been. used. Books for your Christmas gift list : ANY of us put books high on our Christmas gift list because of the hours of pleasure they afford the reader. The problem is to know what to buy. If you still have to decide on the books you’re going to give for Christmas, here are a few you might like to consider. For pleasure-full reading a little on the lighter side there is Charlie Chaplin’s own story, My Autobiography (Bodley Head, $7.95). In The Tomorrow Ta- mer (McClelland & Stewart, $4.00), Canadian Margaret Lau- rence writes of the new Africa. A Bough of Needles by west- coast writer Myrtle Bergren (Progress Books, $1) is a collec- _ tion of stories and essays. The Iron Flood by A. Serafimovich (Progress Books, $1) is a novel of the Cossack struggle to free their land from “White” count- er-revolutionaries and foreign invaders. Poetry buffs would probably enjoy Joe Wallace’s latest col- side since.” since. lection, A Radiant Sphere (Pro- gress Books, $1), or Poets of ’- Today, an American anthology edited by Walter Lowenfels (In- ternational, $1.95). For the children there are The Races of Mankind (Pro- gress Books, $1), by M. Nes- turk, which takes a journey through the animal kingdom to the world of man, or the beauti- fully illustrated Art of the North American Indian, by S. Glubok (Longmans Canada, $3). Canadian history offers Mr. December 18, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—P 1S. Wallace I do not like thee, Dr. Fell The reason why I cannot tell But this I know, and know full well, I do not like thee, Dr. Fell. GUESSED this verse was written by Swift or Goldsmith. — H. B., Toronto, shows that :t was an impromptu by Thomas Brown on a verse by the Roman poet Martial. And H. B. asks: who was Thomas Brown? Jim Doherty ©: Victoria answers: “He was a little known 18th century poet who didn’t have a proper respect for authority .. He liked ‘low’ company and spent time in jail: in fact hi travelled the road that many poets have done before an KK. DID YOU EVER count the money in one pocket, dis cover you had less than you thought, and then search every other pocket in vain seeking the shortage? Then you can sympathize with Arthur Vining Davis. When he died in 1962 he thought he had $400,000,000; it turned out that h only had $87,000,000. He has been feeling like hell eve * * GOVERNOR SAWYER of Nevada, in seeking to the sinister shadow from the gambling in that state, throw a little light on business as a whole: _ “To us it (gambling) is just another business differin from others only in that the operation is rigidly police and controlled by a state agency.” = * * WHEN PIERRE SALINGER ran in California for th U.S. Senate his public relations agency said “As far as w are concerned Pierre is a bar of soap and we are going t sell him as effectively as we can.” In view of what happened I am reminded of the m who walked in an open door and called out he’d like speak to the mistress. She explained that she couldn't sé him because she was taking a bath. He replied: “Oh, sli on any old thing and come down.” So she slipped on a piece of soap and came down stairs * * DEPARTMENT OF ANTI-CLIMAX: Mir, a detergen! sold on the Canadian market, uses the Russian name fo! peace, “Mir,” and the five-point star on its box. Before th RCMP starts hounding them I suggest they use Mir 4 short for Miracle and the star purely as an ornament. can’t blame them: it is beautiful. ee dom House, $9.95). Not € art or history buta little 0) is Pedro Martinez, tape by side. * * * * Prime Minister, by Bru chison (Longmans Can $7.50) and The Foundip Canada, by S. B. Ryerson gress Books, $3). The latt a Marxist interpretation. Two excellent books 0 arts are Shakespeare — Changing World (Prog Books, $2.35), a collection essays edited by Arnold and The Art and Thoug Michelangelo, four brillia says by Charles de Tolna ed conversations with can peasant, by Oscar (Random House, $10.75). The reader with p0 tastes might prefer Th Nobody Knows, by Cook (Collier-Macmillan, or Vance Packard’s exp big-business spying in th The Naked Society Books, $6.65).