Pure Air and Correct Breathing— Their Value
By D. H. Kress, M.D.
By D. H. Kress, M.D., Physician in Washington (D. C.) Sanitarium THE furnace fire burns briskly when the drafts are opened. If either the lower draft, which admits oxygen to the flame, or the damper which controls the exit of the smoke, is closed, the fire burns slowly, and combustion is incomplete. To have free combustion there must be a free admission of oxygen, and the gases produced by combustion must have free exit. The human body is a furnace. The food is the fuel needed for the production of heat and energy; oxygen is needed to make combustion possible and to keep alive the vital spark. The more oxygen admitted, the brighter the fires burn, and the more pronounced is the energy experienced. To admit but little oxygen will cause the fires to burn low, and will result in the retention of partially oxidized products. These products clog the furnace, and are responsible for the lack of energy experienced. Naturally when deprived of energy we think more fuel or food is needed, and so the sick have food forced upon them. The demand is not for fuel. When this lack of energy is felt, it is frequently a call for more air. The fires in our stoves would not burn long were there no provision made to carry off the carbonic acid gas, which is formed as the result of oxidation. This gas extinguishes fire. A candle will not burn in a deep well, because of the presence of this gas. The chimney serves the purpose of carrying off the carbonic acid gas. The lungs serve not merely as an inlet for oxygen, but also as an outlet for the harmful carbonic acid gas. In the lungs the oxygen is absorbed by the blood, and is then conveyed to the remotest parts of the body, and brought in contact with every cell. The gases formed as a result of the oxidation which takes place in the tissues, are brought by the return flow of blood to the lungs to be exhaled. In this way the vital fires are kept burning, the blood and the tissues of the body are kept clean, and disease is prevented. Pure air and proper breathing are the only means provided by nature for purifying the blood; and he who is in search of some other remedy to accomplish this result, will meet with disappointment. Eating too much and breathing too little is altogether too frequently a cause of sickness. Should the stomach be given less to do, and the lungs13more, mankind would be not merely healthier and happier, but better morally. Consumption, the great white plague of modern times, is annually carrying off thousands of young men and women in the United States; and yet this disease need not exist. A noted doctor has said, "Only those who are too lazy to breathe have consumption." Persons who make full use of their lungs, seldom have this disease; and those who, having the disease, begin to breathe as they should, frequently recover. It is the upper lobes of the lungs, the parts not usually filled with air by the lazy breather, which lose their vitality, and in which the germ of tuberculosis finds an inviting nook for development. Breathing, like eating, is under the control of each individual. It is left with each to determine how much life-giving air shall be inhaled, and how much of the life-destroying and disease-producing products shall be exhaled. For the sedentary man or woman it is well to take a few breathing exercises the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. The following suggestions will be found of value in taking these: Always breathe slowly and deeply, inspirations being through the nostrils, and expirations either through the nose or mouth. Inhalation may be accomplished by that part of an arm or shoulder exercise which tends to elevate and extend the thorax, such as raising the arms laterally; while exhalation should be accompanied by that part of the exercise which tends to contract the walls of the chest, such as lowering the arms laterally from the shoulders or from over the head. Always fill the lower lungs first, by forcing down the diaphragm; then, as the arms are raised, expand the entire chest, allowing the air to get into every nook and corner of the lungs.