RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MINER. The miner, in common with other workers, has two dangers which threaten him nearly all the time. One is injury and the other is sickness. Either one means loss of time, loss of money, suffering for him, and perhaps for his family, and even death, and a widow and children left without income. Miners are coming to realize that most accidents are unnecessary, that they can be prevented, and that the "safety-first" movement has lessened them enormously. But most miners do not know that sickness is just as preventable as accident-often more so. Many risks, to which the miner is liable, can not entirely be done away with, and some accidents will happen in spite of the utmost care; but there need be absolutely no risk of getting some of the diseases that affect miners. If proper care and attention are paid to the means of preventing sickness, the miner can avoid them as easily as he can avoid accidents. In accidents the cause and the remedy are often easy to see. For example, a bar which was supposed to be a guard for an opening is left down; a man walks by, falls in, and is hurt. The cause of the accident, the result, the remedy, and their relation one to another are plain. In many cases of sickness, the cause is not evident to most men, because they do not stop to consider how the disease is spread, and because they fail to realize the ease with which it may be prevented. Once this is understood, the problem of preventing sickness will be simplified, just as the problem of preventing accidents has been simplified, and improvement will follow preventive measures in this case as surely as it has in the other. The "safety-first" movement has made the miner feel that each man is responsible not only for his own safety, but also for the safety of all around him. The same principle is true in preventing sickness. Each person is responsible not only for his own health, but also for the health of others. When he neglects or breaks one of the common-sense rules of health, he endangers not only himself, but his family and the men who work near him. This circular mentions some diseases that every year cause much sickness and death among miners, and it describes the precautions that should be taken to prevent such diseases from starting and spreading. A. J. LANZA, United States Public Health Service. Buy Government Liberty Bonds and become a stockholder in the biggest company in the world. 3 Mon. "Bad food has killed thousands, bad water tens of 7.05 5.23 TESTIMONIAL. (With apologies to the patent medicine almanac.) * * I got in poor health about six years ago and became so weak that I could not carry a half bushel of potatoes on my shoulder. Patent medicines failed to help me, although I tried everything. Finally a kind friend advised me to consult his family doctor. This doctor found out what was the matter with me, and now I am in rugged health. Besides it didn't cost me nearly as much as I had paid out for patent medicines during those six years. NSAS HEALTH BULLETIN. 84343°-18-2 9 PERIODICAL PHYSICAL EXAMINATION. If you find a dangerous place in the mine, a piece of loose rock, a live wire, or bad air, your first thought is safety; consequently you avoid these places and protect yourself from injury. Why not apply the safety first principle to diseases? Many serious diseases develop so slowly that we do not recognize them. Regular physical examination from time to time would warn us of the approaching danger, when it can be easily checked or prevented. One out of four of the civilians who presented themselves for the officers' training camps, was sick and did not know it. Safety first with diseases! Have the doctor examine you at regular intervals whether sick or well. For full particulars see your family physician. PROTECTION AGAINST PNEUMONIA. Pneumonia occurs in all climates, at all seasons, and affects all ages. It is more common in the seasons of bad weather, winter and spring. Prolonged exposure to cold, together with lowered vitality, is a frequent cause. Anything that will lower the power of resistance may bring on pneumonia. The secretion coughed and spit up by a pneumonia patient contains the pneumonia germs. All such secretion should be destroyed by burning. A warm, sanitary washhouse is an excellent aid in preventing pneumonia among miners. In camps where there is no washhouse, men coming to the surface should protect themselves in cold weather by putting on overcoats or some other additional clothing.. ་ The use of alcohol, overwork, loss of sleep, mental strain, poor food, or exposure may help to bring on an attack of this disease. To protect against pneumonia: Avoid unnecessary contact with pneumonia patients. Wear sufficient clothing. Have fresh air in sleeping room. Avoid alcoholic drinks. Keep in good physical condition. Avoid unnecessary exposure. NO HEALTH DEPARTMENT, STATE OR LOCAL, PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS, United States Public Health Service. America will mean more to you when you own a Liberty Bond. Smallpox is one of the oldest diseases, yet one of the easiest to prevent. Vaccination is the simple means of preventing smallpox. Physicians and nurses have no other protection against the disease. Every person should be vaccinated against smallpox. Every child should be vaccinated by the time it reaches the age of one year. No child should be allowed to enter school until successfully vaccinated. GROW A GARDEN. As loyal Americans we must join the nation-wide movement to increase and conserve the country's food crop. Miners and their families can render patriotic service by planting and raising a garden wherever possible. By growing a garden not only can a miner render valuable service, but also he can make the family grocery bill much smaller. Fresh vegetables are a pleasing and healthful variety for the miner's dinner pail. Many mining camps have the necessary space for gardens, and every effort should be made to use this space. The food produced in the garden, if more than the family needs at the time, should not be allowed to waste. The surplus should be dried, or canned, and stored away for future use. Much has already been done to increase the food supply by planting gardens. Join the movement and do your part. An inexperienced person may succeed with a garden by giving it proper attention, for vegetables are easily grown. Several crops may be grown on the same spot in the same season. Early radishes, onions, or peas may be followed by beans, corn, pepper, or tomatoes. Potatoes should be a part of the crop of every garden. A garden 60 feet by 100 feet with intensive cultivation can be made to produce plenty of vegetables for the average family of five. SAFE DRINKING WATER FOR MINING CAMPS. Every mining camp should have enough of safe drinking water. The water supply of a camp may be individual or public; individual when each family or group of families uses water from a surface well or a spring; public when all the water in camp comes from a common source, as a reservoir, deep well, or stream. Surface wells in mining towns are unsafe because the surface drainage and pollution makes them so. Wells near insanitary privies are especially dangerous: water from such wells should be boiled before being used for drinking. A water supply for a mining camp which comes from a pond or stream should be allowed to settle, be filtered, and be given chemical treatment, if necessary, to render it safe for drinking. A plant for the purification of drinking water by the addition of hypochlorite of lime can be installed at very slight cost. The purity of drinking water is best determined by laboratory examination. Clear, sparkling water, although seemingly pure, may be grossly polluted with human filth. Any water may be rendered fit for use by boiling. Conserve food. Everyone must make some sacrifice for America. |