General Health originates from the air we breathe, read on and find out.

Temperature

Human temperature is ordinarily considered normal when the oral thermometer registers 98.6. A variation in temperature is normal through the day for all persons because of such factors as type of work, time of eating and way of life. Generally, temperature is lowest in the early morning, at about 6 A.M., when the temperature reading may be 97 degrees or lower. It then slowly rises during the day to reach its maximum at about 5 P.M. This daily temperature rise seems to be mainly due to food and muscular exercise, and is referred to as the diurnal rhythm.

In elderly people, temperature generally tends to run somewhat higher; therefore, a continued elevation of temperature up to a half degree, in a person of sixty years or more, in the absence of any discernible disease, would be very common and have very little significance.

When an oral thermometer cannot be used, as in some mouth diseases, the temperature may be taken in the rectum or axilla (armpit). These temperatures run a degree higher than oral temperatures, but both are very accurate and are easily taken.

Elevated temperature

Human oral temperature of 99 degrees or more should be investigated for its cause. The presence of a temperature producing febrile disease, such as a cold, sore throat, or an infected ingrown toenail, etc., well may explain the temperature elevation. If no obvious reason can be found for a fever which persists for several days, a doctor should be consulted. It is obvious that an elevated temperature of several degrees could be a matter of greater concern and a valid reason to call the physician without delay.

An example of an unexplained daily fever would be the mild temperature elevation caused by over-activity of the thyroid gland, and only a competent M.D. would recognize this disease. Unexplained, continued fever, therefore, is justification for a trip to the doctor's office.

A lowered temperature

Oral temperature that is significantly lowered is almost always attended by unmistakable and obvious disease. However, in the absence of evident disease, a low temperature has little importance.

Pulse

The name pulse comes from the Latin word Pulsus, which means beating. As the heart contracts, blood is forced through the arteries causing them to dilate, or "beat." All arteries have the same pulse beat, but it is usually felt in the radial artery at the wrist, where it is readily detected near the surface and can be easily compressed against the wrist bone. Only the arteries have a pulse. The veins which return blood to the heart usually have no pulse that is noticeable.

The pulse as a mirror of the heart beating action, tells us a lot about the heart—its beat, its regularity and its force. To a minor degree the pulse also reflects the blood pressure and tells us a little about the arteries—whether they are still elastic and healthy, or whether they have become hardened, like pipes, in diseases such as arteriosclerosis.

The pulse rate which, of course, is the same as the heartbeat, varies considerably with age. While in the newborn it runs between 130 to 140 beats per minute, in adults, the pulse normally runs between 70 to 75 beats per minute. There are also variations between the sexes, with the female pulse usually beating about six times more per minute than that of the male. The pulse rate may be increased tremendously by exertion or excitement, and sometimes reaches rates up to 200 to 250 beats per minute. On the other hand, lying down, resting or sleeping, may slow down the pulse to possibly fifty beats per minute. Some people have a pulse rate of eighty, considered to be normal for their general constitution, while others have a pulse rate in the sixties, which can also be considered normal for them.

A temperature rise is usually accompanied by a rise in the pulse rate, and roughly speaking, for every degree of fever in the body, there will be an extra ten beats per minute in the pulse. Temperature elevation however, does not always accompany disease in which the pulse rate is raised. For example, some heart diseases, or over-activity of the thyroid gland, may be accompanied by a rapid pulse beat but show no temperature increase whatever.

If the pulse runs very fast or very slow, or is beating irregularly, we know that the heart is behaving in the same way. Since this may be due to a serious disease with very few other symptoms, the physician's advice will be of great value.

Respiration

In simple terms, respiration means exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the living body and the outside air, and this exchange, affected by the breathing of fresh air, continually stands between us and the grave.

Although we never think of it, each breath we take is vaporized, warmed and filtered as it enters the lungs. While these important functions are performed mostly by the nose, there is also an elaborate but simple cleansing system inside our lungs for the removal of dust particles and other impurities.

To understand the essentials of breathing, we must realize that our blood stream, the river of life, constantly flows in enormous quantities through the lung tissues. It is here that the blood drinks deeply of the fresh air and oxygen which we have inhaled and at the same time throws off the waste gases, such as, carbon dioxide, which we exhale. In short, the whole of respiration is the ability of our red blood cells to drink in oxygen and to discard carbon dioxide. Each red cell contains the chemical haemoglobin, which gives blood its red colour and is the substance that actually carries the oxygen. Even in this atomic age, no one has been able to manufacture anything that can approach haemoglobin.

When the red cells have taken their fill of oxygen from the lungs, they travel throughout the blood vessel system of the body, bringing their eagerly sought parcel of oxygen to the body tissues. They then pick up the waste gas, or carbon dioxide, and return it to the lungs to be exhaled, thus completing the vital exchange.

How often do we breathe in sickness and in health? At rest, the average person may breathe in and out about sixteen to twenty-four times a minute. Exertion, excitement, or work of any sort increases the rate of breathing to bring into the body greater amounts of required oxygen. The fact that we breathe during our sleep tells us that there must be a mechanism which regulates breathing for us even when we are unconscious.

We may voluntarily hold our breath for a time but we can never suffocate in this way, because as unconsciousness arrives, the brain centres again promote the regular respiration which will bring back consciousness. This governing mechanism is located within the brain and if it is damaged, breathing may be considerably changed. In disease the respiration can be greatly affected. One example is disease of the lungs, such as pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Because the body calls for more oxygen in such diseases, the remaining lung tissue must expand and contract faster to maintain adequate respiration. Like the heart, the lungs are capable of great effort when it becomes necessary for continuing life.

“From birth to the grave, the sweetest thing we will ever have is a deep breath of fresh air”.