CHAPTER XXXIX 

 HYGIENE OF EXCRETION 



238. Hygiene of the kidneys. The kidneys work continu- 

 ously. Their worJ<; can be facihtated by drinking plenty of 

 water every day, and by emptying the bladder with sufficient 

 frequency to prevent discomfort. Aside from maintaining the 

 general health of the body, there is nothing else that we can 

 do for the kidneys ; and, indeed, nothing else needs to be done. 



Where a generation ago workers quenched their thirst with 

 beer and other prepared drinks, now employers and managers of 

 factories and shops are finding it worth while to provide an 

 abundance of clean, cool, and palatable drinking water. In some 

 states the law requires that suitable drinking water be supplied 

 in all workrooms. In a similar way the provision of suitable 

 toilet rooms, from being a casual accommodation or conven- 

 ience, is coming to be recognized as a real necessity not only 

 by the opinion of the experts but by the framers of laws. The 

 more progressive cities are also taking steps to provide suitable 

 drinking water for all on the streets and in public places, as 

 well as comfort stations for all who have to be abroad. 



An understanding of the intimate relation between the wastes of 

 the tissues and the secretions of the kidneys has made possible the 

 development of special methods of diagnosis through the chemical 

 and microscopic examination of the urine. The sugar and the albumin 

 and the uric acid that the expert discovers in the urine are to be con- 

 sidered as indications of the general condition of the body, or of certain 

 organs, and not necessarily of the condition of the kidneys. 



The effect of alcohol upon the kidneys is related to the 

 fact that it causes a congestion of capillaries. When the 

 capillaries of the kidneys are congested, the excretion of wastes 



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