Chapter XI: Necessity for Pure Air and How to Secure It

We have learned how the cells of the body are killed by starvation. Now let us learn how they are choked to death, or killed by lack of air.

[Sidenote: How air is changed in the body]

The cells of the body need _oxygen_, and the only way we can give it to them is by means of air. Every time we take air into our lungs we are giving oxygen to the red corpuscles or cells in the blood, which distribute it to the other cells in the body. The air that goes into our lungs, if it is fresh and pure, contains a great deal of oxygen and a very little of another gas called _carbon dioxid_. The air that comes out of the lungs contains a very little oxygen and a great deal of carbon dioxid. The blood not only takes the oxygen out of the air, but gives carbon dioxid to the air. This carbon dioxid is very poisonous, and would kill the cells if it remained in the blood; hence we should never breathe the same air twice. There is no lack of fresh air in the world, and no excuse for anyone's ever breathing air that is not pure.

[Sidenote: Effects of impure air]

If you close all the windows and doors in the schoolroom and shut up the ventilators, you will soon find that you are not able to pay close attention to your studies, and in a little while you will begin to feel drowsy. This is because you have used up so much of the oxygen in the air that there is no longer enough to supply the demands of the little cells, and because, in addition, you are taking into your bodies the poisonous carbon dioxid that has been breathed out into the room. It takes a great deal of fresh air to supply the body with oxygen--about 1,250 cubic feet of air each hour. With thirty or forty children in a room, it does not take long to use up all the oxygen. So there should be a constant supply of fresh air coming into the room.

[Sidenote: Methods of ventilation]

It is not only in the schoolroom that you need oxygen. When you are out-of-doors you get an abundance of fresh air, but from a great many houses every bit of fresh air is shut out. It is always possible to let an abundance of fresh air into any house without causing a draft. A piece of board can be made to fit into a window frame so that when the window is raised, the air will be directed upward and will not cause a draft. Hot-air furnaces are made with cold-air pipes. The fresh air from outdoors comes through these cold-air pipes and, after being heated, is driven into the rooms of the house. Some people think they will save coal by closing these drafts. Not only do they not save coal (for the furnace does not give as much heat when this draft is closed), but they kill their body cells by refusing to give them oxygen. The cold-air pipe in a hot-air furnace should always be kept wide open.

In houses heated with steam or hot water, either the windows must be kept open, or some other way must be provided for admitting fresh air and taking out foul air. These arrangements constitute a system of ventilation. Houses heated with stoves must also be provided with some means of ventilation. The stove, by its draft, takes out a little of the foul air, but it will not take out more air than one person poisons.

[Sidenote: Why windows should be kept open at night]

Many people seem to think that they do not need fresh air at night, and they close their bedroom windows as tight as they can. Those people do not sleep well and often have bad colds. You should always sleep with your windows open. If it is impossible for you to have your windows open without having a draft, choose the draft; it will do you no harm if you are well covered, and under no circumstances will it do you as much harm as the foul air that you breathe if your window is closed. Some persons (fortunately they are few nowadays) will tell you that night air is dangerous. I wonder what kind of air these people expect to breathe at night. Do they expect to fill the room in the daytime with enough air for use at night? Such air would certainly not be very fresh. Night air is the only kind of air that it is possible to breathe at night.

[Sidenote: The ventilation of public assembly rooms]

Churches, theaters, and ten-cent shows are often very poorly ventilated. You can always tell a poorly ventilated room by the foul odor when you go into it from the fresh air, and it is not wise to stay in such a room. You are killing the cells in your body when you do so, and you will very probably come out of it with a bad cold. When the fresh air strikes you, you feel chilly and you may think you are taking cold then, but in reality you took cold in that room full of foul air.

[Sidenote: Ventilation of workshops]

Workshops are often poorly ventilated. No person should ever work in a badly ventilated place. The labor unions frequently strike for higher wages, but until recently a strike for better ventilation was rarely heard of. Better ventilation would be practically equal to an increase in wages, because there would be fewer doctors' bills to pay, and less likelihood of losing work through illness. Always have plenty of pure, fresh air wherever you are--in school, in bed, at work, or at play.

[Sidenote: Why we should breathe through the nose]

The cells in the skin of the nose secrete a watery fluid, and this fluid serves to moisten the air as it passes through the nose. Dry air irritates the mucous membrane which lines the nose, throat, and lungs, and it is very important that the air be moistened before it reaches the throat. Air is also warmed as it passes through the nose. Cold air is irritating to the throat and lungs. The small hairs in the nose catch the dust and dirt in the air and prevent it from going into the lungs.

The nose was made to breathe through, and all the air that goes into your lungs should pass through your nose, in order that it may be moistened, warmed, and cleansed.

[Sidenote: Why some children breathe through the mouth]

Frequently we see boys and girls breathing through the mouth. They do this because there is something in the nose that prevents the air from passing freely through it. If there were nothing in the way, the child would breathe through the nose instead of the mouth, because the natural way of breathing is through the nose.

The most common reason for mouth-breathing is the growth of small lumps in the throat just behind the nose. These little lumps are called adenoids. They are not natural, and should be taken out. We do not know why they grow in some children and not in others, but we do know that they should be taken out so that the child can breathe easily through the nose. Large tonsils also cause boys and girls to breathe through the mouth. Tonsils that are large enough to cause the child to breathe through the mouth ought always to be taken out. Large tonsils and adenoids are often found in the same child.

[Sidenote: Effects of mouth-breathing]

When a child breathes through his mouth all the time, his face takes on a peculiar shape. His upper lip grows long, his lower jaw drops back, and his whole face looks flat. His voice has a peculiar sound, and he finds it very hard to keep up in his classes at school. Children with adenoids and large tonsils are always backward in their school work, and may become deaf if the adenoids and tonsils are not removed.

If you breathe through your mouth instead of through the nose, go to the doctor and let him see if you have adenoids or large tonsils; if you have, let him take them out. You cannot possibly grow into a strong, healthy man or woman if you have adenoids and do not have them removed.

=Questions.= 1. What does the body take out of the air? 2. What
does the body put into the air? 3. What effect does impure air
have on the body? 4. Why should one sleep with windows open? 5.
What causes the unpleasant odor in a crowded room? 6. How would
workmen benefit by properly ventilated workshops? 7. Name the
helpful ways in which the air is changed while passing through
the nose. 8. Why do some children breathe through the mouth? 9.
What effect comes from mouth-breathing?

=Remember.= 1. Impure air destroys health. 2. Never sleep in
a room where the window is closed. 3. Avoid going into public
places or workshops that are not well ventilated. 4. Air must
pass through the nose before it is fit for the lungs. 5.
Mouth-breathing is not natural and is usually due to some defect
that can easily be cured.