Abstract
THAT exposure to sunlight or some source of ultra-violet, luminous, or heat rays has a beneficial effect upon general health has been claimed by many competent observers. That insolation is of great value in the treatment of various forms of tuberculosis may be taken as well established, although the cooling power of the open air, as well as the sun's rays, plays a part in the favourable effects produced. Again, that vitamin D is formed from ergosterol in the skin when the latter is exposed to ultra - violet light has been definitely shown, as well as the development of an increased bactericidal power in the blood, after suitable irradiation of the same organ. But whether such effects are accompanied by an increase in the resistance of the body to infection has not been satisfactorily demonstrated, in spite of a very general impression that suitable exposure to a source of light does improve the general health. Colebrook1 has therefore submitted this question to an experimental study, and at the same time has investigated the influence of light upon the rate of healing of a purely local infection.
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Irradiation and Health. Nature 124, 952–953 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/124952a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/124952a0