This study aimed to prove that application of an aromatherapy oil is effective in treating bruises experienced by children in a day nursery. In this study, we used a special blended oil for treating bruises. The blended oil consisted of refined oil and aromatic ingredients. The primary ingredient of the refined oil was Helichrysum. We surveyed 135 cases. Ice-pack therapy was performed in 78 cases of bruising (ice-pack group) who could of icing deal with bruise in 102 cases of no intervention in aromatherapy. Aromatherapy was performed in 33 cases (aromatherapy group). We compared the aromatherapy group with the ice-pack group. The effect of therapy was evaluated by a questionnaire survey administered to 18 nursery teachers. We found a significant difference in the swelling and redness of the bruise (p<0.0001). The findings of this study suggested that application of an aromatic oil is an effective method for the early treatment of trivial bruises that do not necessitate hospital admission.

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The aim of this study is to clarify what kinds of factors have effects on the consciousness of the elderly when they recognize themselves as senior citizens. We made an anonymous questionnaire for 536 members (mean age 75.8 years, SD 5.3) of the A city senior citizens club who were 65 years old or over. This study suggests some factors that affect elderly persons' recognition of their own age, their own physical condition, and their own life satisfaction. Results of the questionnaire showed that respondents believed the average age for recognizing one's own status as elderly was 73.8 years old. The number of respondents who considered themselves to be elderly, and the number of those who believed that they weren't, was almost the same. There was a significant difference between these two groups, however, regarding the question of how old one must be to be considered elderly (p<0.001). There were 9 sections on background information and health questions. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test. 6 sections showed a significant difference between the two groups mentioned above. These 4 sections without family structure and academic background were analyzed using a logistic regression analysis. The results showed a significant correlation between respondents' perceptions of their own physical condition (odds ratio : 2.6, 95% CI : 1.69-4.00) and their perceptions of their own life satisfaction (odds ratio : 0.6, 95% CI : 0.38-0.95). Respondents were asked to write and explain their own reasons for why they considered themselves to be elderly or not. Results suggesting that people consider themselves elderly are a function of present circumstances, in which some loss of faculty has been expressed. People in the other group tended to write about more positive personal circumstances. Communities must actively promote self-esteem in their senior citizens in order to improve the quality of their lives and give them a role in society.

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The aim of this research was to clarify the influence of obesity on sleep. In order to measure sleep-wake rhythm, subjects were asked to wear actigraph for 8 consecutive days. Obesity was defined by BMI and sleep-wake rhythm was measured with bed time, rising time, wake episodes, sleep episodes, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, sleep minutes and wake minutes. We compared the sleep-wake rhythm of week days with that of weekends and the sleep-wake rhythm of commuting students with that of boarding students. The subjects were 29 males and 4 females and the averages ages were 18.6+1.56 and the average BMIs were 26.7±6.44. By comparing sleep-wake rhythm of obese students with that of non-obese students by the numerical values and observation of the data, significant difference was noticed in rising time and wake minutes. It was suggested that sleep-wake rhythm varied with obesity.

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This study verifies the effect of the prone position on encouraging defecation in diabetic patients during diabetes educational hospitalization and discusses whether the prone position can be a symptomatic treatment for costiveness. The subjects were divided into two groups (test group : 12 ; control group : 9). Two types of experiments were performed. For experiment 1, patients in the test group were placed in a supine position for ten minutes, and then, placed in a prone position for 30 minutes. Then patients were again placed in a supine position for 10 minutes. Trend of bowel peristalsis during the experiment was measured by intestinal sound power value. The result was that when intestinal sound power value in the supine position was compared before and after the prone position, intestinal sound power after the prone position increased and a significant difference was observed (p<0.004). This showed that change to a prone position enhanced bowel peristalsis. Meanwhile, in experiment 2, the test group was continuously in a prone position. The number of defecations was compared both before the prone position and during the prone position. Further, the number of defecations in the test group during the prone position was compared with the control group. The results showed that the frequency of defecation was significantly higher during the prone position in comparison to before the prone position (p<0.05). The frequency was significantly greater in the test group than in the control group (p<0.05). The results showed that the prone position encouraged defecation. Use of the prone position to encourage defecation is a simple method that does not require special equipment or complex techniques. This study suggested that use of the prone position could be a practical symptomatic treatment to reduce costiveness.

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