Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1830-09-20


To the night a,r. Moisture, during the nisnt' -
still! an operative agent: but in this case IL as
sociated in the form of dew, with sudueh
duction of temperature, and contributes Po"e.-
fully to chill the whole frame and dePres' -"
no,yer of life. Where vegetation Is ram e ..s
fuxuriant or the surface of the ground wei, WIN
ont he;ou entirely covered with water the uic'''
trre &c the air is most abundant, and the o'ne',
ono. hstween the temperature Of the day ano
r;oh, greatest. A person who walks out OF town
Iafe of a summer evening. and traverses cfeu
.mall soacc of ground. covered with under%oou
and rank weeds, feels chill! pervade ms "ho,o
frame. This explains the greater l'nniuaJ
from bilious and intermittent levers enloyeu "
the inhabitants in the heart OF the CITY, o w,
those IN the suburbs, and OH the oordcrS: ihe
first have more equal temperatures ana ar'ef
air through the night: the latter, even IN 'ne'r
houses. and still more If out doors; or sl,uhS
up late at open windows, are immersed III aahp
and cool atmosphere, which contrasts remarKa'
bly with the great heat Of midday.
As the season advances towards the autumnal
equinox, atmospherical extremes and vicissitudes
increase, accompanied with frequent rains, and
with them feyers multiply, becoming, however,
more distinctly intermittent.
The means Of prevention in these cases are OBJ
yious: they consist in avoiding exposure to the
suns heat in the middle and after part Of the day.
But if the necessity for labor or travelling, or
chance amusement have produced the exposure,
the night air must be carefully Stunned, as also
currents of cool air* the inner garments ought to
be changed and eskin we'll rubbed with coarse
towel. If persons must be out during the even
ing or night, they should keep themselves in
movement; a man may be exposed during the
whole night, riding o. walking through section
of country. without much danger; butif he were
to stop and spend an hour in conversation, IN the
open air, or be foolish enough to SIT down during
this time Or SO insane as to go to sleep, lie wouid
most likely be attacked, i'll twenty-iour hours,
with violent chill, followed by regular bilious
fever When we think that we must, from spe'
cial cause, undergo the various exposures by day
and night. auverted to above, we have II still IN
our power TO moderate their force, by wearing
suitable apparel-which shall keep up an equa9le
temperature of the body, and prevent our being
shocked by the changes of the atmosphere. -
Flannel next he skin is beneficial in this point
of view and other protection by outer thick cloth
ing, early in the morning and in the evening, ought
never to be lost sight of.
S. Improper food. Food is improper and liza
bic TO cause fever, either when it tires the stO.
mach, without giving sufficient nourishment, or
when il is too strong and stimulating, and from
first exciting the stomach irritates all the other
organs. Examples of the former are furnished
in the too exclusive use Of pumpkins. squashes.
melons, cucumbers. bad bread, crude fruits, and
the like; and Of the latter in too large aquantity
of flesh meat. or OF fish, with high seasoned sauc.
es. and rich condiments. The class of persons
who use the FIRST, have lingering remittent and in.
te-mittent fevers, and dropsies; those who eat in
excess of the latter, are more prone to inflamma'
tory bilious fevers> The safe medium consists
in light nutritive diet, during the summer and au-
tumnal months-aninal food, plainly roasted OF
boiled, in small quantities-vegetable. in larger
proportion, consisting of good wheat or corn
neutrality-suspicious., Irish and sweet; also milk
if it agrees with the stomach.
One thing must be particularly remembered:
that the greater the fatigue and exposure, the
lighter and simpler must be the first meal which
is afterwards taken. During critical seasons,
when fevers are most destructive, Of two persons
equally harassed by excessive labor during the
day, and watching by night, the one who makes
his meal of bowl Of Cruel and crust of bread
or little boiled rice, sweetened with sugar, will
have q much better chance of escape, than he
who eats heartily of rich animal food. takes a
dessert OF pastry, and drinks tumbler full OF
brandy and water, or glass or two of wine
This brings us to another cause of autumnal fe.
vers.
4. Improper Drinks. Excess in the use Of
ardent spirits isa frequent cause of fever. in the
epidemic visitaions of which. drunkards and free
livers are the foremost to suffer. As general
rulethose who drink ardent spirits and wine arc in
greater danger than those who drink water. But
it must also be borne in mind, that in sickly dis
tricts, the impure water, drunk by the inhabit-
ants, is almost as efficient cause of fevers as
the impure air by which they are surrounded,
and which they breathe. This notorious fact has
led many to the use and speedy abuse Of ardent
spirits, which some, with good intentions, have
recommended to be added to bad water: but this
is only introducing two morbid stimuli into the
system in place of one. The true remedy for
all the evils consists in purifying the water. by
means which are in every persons power, and
which we detailed with some fitness in the first
volume Of this work
$. Whds. The winds most productive of fe-
brile and pestilential disorders, are those from
the east to the south; but those from the north to
the east are also to be shnnned by those who are
n. r