St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-01-31
Dlptheria.

oh, for little senatorial back bone :.
! y Dlptheria.
During the past week there have been
several new cases Of diptheria in our i'm.
mediate neighborhood. They have been
promptly treated according to our plan
and were all cured. This confirms our be.
lief that in the earlier stages at least, the
diptheria is only that form of putrid sore
throat with which we have been perfectly
familiar from childhood; and an attack Of
which has long ceased to cause us the
least uneasiness. For fifteen years we
have used no other remedy than to put
some slight bandage up around the cars to
protect them and that part of the throat
Immediately below the ears from cold, in
going into cold room or out of doors, to
hold handkerchief lightly over mouth
and nostrils so that tho breath we inhale-
cd should be warmed bv the heat of that
just exhalcd. Then, every few hours
wash out the throat by dropping few
drops of spirits Of camphor on brown su.
gar letting it dissolve in the mouth, run
down around the tonsils, when we gargled
with and threw it out; and next time We
ate the sugar and camphor, ate rs much
acid fruit as was pleasant with soft cooked
fresh eggs, and tender, boiled steak as
much as satisfied all demands Of hunger,
and drank half glass Of good beer, por.
ter or pale ale two or three times day.
But all drinks must be taken at blood heat
We cannot understand how cold can be
otherwise than fatal in diptheria, for just
so far as the throat is diptheritic it is dead
Decay, after the death Of an organized
body, is arrested by cold or heat. If the
body is to remain dead, cold will preserve
it in stutu quo; but if it is to be restored
to life, as in the case of drowned person,
or the cxtrcmities Of person dying, it is
always heat that is applied.
Our old Pittsburg doctors were impera-
tive in this matter of heat in putrid sore
throat, but after we began to study mod.
crn lsms, We half concluded that this was
but part of an exploded system which
denied cold water in all cases of sickness.
We had read nearly Ill the Hydropathic
works published, and were half converted
to the opinion that cold water was gen.
eral panacea. We tried it on putrid sore
throat, and have no idea we could have
survived it twelve hours-do not believe
we could recover from the slightest attack,
if We took an occasional drink Of anything
cold, or inhaled an occasional breath OF
cold air. Time and again we have
brought on now set Of ulcers by a drink
Of cold water or draught of cold air be.
fore the throat was sufficiently healed to
bear it.
With us 9hc first symptoms of diptheria
are a general languor and feeling offatiguc,
with dry spot in the throat. This spot
has tickling or itching sensation. To
one looking in the throat there is an ash
colored spot visible just where we feel this
dry itching. Sometimes in a few mo-
ments another aud another spot will appear
and soon this spot will begin to protrude
not like a pimple raised in the centre ;
but the entire. surface Of the spot fiat,
and raised up from the surrounding parts
like knob. Then it feels like bone or
some other hard substance sticking fast
and the itching gradually Lecomes slight
singing pain. The throat swells, and
swallowing becomes painful sometimes im-
possible. If we are in the kitchen, when
we feel the first spot we wet finger,
touch it On salt and apply it Immediately
to the spot-if in the Office We wet a fin.
ger in spirits Of turpentine, and apply
that-if in our chamber We touch it with
camphor. We are careful never to let it
have two minutes Of start. Spirits of
Camphor, as sold by apothecaries, should
be made one half or two-thirds water to
be used on sugar as gargle.
Acc1DEST.-Thc Mercer (Pa.) Dis
patch. Of the 10th, gives an occount of a
fatal occurrence whereby one friend was