The national Republican., 1862-03-18
DIR. Hunter ON Dip,hsria and Bronchiiis.
LITTER No, IN. ~ E

LtTTkR No ~ ~ ~
10 Ae Editors Of he National Repu6i,cdn:
~ sIss e n M la.t letter save ofiet dessrip.
ed the nature and treatment Of sore throat. II
may be well for me TO add, tor the guidance Of
thoee who suler from this disease, that they
are liable, g long As II 10 allowed TO continue
to that dreaded modern scourge, "diptheria,' y
which 10 now prevailing 10 an alarming extent
over the whole civilized world. II Ia from
what are called cases Of simple sore throat" "
that this mal.dy rscIuits it's fatal ranks: None
disease Of the throat on the general health can
| have any idea Of tho loss Of bodily vigor which
very slight affection Of the faucss produces
In diptheria, the blood 10 impregnated with n
through the lungs; hence, in the treatment of
this disease, the antidote which is to neutralzs
that poison should be administered through the
same channel. Now, II Is found that the pro.
ioJide Of nitrogen Ia that antidote, and the pro.
loxide is q gas which can only be administered
by inhalation: Tho patient should inhals this
gas FOR ten or fifteen minutes from u suitable
| apparatus. After an interval of one hour,
chlorine should be administered for 4 like pc.
riod. Two or three applications will be found
purifes the blood, while the antiseptiC proper.
lies OF the chlorine arrests the sloughing and
disorganization of the mucous membrane. In
addition, always shower the throat every few
hours with y strong solution Of chlorina,ed
soda. Treated In this manner, diptheria Ia Il
simple disease. and will not prove fatal In one
cass out Of \ hundred.
Let us now pass from dseasea Of the throat
To the consideration Of Chronic Bronchitis.
Tho term bronchitis has hitherto been com
monty applied to disease Of the throat, and
medical writer's have too often confirmed this
popular error. Tbs reader will bear in mind
that the bronchial tubes are not In tho thr0a,
but In the lungs. When We speak of bronchitis,
har fNrA IL sl.-l
and not of the throat. The vital Importance "f
this distinction will be seen when we come H.
di:cnss i,s ,spror"r treatment.
Bronchitis. then, is a disease of the lining or
mucous membrane ofthe bronchial tubes ram
lying the substance Of tho lungs. This lining
or membrane IL very sensitive 10 every exter-
nal or foreign influence, and Ia hence liable 10
become irritaied by sudden changes Of wo oather,
b. impure air. the fine particles oi matter
which MI the atmosphere oi work shops, or 9oai
upon The wind In dusty streets. by the hundred
Irritating causes which meet us 10 almost every
place. This irritating, from whatever cause,
leads To Inflammation Of the membrane, 90
ranges its healthy action, changes the charan.
ter OF is seCretions, and sets up 4 train Of
ohitis.
10 chronic bronchitis there is so lines Sigh
fever towards evening. The patient experiences
a shnrtness ol breath on exercising, and has \
slight but continued sense of oppression in the
chest, The cough and eXpectoration may di e.
mibish or entirely disappear during the sum
mer, but manifest themselvns again on the re-
turn oi winter, when the expeC ioratiOn becomes
increased and often yellow. Hectic fever -
may then supervene, with night sweais " aud
RAPID wasting" Otihe flesh and strength, Ard
the patient may die with all the symptoms nf
pulmonary consumption.
II Is very common TO meet this disease, in =
milder form, In persons who speak of II as 4
" winter cough" Il comes On each winter, and
! 4 rao n AN a drtn iha
At every succeeding recurrence Il manifes,s
itself IN greater severity, and the recovery nt
the following summer Ia not so complete. This
form Of bronchitis, If neglected, will AS surely
destroy life lsnd, treated in the usual manner
| II ia ~ incurable) as consumption itself. The
mucous membrane, sooner or later, becomes
| altered In structure, and pours forth a matter
| which has all the qualities ot pus. Hectic fever
| suparvsnes; and the disease tends slowly, bu,
surely, TO n fatal termination.
another form Of bronchitis Ia peculiar Ia
middle life and old age. II IL distinguished by
| the quantity and character cf the matter ex.
| pectOratad. Usually there are two nts oi
| coughing In the day --Ons on awakening from
Sleep in The morning. the other In The evening.
| There is g. nsiderabe difficulty of breathing
wbils the paroxysns Of coughing last, but II
passes Of As soon rs the lungs are freed from
the viscid secretion. The patient is feeble; he
may, however, live and attend TO light duties
for several years. But the counteuance gradu
the blood becomes thin, and death onsues, ap.
paren,ly from tho constant drain kent up by
| the discharge from the lungs. Some patients
| do from exhaustion In Ave or six months, but
| have known others to survive Tor as many
years.
There is still another form Of this disease
call "Dry Bronchti,s." The esss utlal charac,
ter of dry bronchitis consists of chronic In.
Hammation, attended by y thickening of the
| mucous membrane, by which the air tubes are
diminished in size, and also in the secretion Of a
dense, Glutinous kind ofmatter, Of u gre eenish or
bluish.white color. by which they are still
further obstruCted. The smaller bronchial
| tubes are often entirely closed, and occasion
ally a tube of very considerable sys becomes
sealed up by this matter. This affection ia so
common in this climate that in some degree IL
Improbable two out Of every three suffer from
il. "1n the most favored parts of France, "
says LanneC, "fuly one-h of those arrived
at adult age will be found, on careful examina
tion, TO present evidence Of a thickening uI
some portion OF the mucous membrane of the
lungs"
The symptoms Of dry bronchitis are moi
marked by severity. II is tho most insidiou,
Of pulmonary complaints. The suhjsCt Of II Is
CONSCIOUS only OF being short breathed wher
| ascending an elevation ur attempting TO run
When a large portion Of the lung is involved, Il
sense of oppression is experienced after meals
and On every slight eXertiOn. By some, thi,
oppression is referred 10 the opposite side o
The chest To that on which the disease is situa
ted, or 10 Il remote part Of the same side OF
| oven 1" the region of the stomach A0er time
difficulty of brea hing comes on, and continue,
for several dayS, the patient complaining O
tighiness IN the chest, which ia relieved by
| cough and expeOtoratinn Of Il tough, ielIy like
substance. The cough by which this matter |,
raised IL a mere raspng effort 10 clear ths
throat, and may probably not occur more thar
once or twice daily, and almost unoonsciously
/" patients themselves. On lnquirIng If they
have cough. they viii, almust wllbou, excep
tIun, answer no." yet, during your converse
tiup they will perhaps hack ard raise a little
jelly like mucous half dozen times. Al interva',
the cough is more severe, and comes on IN par.
oxysms when II is too commonly regarded a,
SIMPLY "nervous." lf the stomach be Al Al
deranged, II IL fashionable to regard It As 4
msre " stomach cough or AZ being G used by
l"liver disease" while, in tact, the derange
menis Of the stomach, liver, kidneys, and O
the uterine function, which exist, are but &c
many consequences at this very condition o
the iurgs. There is s"mathing SO gratifying il
being assured By the family physician tha
there is no danger of consumption :" thai
let this cough Ia 4 mere tribe, and will speedily
pass away, # "nIy lef, to ITSELF" that Il Is not
surprising the battered patient entirely over
| lnation of the lungs has been made to deter
| nine the health or disease Ol this organ; tha
| this gratifying opinion, therefore, u founded
on nothing rehable, and, reduced to its intrin
sic meil-, Is simply tamperlng with human
life.
Mos, coughs at long standing unattended