The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-11-03

which is fatal. The premonitory stage
Is ushered in by.a mild, painless diar-
rhna, which generally continues for
hours, sometimes for days, before the
stage of collapse sets in. In this pre-
monitory stage the disease is readily and
promptly curable by simple remedies,
combined with rest in the recumbent
position. All that is necessary, there
fore, to prevent fatal attack of cholera
is that the patient shall lie down, keep
warm and quiet, and take such remedies
as will relieve the diarrhpa. A knowl-
edge of these facts led many English
towns, i'm former visitations of cholera,
to organize body of visitors under the
direction of a central medical board,
whose duty it was to visit from house to
house, two, three or four times daily,
and inquire in every family for these
cases of diarrhea. Each visitor carried
the proper remedy, and personally at
tended to its administration and to the
confinement of the patient to his bed.
The result of those organizations was
most happy; in numerous instances
towns lyingin the direct track of the
disease did not lose single inhabitant
by cholera, though thousands of cases of
painless diarrh9a were treated. In
other instances districts lying in large
towns were covered by these house TO
house visitors, and not case proved
fatal, though the districts around suffer-
ed fearful mortality. There is now n
general movement in English towns to-
wards the formation of these corps of
visitors to meet the exigencies of the
present visitation of cholera. Lord
Brougham, Earl Shaftesbury and other
prominent statesmen, recommend these
organizations i'm the strongest terms.
Now, to the plan. Let there be Or
ganized in this city, under an advisory
medical board, corps of visitors,
among whom the city shall be so dis
tricted that each visitor can see the FAM
lilies under his surveillance two or three
times daily. Let the organization be
effected Immediately, and held in readi-
ness to be put in operation on the first
appearance of the epidemic. Each WISH
tor should be provided with the proper
remedies, and, if not medical man, be
instructed in his duties. In England
many of the visitors were ladies.
Fortunately it happens that we have
in New York an organization of medical
gentlemen not only fully qualified to
undertake this work, but which has all
the requisite machinery thoroughly Or
ganized, and ready to be put i'm immedi.
ate operation. We allude to the SAM
tary Bureau of the Citizens Associa- 1
ton. This body is composed of the fol-
lowing eminent physicians: Drs. J. M.
Smith, Jas. Anderson, Edward Della
field, Willard Parker, Charles Henschel,
AlOnzO Clark, Gurdon Buck, James Il. !
Wood, Alfred c. Post, Isaac e. Taylor,
John w. Draper, r. Ogden Doremus,
Stephen Smith, Henry d. Buckley, and
Elisha Harris. 1t was this body Ofgen- |
tlemen which organized the corps of |
inspectors who, by house-to-house visi- |
tation, collected the materials for the |
report on the sanitary con-
dition of New York, published re-
Gently by the association. The ma
chinery by which this minute exam
nation of the sanitary condition of the |
people of this city was effected is, we
believe, still perfect, and capable of be-
ing brought into immediate and most
operation, with capacity for
snciI enlargement and extension as
would meet the exigencies created by
,he severest form of cholera.