Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-08-02
From Home and Health, for Anguish
HOW TO ESCAPE FEVER POISONS.
n RORERT pAIRMAN. n. ID.


, From Home and Health, for Anguish
HOW TO ESCAPE FEVER POISONS.
BY ROBERT PAIRMAN, n. D.
In properly chosen, well lighted,
well-aired, well-scrubbed dwelling,
with thoroughly washed inmates,
there is comparatively little fear of in
!. fictitious pOisOns. But it is well for
every one to be. acquainted with some
Of the easiest means of resistance and
of escape, when that gigantic evil ap-
pToaches, or when duty compels US to
go within range. knowledge of the
reality will prevent foolish exaggera-
tions, diminishing useless fear. All
infectious fevers (typhus, scarlatina,
smallpox, etc. arise from the recep-
ton of a subtle poison into the blood
which, spreading through the system,
Is eXhaled from it principally by the
skin and lungs. This poison has been
actually condensed out of impure air
poisoned by filth and decay, and ap-
pears in the form of a dirty-lOOking
half solid, half fluid, half gelationus
stuff, a few drops of which inserted
into the veins Of dog will inoculate
] that dog with typhus fever. Merci-
/ fully there are two safeguards against
| the infection of this poison.
l. It is lighter than air, and ascends.
I IF we allow it to escape at the top OF
the room the air below is safe. This
! is reason why in fever wards few cas-
Sc OfinfectiOn occur; without the ven
tilatorS in the ceiling they would be
dens of death. In 1917 typhus fever
ragged so fearfully in Glasgow that the
fever wards were overcrowded, aud
more poison was produced than the
ventilatOrs could carry away the ma
lignity and mortality therefore be-
came frightful. A large woodshed
was fitted up for a temporary hospital;
the wind and the rain and the SCOT
entered it through large chinks and
openings i'm the roof; there the dis
ease ut once became milder, and the
proportion OF reeOyeries increased.
The benevolent were much disturbed
at the state of the building, and had
the aperture stopped up; at once the
mortality recommended, and did not
stop till the wind, even with its ac-
compartments of SCOT and rain, was
again allowed free entrancel The
circulation of fresh air in a fever
chamber by open doors and windows
must therefore be produced several
times aday, (care being taken that the
patient be not directly exposed to the
draught,j or, still better, let the up
per part of q window be kept perma-
nently open, and if the patient be in
a bOX-bed let there be several holes !
bored through the roof of the bed, to /
allow the exit of infectious vapor in |
the direction of the open window.
. A person may breathe infection a |
thousand times over without any bad |
results 1.-THE poison is innocent unless it /
enters the blood. The thin delicate |
skin of the lungs composed of minute
GELS, is an absorbant, and whatever is |
inhaled comes in contact with the alb
sorbiDg surface, and is liable TO pass
into the blood. A medical man may
be exposed to infection ninety-nine
times with impunity, but on the hun
dredth occasion the absOrbant vessels
may be peculiarly active, they suck
in the poison, and he falls a victim.
When the pulse is weak absorption is
strong and active. when the pulse is
strong ABSORPTION is weak regular
and nOurishing food and fresh air will
therefore, diminish the risk of the
poison entering the blood, while want
of sleep, and fasting, and impure air,
will of course greatly increase it.
Cold, damp, and shiveTing ehillness
also produce debility, which will rem
der the absorbing vessels active; the
use of flannel next the skin is there
fore of the greatest importance. Il
1t is stated that the ancient Italians
who lived near the poisonous POntine /
marshes of Italy, suffered less from
fever than the mOderns, as they wore /.
warm and fieecy clothing, and that /:
now the evil has been greatly arrested !
by flannel again coming into use.
in such places fall victims in
great numbers unless this precaution
be adopted. I
Fear is also a fruitful source of infec-
ton, for it.weakens the pulse and the ]
whole frame. Travellers in the East j
have told that when a dog is sudden
" bitten by a rattlesnake, the wound
IS not considered half so deadly as
when the dog has seen the reptile,
md stood trembling before it; fear in
MS case aids and quickens the pois= {
IN. Charms and amulets, met with / c
among the poor of our [
and frequently in foreign
,nes, may thus actually be useful by l
Inspiring confidence, although it Is i
he confidence ofsuperstition. How /
much need to possess ourselves of the {
lmulet OF trust in Him who can keep [
Is safe from the "pestilence that walk Il
,th in darkness, and the destruction i
hat wasteth at MONDAY ~ A so-call-
in God, however, while we
lisObey his will by neglecting means
which he puts within our power,
would only be another form of SUPER
titi0n. There is much wisdom in tho
old prOverb, "God helps
hose who help themselves" =
When infection is not destroyed or ii
by proper ventilation, it ad- v
leres to articles Offurniture and cloth \
ng, but especially to cotton and wool r
n material, and verything must be I,
lone to secure its dispersion by Uen- h
these also. They should be I,
xposed to a free current of air, or a
teeped for twelve hours in cold water n
efOre washing, and not folded up for ii
ONE TING. Black or dark substances n
bsorb infection more easily than +,
White light dresses Therefore are safest Fl
Or nurses, and hence, too, one Of the N
dvantages OF white-washihg in the
wellings of the poor. >,
FINALLY, attending to these simple n
go boldly forward when n
uty calls, without the slightest fear. Il
o appropriate means God never fails ot
D add his blessing, and the same hand RI
-hich guides the thunderbolt guides IL
lso the tiny shaft and tells the atom eC
here to strike. ."-HoDIe and Health. cr
az
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