The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-12-13
The Causes of Bad Breath.

Most persons think that n bad breath
comes from the stomach being out of
order; sends up an impure something
which escapes in the breath. This is
impossible. a bad breath never comes
from the stomach. Nothing ever comes
upward except in vomiting or eruetiOns
of wind.
There are three sources of bad breath,
the mouth, nose and lungs; of twenty
cases of bad breath, 1 estimate that
fifteen come from the mouth, one from
the nose, and four from the lungs.
As generally, when the mouth is at
fault the lungs contribute something to
the Odor, the above definite classification
is probably too precise; but 1 think it
close approximation to the truth.
The MOUth.-I need hardly argue that
rotten teeth and deceased gums may
produce bad breath. have but rarely
met q case in which the teeth were
white and the gums healthy. In every
case of bad breath the mouth is to be
suspected and examined. Ina majority
of cases, you smell nothing while the
patient keeps his mouth shut, and
breathes through his nose, but as soon
as he begins to speak, then it comes.
That man must go at once to the dem
tist. He is the doctor for the mouth.
tie Will remove every cause of otiense
from that cavity.
The NOSe.-The various forms of
catarrh are more or less productive of
bad Odors. Ozena, which is the worst
form OF eatarrh, produces q peculiar and
siekening Odor.
The cure of this malady is somewhat
| difficult, but the odor arising from it can
be mitigated by thorough cleansing of
the nose with water, or soap and water,
several times a day. But cure should
be sought, and let it not be sought at the
hands of one of the advertising catarrh
quacks.
The LingS.-A man eats and drinks.
say five pounds day. Now, unless he
is gaining weight, he must part with
five pounds. If we place on the scales
all that comes from his bowels and
bladder, we shall find it weighs, say
one pound and half. Three pounds
and half have left the body in some
other way and other ways.
The other ways are the skin and lungs.
By far the larger part should escape
through the skin. Sometimes the
millions of holes in the skin, through
which this worn out, effete matter
should escape, become in part closed, for
lack of bathing and PRECIPITATION; and
the effete matter cannot escape freely in
l NAot way ASub lAlC lioiSolAOuo Slllll llu5J
be got rid of in some way. Now the
lungs come in to supplement the skin.
To a certain extent, the lungs and skin
are ever ready to substitute for each
other. If the lungs for any reason leave
a small part of duty undOne, the skin at
once steps in to assist.
/ If the skin fails to accomplish its
whole task of the work of eXecretiOn,
the lungs are ever ready to assist in
working of the impureties. But, when
ever the lungs are obliged to perform
this extra service, they cannot do it as
well as the skin. They are obliged to
work off impurities which do not belong
to their department, and so they take on
q morbid condition, and the eXecretiOns
are so changed in character as to become
offensive.
Three persons out of every four whose
| bad breath comes from their lungs, can
cure themselves, or greatly mitigate the
nuisance, by washing themselves all
over with strong soap and water, and
following this by the vigorous use of
rough towels every day fora month, and
exercising at least once day, till there
is free perspiration.-Dio LesCis.