Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-02-01
SEPTIC POISON.
Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria,
Erysipelas.
And Other Contagious Or Infec.
tiOUs diseases.
Living 0rgani'ms in the blood, and how
to treat them.
Great Success of SuIpho-Carbolate of
Soda AS Preventive, and cure.
TO the Editor of'Ms Tribune.

pfeclaLe the present state ol our kuoWicuSe
respecting Scarlet Fever. Diphtheria, Erysip-
elias, and some other forms ofepidemic or cons
tagious diseases, we shall need to hastily pass
over some of the steps by which scientific i'm
vestgation and clinical observation have ar
rived at this knowledge.
THE LABoRs OF PAsrEUR,
the learned French investigator, were at first
directed to better understanding of the pro-
cess of fermentation, i'll order TO enable the
wine growers of France to avoid the pernic
ious changes which often impaired the quality
of their wines. With the aid of the micro
scope. he was able to demonstrate that the
Ioruia, or yeast>pant, upon which the fer
| mentation OF bread, or beer, or wine depends
| is indeed vegetable browLh, from germs or
seeds planted and springing up, as in other
vegetable life. He was able to prove that
other forms of seeds or germs would produce
| Other species of vegetable growth; as, tor
| instance, the germs OF the Mycoderma would
produce form of growth ending in the pro-
duction of acetic acid, or vinegar, --that anoth
er would produce Tactic acid, and still another
butyric acid that, by excluding these other
forms of germs, and supplying the conditions
| favorable o the growth of the Torula, the
quality of the wine or beer could not suffer.
| By another series of experiments, under nil
croscopic scrutiny, it has been found that
moist animal tissue, or infusions of animal It's
sues, exposed to the atmosphere, would in two
or three days undergo putrefaetion,- mi
croscope revealing at the same time the
presence of
MINUTE LIVING ORGANISMS,
| capable of moving and reproduction. These
| bacteria appeared in every sample of the ami
NAL matter exposed to the ordinary atmos.
pheric air, but never appeared when the at
mosphere in which they were exposed had been
deprived of all floating particles of dnst, even
| when so exposed for years, thus proving
| that the seed>germs of the bacteria float ia the
atmosphere, and from thence are sown or
| planted in any animal matter exposed for
/ their reception. An open wound exposed to
| the contact of atmospheric air, is at once sown
with these seed-germs, and the secretions
from such wounds are found, on examination
| with the microscope, to be swarmlns Win
this little parasite The question which arises
just here has not yet been answered by the
microscope, viz does the planting by the at
mosphere OF different form of germ IN some
open wounds give rise to erysipelas? The
question has, however, been answered in an
| other way, we shall see.
A German named Koch has carefully stud
led disease which, in Russia and Eastern
Europe, proved very destructive of animal life
known as Spenc Fever. In the blood OF any
animal affected with the disease, he was able
with the microscope to discover
LIVING PARASITE
in great numbers, and which rapidly elongated
and finally developed within it's body the seed
germs which, when introduced into the blood
of living animal would reproduce the paras'
lite and develop the Splenic Fever. He founo
that the parasite itself, when introduced into
the blood of healthy animal, was able to re
1 fhn nnlu dnri q
number of days; but these seed-germs, wher
matured. in the body of the parasite, were
capable Of causing infection after lapse o.
reach soil in which it could grow. The sim.
ilarity of growth between this parasite and
the Trichena Spiralis, met with in diseased
pork, leaves little room to doubt that the
Splenic Fever is
DEFENDANT UPON AN ANIMAL PARASITE,
whatever may be the view taken of the bac
terra.
A parallel line of thought and investigation
has been carried on by some busy practition-
ers at the bedside OF the sick, either without
the aid of the microscope, or in fields beyond
the range of vision, which this instrument yet
reaches.
The anti septic plan of dressing in surgical
practice, which has been brought to such per-
lection by Prof Lister, of Edinburg, has well
nigh banished Traumasic Eryspelas from the
surgical wards of hospitals where used, and
has lessened INN ensely the death>rate from
wounds and surgical operations.
Fully ten years ago, the writer hereof while
observing the vrulence of some cases OF
Diphtheria became forcbly impressed with
the belief that this disease
| DERIVED IT'S MALIGNITY FROM LIVING ORGANISMS,
septic germs) in the blood, amounting in
many cases to a veritable blood poison; and
| accordingly began then the administration of
carbolc acid by the stomach to destroy these
germs. The result was both prompt and graf
ifying,-many cases recovering rapidly under
| the administration of this little antiseptic when
other measures offered but little hope.
Observing how seldom Eryspelas appeared
| in surgical cases where l used carbolic- acid
dressings l was led to regard this disease of
septic origin; and today the certainty with
which case of Erysipelas is arrested by the
internal administration of an efficient antsep.
tic is as complete a demonstrate of the pres
ence of septic germs in the blood, or is, at
least as convincing to my mind as though the
germs could be seen through the microscope.
From the resemblance between the symptoms
of Childbed Fever and the disease then known
as Pyanaia, as well as the mooted question
whether it could be conveyed from case of
| Erysipelas to the lying in chamber, question
now abundantly answered in the Affirmative
| came long ago to regard Childbed Fever
| as
! DUE TO A SEPTIC POISON,
and is entirely amenable to treatment by anti
septcs, if not too long delayed indeed it
need never occur, save by the neglect to adj
| minister the preventive.
| The frequent intermingling of the character
| istc symptoms of Scarlet Fever and Diphther-
| ia in the same subject, and the the state of
| symptom in which Scarlet Fever often left
those who survived an attack IA condition in
| which the blood and fluids of the body border
| ed close upon putridity-ed me, fully eight
years ago, 20 declare my conviction to medi-
| cal men that this disease would some time be
demonstrated to be
| AS CLEARLY OF SEPTIC CHARACRER
as then regarded Diphtheria. 1t is only within
the past two years that this demonstration
has been reached
This slow advance has bean due to two rea>
sons; the absence of decided epidemics in
Chicago, on which to test the theory and the
want of an entirely satisfactory antiseptic
agent, with which to make the test.
AS have already stated the first antiseptic
administered internally, in my own practice,
was carbolic acid but it was never used with
entire satisfaction, because it could not be
diffused through the blood in sufficient
quantity 10 destroy the living SeFHSi
without producing toxic effects of its
own; and it was, besides, Objectionable on
account OF its odor and taste. The supplies,
especially the suIphite of soda, was found to
be quite diffusive, but lacked energy, and hence
efficiency. In the chemical combination of the
carbolic acid with the suiphite of soda, we
have all the Objectionable qualities reduced TO
minimum, while all the desirable qualities are
retained.
During nearly two years have administered
this salt ia many hundreds of cases OF Scarlet
Fever and Diphtheria. as well as a Feasona
BILE number of eases of Erysipelas and Puerperal
Fever,-both with view to the prevention
of spidemiG contagion, and in the treatment
of these forms of disease.
THE sULPHo-cABBoLATE OF SOFA
is readily soluble, and very difusive when
brought within reach of the absorbents. 1t
ia odoriess, and CT taste differing but lit
tie from soda,
By its administration the blood and tissues |
of the human body may be thoroughly disin- i
fected without exciting any toxic effects of
the drug. Administered to children breathing |
ar, at,noeniiapa loadod with Scarlet Foyer or |