American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-01-11
CARE OF THE HEALTH.
From the New York World, Dec. 90

From the New York World Dec. 2O.l
DIPHTHERIA AND ITS TREATMENT
The Princess Alice and one of her
children have just died of diphtheria,
and nearly all of her family has been
Frustrated by the same disease, in spite
of all that medical care could do for
them. And now that the season usually |
marked by an increase in the number of
cases of diphtheIia has come and public
attention abroad and at home has been |
eventually directed to that disease, the |
question as to the most successful treat
ment of it has again arisen. The latest
newspaper suggestion is that sulphur,
ers of SULPHUR" be given internally, If
it can be swallowed, or blown into the
nose and throat through quill. This
plan, some of the secular journals &C.
casionally say, has been tried in this
country with success, and accounts OF
the mode of treatment having reached
England, experiments were made there
as to the efficacy of sulphur as a cure
for diphtheria. Mr.. John S. Wiles,
surgeon of Dorset, wrote to the London
Times recently that he had had to con-
tend with an outbreak of diphtheria OF
the most malignant type on large
dairy farm, and began by applying to
the fungus growth in the throat and
nostrils the usual caustics and as
tringent preparations of iron and
the like; but two cases out
of nine or ten having proved fatal, he
was led, at the suggestion of the moth
er of the patients to try sulphur. He
gave the woman a liquid preparation
composed of sulphur and glycerine, and
directed that each child should swallow,
according to age, ateaspoonful or more
of the liquid three or four times
day, and that little should be applied
to the nostrils with a sponge. Mr..
Wiles was so impressed with the efficacy
of the remedy, that he adopted it in all
other cases, and never lost case where
the remedy was used at the earliest
stage of the infection. For infants Mr..
Wiles used the "milk of sulphur" and
for older children and adults the =" flow
ers of sulphur
, A World reporter was tempted to in
quire whether the remedy was genu-
, inc one. Prof. Alfred L. Loomis said
he had a dim remembrance of having
read somewhere at some time that the
t administration of sulphur had been rec
commended in diphtheria. He had heard
physicians discuss the supposed remedy
: but he did not know of any who had
+ used it, and had never used it himself
SO Indeed" said DIR. Loomis, Z" dom
t know why should use it. Its only
+ property would be that of an antiseptic
, and there are many much better-car
= bolic acid, salicylic acid.''
E "What is diphtheriaP''
"It is an infectious disease-that is
r one capable of being transmitted from
one person to another. Opinions
+ further than this are divided about equal
Y ly. Some hold that it is purely loca
e disease in which the throat only is con
: cerned, while others claim that it is
+ disease of the whole system, the mem
q brane or emulation in the throat being
i one of its expressions.
. "What is your opinion!"
4 81 believe dipththeria to be dis
:. ease of the whole system. In differen
t epidemics the types differ. Sometime
: you will find the throat affection to b,
t the most severe, causing death by me
d chanical obstruction of the air passages
n and, again, you will find that the con
e stitutional symptoms, which are of
d depressing and exhaustive nature, kill tn
n patient before the emulation has ad
vanced far.'
= els there any reason why diphtheri
q should be most prevalent in the white
season."
! "Only that at the opening of winte
d people begin to shut themselves up il
1 their houses aud so surround themselve
d with imperfect hygienic conditions, ant
o inhalo more sewerage gas than ordi
= narily. Diphtheria is by no means dis
). ease of cold climates, for it is found il
v tropical countries. There are atmos
}, pheric conditions that tend to make diph
|, liberia epidemic, but what those condi
It tions are is not readily understood. l
o is certain, however, that they hav
nothing to do with the change of tn
n seasons"
els diphtheria very prevalent nowP'
81 have not found it so yet this win
}, ter. And you can not jRdge much as t.
the relative mortality of different sea
/: sons under given treatment, because a
O one time the disease takes on the exhaus
tive form, and at another time the death
are largely from the obstruction to tn
:. air passages.
d sWhat is the best plan of treatment
It in your opinion P''
: 81 work upon the principle that tn
;. diphtheritic membrane is the result of
: very low grade of Inflammation, ant
n that when a higher degree of infiamma
g ton is set up around about the diphthe
rite patches those patches are prevent
ed from extending. This is found to b.
the fact in practice. endeavor, there
fore, to excite this higher degree of in
r flammation, and do this by causing
: the patient to inhale large quantities o
e the steam of pure water. Then, o
: course, use local antisceptics, such a
| 81