The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1880-12-02
aasefal aud Curious.
DIPETEERIA-
wsa, 4, i. ara How to Cure If.

Diphtheria is \ disease of the b!eod OF che sep
tic type, and belongs to the same family as scar
let fever
1t is always produced by living c,erms, which
when once in the system. incresse rapidly BIZ
propagation and feed on the blo'd, FIRST infiam-
ing it, and finally making cor bined and yigor-
ons attack upon the mucous s'Irface and glands
of the throat Ii is of the greatest importance
that the people well as TIE physicians shouid
understand this disease, nd it is especially I'M
p1rtant that the people n derstand il for the
that the majority CT physicians do not. Ii
is most insiduous, daT serous. and, if not prop
erly treated, most fat al disease. Yet physicians
who understand il ne er Lose a case. have been
called upon TO treat many eases of this disease,
and have never yet lost one. And If the women
of the country weT. intelligent upon the subject
of its character NJ symptoms, and familiar with
the os such simple remedies are in the
reach Of ALL it ould be entirely shorn of its ter
rnrs. for then. i by accident one person in afam-
lily neighbo hood should he attacked by il.
they could b. readily cured, not only, but il
could he prev nted from attacking others. Ihave
said it is SCI tic disease. Therefore the secret
of its preyer tion lies almost wholly in the of
antiseptics. What mean by pure air is air con-
| tanning its natural proportions of nitrogen, oxy
gen, and o Such atmosphere is fatal to all
forms of di 'ease-prOducing germs. They cannot
live in it. But we are not yet able to control
the eleme ITS, cannot always have pure air.
We have, however, learned how To purify il n
| limited Gale, and have scarce doubt but
science Till yet teach us how to do so a gen.
| eral Iiversal scale.
When 1 ease of diphtheria occurs in a family,
| we shou' Il know that the patient caught il from
some otl person afflicted with it, either direct
" or ind rectly for il cannot arise spontaneously.
| The ger may be carried in the clothing from
one pers N TO another. In this way, physicians
unconsc onsly or carelessly spread this and other
diseases throughout whole neighborhoods.
Until within few years, small pox was
| most ia al disease, spreading through whole
commun ties and killing people by hundreds.
| Now il T rely proves fatal, and never becomes
epidemic except where the people and the ply
| sicians alike ignorant of sanitary science.
1t is mt { vaccination that has subdued this
| terrible 'estilenee, but disinfectants-correet
habits of let and fresh air, sanitary science and
common s'nse. year and half ago we were
called TO ease of diphtheria by physician
| of forty V, ars' experience, who had lost two
| other eases in the same family within many
weeks. lie aid TO us, like an honest man, II do
| not know no to cure this new disease, and
am ready to adopt any treatment that You may
recommend We replied, This house has the
diphtheria an, the first thing TO do is to it,.
He expressed stonishment, and asked for an
| explanation. Why" said /, ''the atmosphere
of the house-the walls, the carpets, the beds and
the clothing of its occupants are full of dphthe-
retic disease garms, which must he destroyed or
this child will die; 'ther members of the f9mily
follow it; and from ere the disease will spread
to the neighbOring hon ses, carried in the clothes
of visitors In the Ian mage of an ancient poet
i said, Bring me sulphur, that may fumigate
the ROOM" and l impro, I'd upon the ancient
prescription by adding t;.r. The house was
thoroughly saturated with The fumes of tar and
sulphur. The windows and d, ors were thrown
open. that the fresh air and sum. git might enter
and carry off the disease charged Sapors. Pres
cFibing for the patient appropriate anti-septics
as internal remedies, and liquid oZonI as a gar
gle for the throat, then in the first state o, ulcer
alton. departed. The child recovered rapidly.
nor did any other eases occur in that family.
repeat. the cause of the disease is living
germs, and the chief remedy is disinfeetiOn. Des-
troy the germs of disease in the patient and i'll
the house, and the work is done.
DisinfectiOn is the basis Of sanitary science,
and it is OF the utmost Importance that those who
preside over the house should understand this,
and shoald he familiar with the virtues of the
leading or most powerful disinfec;ant.
..DiSeas-," says Professor Tyndall, sis pro
duced from seeds planted in the system, which,
finding their proper soil and temperature, devel-
op and multiply" 1t is vital process, not a
chemical one. Chemical substances have no
power to multiply themselves. Living organisms
only can do tllat.-JH. Cora Blcad, NJ D..