The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-09-11
The Prevention of Disease .

Prevention is better than cure ard
far cheaper" said John Locke, tvs
hundred years ago; and the history
ct medical science has since made Il
more and more probable than. in 5
strieser sense of theWord prevention is
the only possible cure. By observing
the health laws ef Nature, a sound
constitution can be very easily prsser-
we'd, but, If violation of those laws
has brought on a disease, all we can
do by the way of touring" that dis,
ease il to remove the cause; in other
verbs, to prerent the continued OPP
GRAFTON of the Predisposing circum-
atances.
SURPRISING the symptoms in any
other way means only to change the
form of the disease, or to postpone
its crisis. Thus, mercurial salves will
cleanse the skin by driving the ulcers
from the surtaca to the interior Of the
body; opiates stop hux only by par
alyzing the bowels. O.. turning their
morbid activity into a msrbid in
activity; the symptoms of pneumonia
can be suppressed by pleading the pa
tient till the exhausted system has TO
postpone the crisis of the disease.
This process, the breaking up of Q
sickness" in toe language OF the old
school Rllopathists. is therefore in re-
atty only an interrupting Of it. a
temporary interruption OF the symp-
toms. We might ss we'll try to cure
the sleepiness of weary child by
pinching its eyelids, or the hunger
of whining dog by COMPRISING his
throat.
Drugs are not wholly useless. II
my life depended upon q job of work
that had to be finished before morning,
and the inclination to fall asleep Was
getting irresistible, l should not hes
itate to defy Nature, and keep myself
awake with cup sitter cuptul OF strong
black coffee. Ii l were afflicted With
sore, spreading rapidly from my
temple towards nay nose. I should
suppress it by the shortest process,
ev, by deliberately producing larger
sore elsewhere, rather than let the
smaller one destroy my eyesIght.
There ale also Two or three forms OF
disease which have (thus far resisted
all unmedical cures. and can hardly
be trusted to the healing powers OF
Nature--the lueS venereG, scabies, ana
prurigo.-because. as Claude Bernard
suggests, their symptoms are probs-
oily due to the agency OF microscopic
parasite, which oppose to the action
OF the vital forces a lite-energy OF
their own, or, as DR.. Jennings puts it,
because art has here to interfere
not for the purpose of breaking up
diseased action, but for the removal
of the cause of the action. the destruc-
ton of an active virus that possesses
the power of perpetuation beyond
the dislodging ability OF Nature.
But with those rare exceptions it is
better TO direct our efforts against the
cause rather than the Symptoms-i.e.,
in about ninety nine cases out OF a
hundred it is not only the safer out
also the shorter way to svoid drugs,
reform our habits. and. for the rest.
let Nature have her course; for, prop
erly speaking. disease itself is re-
constructive process, aa expulsive eff
tort, whose interruption compels Ma
ture to do double work; TO resume
her operations agsinst the ailment
after expelling worse enemy-the
drug. If a drugged patient RECEIVERS.
the true explanation lie that bis Con-
stltutiou was strong enough to ovsr-
come both the disease and the drug
eist. Popular Science Monthly.