National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-01-22


I and blows' him away. They puff these sable
fakes IA any position as easily as weekly paper
puEs the summer circus -' go
I DIPHTHERIA.
Something Aboat This Dreaded Disease
HON to Combat II.
The health and life of the people imperetyeiy
demand little enlightenment on the badly bun
gled subject of the relative merits of defective
plumbing, diphtheria and some forms OF fever ana
other diseases popularity accredited to seTergases
malaria, and the like. The ebsurdity OF coupling
the two former as cause and effect is evident to any
person of fair sense, ordinary reading, and years
enough to recall the rsvages OF this terrible de-
stroyer when it first made its appearance under us
present name 1t swept through entire communl-
ties, leaving scarcely child in the neighborhood
Three, four, five little ones were snatched from
| their agonzed families leaving the freSide de
serted save by the afflicted parents and synpathiZ
| ing friends. In its presence human skill was as
naught, and theories melted away like snow
wreaths And where was all this devastation? IL
the crowded cities, among tenement houses ana
garbage heaps and sewer emanatiOns? No; but in
sparsely populated districts in the cottage the
the edge of the forest in the hamlet where score
or two houses were hudded together, hundreds oil
miles from anything like sewers Or stagnant TaieT
| THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN DIED
| who had never seen a CITY or inhaled one single
cubic inch OF sewergas Miles apart isolated cases
were reported. One member of family was taken
and no other cases were reported in the same
county. Ii the vital statistics were carefully COM
piled and reported it would probably appear that
! a much larger proportion of deaths from dlph
liberia occurred in the country than in the cities
! The best physicians appear unable TO under
stand it; and while they look very wise and dis
course profoundly the parasitic indications and
mnlarial symptoms, they generally fall oack upon
the sewergas theory the easies< solution OF the
| 10 them unsolvable problem.
! THERE APE FASHIONS N MEDICINE
as well as all other things. Just now malaria and
seweTgas are IN the ascendant. The former Is ap-
Plieable 10 ell classes and conditions Of men and
localities the latter to the city population great
hue and cry is raised by some interested person
about poisoning from sewer-20s- Soon, On the
! heels Of newspaper agitation, comes ont some new
and expressive patent advice for remedying all OF
these difficulties The public, scarcd.by the posi-
bility Of sudden death, suggested by these avari-
cioUs inventors and seconded by the physicians
! who attribute 10 sewer-gas whatever they Cont
understand, rush after all such inventions. and
+ after ndulging in expensive q sanitary plumbing
sadly follow the members Of their family 10 the
grave, victims of diphtheria and nalaTial feveGs.
While too much attention cannot be given to care
ing it is yet the height of insanity to attribute to
. these causes a melady which has il origin evil
IDENTIFY in other directions than the condition of
sewers or
THE CIRCC.ISTANCES OF CIIfES-
| Regions remote from orr large towns have been
the most severely scourged, and forest hut, West
ern clearing New England counties-among the
, Oldest settled on the continent-have not been
spared while the farming districts Of the CaEedas
GeTa
/ give any reasonable theory as 10 the origin and
utter reckessness of this disease let them al Lees:
/ not give wrong or merely eYasive reason, but
: frankly acknowledge the fact and earn and de-
serve the respect Of communities for their truth
fllness. The causes Of the disease matters of
conjecture alone. and in many cases the treatment
| mere guesswork. The strength Of the patient is
rapidly exhausted and life goes out like a candle.
Different conditions require different remedies.
The average scientific physician snee-s at "old
! womens remedies and allows the sufferer 10 die
scientifically" Good nursing Is far more impor-
tant than physician. thoroughly competent.
/ intelligent nurse bring eight ont Of ten pa
tents through crisis in spite OF the doctor, be he
. ever 50 poor: while a stupid and unskillfll and
careless will see paentsdie ike hies under
the most earnest care and attention OF the best
physicians There is in this one fact alone great
excuse for the mortality in
DISEASES or THIS NATURE.
and the doctor Is in Insny cases entirely blaneess
In the face OF the possible charge of egotisiical
/ presumption please permit q few suggestions.
which have been followed in several cases Of
Group and diphtheria with unfailing success 1
do not say that the patients would have died nde:
other treatment, bat the symptoms were ye-y
alarming. and in ore casc at least the sufferer
had become entirely unconscious. Keep the feet
very waTnl and the body comfortably covered.
without being buEtiened. Wool blankets a-e al
together the bst protection. Let - little cotton
linen be used as possible. Give plenty OF fresh air,
with temperature not lower than 20. Saturste
large napkin wiki me best alcohol and wrap the
throat ofthe patient closely. Then take 2 bottle
Or jug Of hot wafer Or better Sill no; sand and
press close - the vet cloth 50 q to heat the al
cohol into Inc throat thoroughly Al the same
time give all the siiluiant the patient can bear.
Care must be taken that the hot applications do
not blister. a. surface once affected in tEis way
becomes too sensitive fo- the further use of GU
ward heat
PERSIST y THIS Treatment,
send for physician If yoU chose and let him give
/ whatever remedies he sees Fl: bur do nct relax
your vigilance in this direction A rIle rene
dies swallowed IRE useless. arti the patient dies
In the case Of very younZ children. take the same
course in outward treatment: then lake wine
glass Of the best whisky, large spoonful Of pure
gIyceriITe strained honey-glycsrilc i Just Is
good and uiosf persons have II but i De the
bcst-th-ee v:ne-glasses Of warn Is:e-, and give
one tesspoonf;il every three minutes Until the
breathing becomes fEeeT- Man! persons Use bot
ssnd bags These are Tot desirable a the sn5oth
surface of bottle O. jug. "a The canvas and sand
sbsoEb the moisture aud TGPOE. instead Of simply
being heating appliance The cloth should BE
kept wei, and the position Of the heated
bottle changed often. a. serious buns nigh:
occur from the hot alcohol Il Is quite
safe &c assert taat this course % treat
men: will cure raany serious cases Of
diph5heris and Group. Il may nes be iuiaIli5Ie-
iii no; recommended IS such: bu: 10, death has
yet occurred where II mas been properly used- II
it Is reliable. then something viii have beeI
gained foT humanity, and nc shall hare another
example Of the benee: q dipping in the Jordan
seTen times II general U.s. proves il not PFse-
teal the world viii 10 bet-e: and Certainly 10
worse Of. Simple remedies s-e nos in demand
People enjoy having some g-sst thing done foE O.
by tic-a But IN the Pre>ence Of death god deal
OF this nonsense vsnishes and we CT or fo- help
from en- source however humble. / F
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