Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-03-09
TROr the Democratic SOEshvssLl ..
DIR. W0LFE'S
c ON mon Sense.
LETTER III.

AND MODERN PH1SlClANS-EPFECTS OF
CHLORINE CAS- ON DISEASED LUKGs-lN.
HALATION AS DEFINED BY DIR. WOOD.
The membrane which covers the en-
tire surface of the organs Of respiration,
If spread on a plane, is large enough 10
develop the whole body seyertl times.
Every breadth taken passes over il, and
IL the air happens to be impure we are
affected accordingly.
The foul air" of a well, or the ''va-
pors" of charcoal, will destroy life; the
impnre air of hospitals fires the blood
with fatal fever; the odor of smallpox
posions the syste n with infection and
fills the body with pustules; the rank
perfume of jessamine blossoms causes
some people to "faint dead away" Meth.
er man, beast, nor bird can breathe the
atmosphere surrounding the ''upas tree
and live; the smell of the poppy Supplies
the brain; the perfume of "a thousand
flowers" excites it with ioy.
We have given much attention to the
subject of inhaling remedies for diseases
In the respiratory structure. 1t is an old
path of science in which we find the
footprints of many illustrious scholars.
Hlppocrites treated consumption by
INJECTING the lungs with fumigations OF
| hyssop, cilicia, sui phur, and asphalt. >
His method was crude, but his pprcep-
tion of the principals of direct medica-
tions was clear. t..
Aristotle asks in one of his problems
us it because nurses breathe the cor
rupt air of the consumptive that they ac
quire the same disease:"
DioscOrides, who lived in the early
part of the Christian era, treated diseases
of the lungs, by inhaling the fumigations
of coltsfOot, native sulphur, sweet Gala.
mus, water cresses, dry squills, oil of ce.
dar and fennel seed.
Aurelianus, recommended the "smoke
of burning hyssop, thyme, origanum, sui.
phur, sandarac, aIoes, and styrax" to be
drawn in the lungs for asthma. 81.
Aritias favored sea voyages for con.
sumption. alleging that breathing salt
air dried up the ulcers on the lungs"
Avicenna, treated asthma by inhaIing
the fumigations of myrrh, spikenard,
cassia, saffron, patwort, and styrax.
Paracelsus traced the origin of con-
sumption TO the head (catarrh), whence
it descended to the lungs, causing cough,
fever, and sweats, and speaks favorbly
of inhaling the fumigations of arsenic
as remedy. ,ret sar
Piny praised resinous woods for their
healing odors, and said "to breathe them
is more beneficial to the invalid than
voyage to Egypt or coarse of milk
in the mountains"
Galen treated catarrh apd consump-
tion, by having his patients inhale the
smoke of arsenic and burnt sponge.
Among modern writers. Sir Geo. Ba-
ker, DR.. Rush, Cox, Chandler, Graety,
SCHNEIDER, Helmont. Dural, Kenbath,
Green. and others equally we'll known in
the literature of medicine. advocate the
treatment of diseases of the throat and
lungs by inhaling remedies. :;
In the beginning of the present century
common sense" Frenehman, citizen
Ballard, was theproprietor of salt works
near Paris which gave employment
to several hundred persons. He noticed
that none of his workman suffered with
disease of the lungs, and that those who
entered his establishment seemingly in
an advanced stage of Consumption"
soon got we'll. He communicated this
fact to the French public; but no notice
was taken of his discovery until DR.,
Nudge, of England, recognized its i'm
portance, and began to treat diseases of
the nose, throat. and lungs by the en-
ployment of inhaling remedies.
In 1845 DR.. Elliotson introduced medi-
Gated inhalations for treating pulmonary
disease, in the Brompton Hospital, Lon
don. and made known his success in a
tabulated report, which officially an
nounces consumption to be a durable
malady.
Sir Charles Scudimore published
work, in 1S4S. in which he advocates
medicated inhalations in the treatment
of pulmonary disease. In the same year,
after exhaustive reading on the subject.
I used inhaling remedies myself for asth-
ma, with which had suffered for many
years. The treatment was successful,
and for thirty.two years there has been
no return of the disease.
have published several works, advo-
eating inhaling treatment for pulmonary
disease as distinct school of medicine.
Men must be educated to understand
the power and quality medicines acquire
when reduced to condition of vapor,
to control, modify, or remove disease
from the pulmonary structure. The
following will be read as an interesting
conclusion to this chapter:
Philadelphia, December 20, 1861. #,
DR.. N. B. Wolfe-Dedr Sir:-I have
just read your work on the treatment of
pulmonary Diseases by Medicated In
halations," and can not but coincide with
that it is the only rational treatment
ever yet proposed for those diseases, in
asmuch as the medicated yapor reaches
the seat of the disease directly, just as
sore. In practice of many years, have
never yet been able to discuss or resolve
tubercle in the lungs by the introduce
tion of medicines into the stomach, al
though l have almost exhausted our
Materia Medica to discover such a reme-
dy. Furthurmore, medicines in the
stomach, after having been subjected to
chymification, become so diffused and
attenuated when taken up by the chyle,
as to be almost, if not entirely, impotent
for good or evil on reaching the lungs;
and our long list of expectorants and
discutients are but the synonyms of our
failures. The phosphate deposit of tu-
berculosis is unquestionably made while
the patient is in negative state-with
an enfeebled, vascular action in the lungs
but once made. there is no medicine
that can be introduced into the stomach
strong enough to resolve it that would
not destroy that organ itself. and the
only possible means of reaching tuber-
cles is by the gaseous, tropical applica
ton, or medicated vapor-as all other
modes of treating consumption are but
of so many failures. The plain.
practical sense embraced in your treat
ise merits, and doubtless will receive, the
attention Of the medical profession.