Daily globe., 1883-06-29
CONSUMPTION.
Cause of the Dreaded Disease ReIncd:e.
by Which 1t May Be Ar-e sted.
IIIUIII lIIo O1IC'tgU IIDU.l-.I
Ihn nnnin nn1nt 1h1-cirin,n u. Ell.


From the Chicago Trbune.I
The eminent physician, DR.. Felix T..
Oswald, in the course Of an article /.
the Popular Science HonNb up1n
"The Remedies Of Nature, with >
plication to the cure or alleviatio4 of
consumption, lays down a generic pm
ciple broad enough, as i would sea-.
to be the foundation of new svs.e n Of
medicine. It is to the effect that nat nc
always tries to relieve itself, and thaa
the sensory symptoms attending the 70
cess of reconstruction are III reality
plea for noninterfeycnce Hence ihc
best way to assist nature is to forbear
from meddling W th the restorative pro
ccsses and to seek to remove the pre- is
posing cause. In his own words:
"There is a strong upward and health
ward tendency IN the constitution OF ev-
cry living organism. Nature's revenge
is but an enforced cond.t.ol Of peace.
Pain, discomfort, and even the prema-
tGrc loss Of organic vigor, are the at
tcndant symptoms OF a reconstructive
process, and their permanence is a pre-
sumptive proof that, in spite of such ad-
monitions, the process is q struggle
against a permanent obstacle, or a con-
stantly-repeated Illustration Of It's ef-
forts"
1t is this general rule that Dr.. Os-
wald applied to the treatment OF con-
sumption, evidently singing out that
disease because it the most terrible de-
stroyer of human life, even as compared
with the alcohol habit and the dis eases
1,ot ,f =,
prove that the proportion OF deaths
from the latter cause, compared with
deaths from pulmonary CONSUMPTION, is
as three and a half to ten IL Northern
Europe and as four to ten in the United
States and Canadian other words,
consumption causes almost three times
as many deaths as the use of intoxicat-
ing liquors. Tubarcular consumption
alone claims yearly aggregate of "a, 600
lives in the United States, 100000 in
Great Britain and Ireland, $4,000 in
France, 1861 900 in European Russia,
and 80, 900 in Northern Germany. It
is another peculiarly Of the disease
that it selects its.victims from the in
dustrial classes. North or South,
East or West" says Dr. Oswald, the
DEATH rate from lung diseases is found
to bear an exact proportion to the per-
centage of the inhabitants habitually
engaged in sedentary and indoor occu-
pations. Towns suffer more than the
rural districts, cities more than country
towns, manufacturing more than com
mercial and semi-agricultural cities.
weaver towns more than foundry
towns" In this quality and locality of
the disease was found the error of the
theory that ascribed consumption to the
influence of low temperature. On the
other hand it is declared to be house
disease, and this DR.. Oswald proves by
numerous illustrations, showing that in
non-manufacturing regions low tenn
perature IS q protection against pull
monary disease, and that cold sections
OF country are remarkably free from
it, while on the other hand it is album
dant where vitiated air IS constantly
breathed, or where IN cities large mum
bers Of persons are confined to indoor
occupations.
DR.. Oswald's theory does not conflict
with the parasitic theory OF DR.. Koch,
for he claims til vitiated air, or air
breathed over and over again, fills the
lungs with indigestible elements, which
gradually accumulate TStil they cor
rupt the tissues and favor the develop
ment of parasites. But" says Dr..
Oswald, cease to feed the lungs with
azotic gases and DIR. koch's animalcul;e
Will starve and disappear. as surely as
maw-worms will starve and disappear
if We change pork and sauer-kraut
diet for bread and apples" Dr. Os-
wald, therefore, lays it down as certain
that lin all latitudes of the Temperate
zone the disease known as pulmonary
consumption is caused by the breathing
Of vitiated air, and can ne sibdued by
outdoor exercise" He does Lot claim
that wasted tissues can lie reproduced,
but he does claim that il al but its last
stages the progress OF the disease can
be arrested by outdoor life alone. and
that three-months' mountain trip.
with or without tents. and even at
tended with all possible discomforts.
Will cure all the symptoms of the dis
ease.
The doctor advocates airy bedrooms
outdoor exercise III winter. sight seeing
afoot, the use of fat-containing sub
stances, and the avoidance, on the other
hand, of all scorbutitic articles of diet,
such as salt meats, pickles, rancid
fat, pungent spices, cheese and in
toxicating liquors, the use of gymnastic
apparatus, etc. In fine, he recommends
q series of atmospheric, gymnastic and
dietetic remedies, which he claims will
| always arrest the progress of this dread
full disease Fresh air and active evar-
else are medicines easily procurable
and easy to take. They are within the
reach of all, and are certainly worth
the trying They can harm no one, if
they do no good, It adds to their en-
joyment that they can be made attract
i've and pleasant.
Voruo Of SI-;,,,,,,oJ NTH