Daily globe., 1883-06-29
CONSUMPTION.
Cause of the Dreaded Disease Re1ncd:e,
by Which 1t May BE Ar-e stcI.
from tba Chico cro 1r;1..-.,-


from the Chicago Tribun-l
The eminent physician, Dr.. Felix T..
Oswald, in the course Of an article T..
the POptjar Science Monthly uno-r
"The Remedies Of Nature with = =
pEcaion to the cure or alleviate. Jt
consumption, lays down generic Pr
ciple broad enough, as i would SEA-.
to be the foundation Of a new sys,e Il of
medicine. It is to the efi4c+ that nat .r1
always tries TO relieve itself, and 5!i;.3
the sensory symptoms attending the So
cess of reconstruction are II Iea;i'v L
plea for noninterfercnca. Hence ;ac
best way to assist nature is to forbaar
from meddling " til 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 n the constitution ot ev-
cry living organism. Natures revenge
is but an enforced conG.t.ol Cf peacA.
Pain, discomfort, and even the prema-
tGrc loss Of organic yigor, are the At
tcndant symptoms OF 4 reconstru tive
process, and their permanence IS Il lre-
sumptive proof that, in spite OF such Gd-
monitionS, the process is q struggle
against permanent obstacle, or 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 tcrr.b,e de-
stroyer of human life, even as compared
with the alcohol habit and the dis asses
that grow out OF it. His statistics
prove that the proportion OF deaths
from the latter cause, compared with
deaths from pulmonary CONSUMPTION, is
as three and 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 81, 600
lives in the United States, 100000 in
Great Britain and Ireland, so. 600 in
France, 100000 in European Russia,
and $4,000 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 habituallv
engaged in sedentary and indoor occu-
patiOns. Towns suffer more than the
rural districts, cites 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 a protection against pull
mOnary disease, and that cold sections
OF a 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 th t vitiated air, or air
brcathed over and over again, ills the
lungs with indigesti5la elements, which
gradually accumulate TStil they cor
rupt the tissues and favor tie develop
mant Of parasites. But" saws DR..
Oswald, cease to feed the lungs with
aZOtic gases and DR.. kocl's auimalcul;e
will starve and disappear. as surelv as
maw-worms will starve and disappear
if We change q pork and sauer-kraut
diet for bread and apples Dr.. Os-
wald, therefore, lays it down as certain
that in all latitudes Of the Temperate
zone the disease known as pulmonary
| consumption is caused by the breathing
of viIiated air, and can ne sIbiued bv
outdoor exercise" H 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 tlree-months mountain trip.
with or without tents. and even at
tended with all possible d;scomforts,
will cure all the symptoms OF the dis
| ease.
The doctor advocates airy bedrooms
| outdoor exercise il winter. sightseeing
atoot, the use OF fat-contaning 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 gynnastic
apparatus, etc. In fine, he recommends
a series of atmospheric, gymnastic and
dietetic remedies, which he claims will
always arrest heprogress of this dread
ful disease. Fresh air and active exer-
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.