Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-12-19
Gales and Sketthes.
By MARY A. ALLEN, NJ. D.

.1can.t imagine how took such cold.
am very careful, / always bundle up
we'll. and wear rubbers when go out"
"You were at dinner-party day before
yesterday. were you not?"
Eyes. but was not exposed to draft"
Ibid you have a good time ?n
II never enjoyed q dinner better.
don't know when have eaten so heartily.
Everything was so nice. Such variety
of rich food half-expected should De
! sick, but it did not seem to hurt me at all. +"
"What would you say if | were to sug-
gest that your cold is a result of your big
/ dinner ?''
/ III should say, what an absurd idea ~
I How could dinner give me cold?''
Then you, probably would not believe
me il were to tell you that large pro-
portion of colds are taken at the dinner
table. Did you ever notice how very pre-
valent colds are just after Thanksgiving,
| Christmas, and New Years. And people
say it is the epizootic which is epidemic.
not imagining that the proximate cause
was the proceeding epidemic Of big din
ners."
.'But how can eating give one cold ?"
What is cold? 1t an internal con-
gestion, an unbalancing of the circulation.
| We generally believe it to be caused by
the driving of the blood from the surface
of the body by exposure to cold, to some
internal organ. and so it often is. But
calling the blood away from the surface
to an internal organ. may have practically
the same affect. In perfect health, an
equilibrium in the circulation of the blood
is maintained, no organ having more than
its due share. In disease, this equilibrium
is disturbed. In health, the whole vol
ume of blood in the body passes through
the heart in about one minute. If, from
any cause, it does not circulate with this
rapidity. but collects in An organ, we
have partial stagnation, which we call
congestion. This superabundance of blood
| in one organ causes decrease of blood in
other organs. All cayities of the body
which communicate With the outer air are
| lined with thin skin called the mucus
membrane. Its secretes a thin, viscid
substance which keeps the membrane
soft and in good working order. When
| this mucus membrane becomes congested.
we have what is called a catarrhal condi-
ton. The capillary blood vessels of the
membrane become distended with blood,
and the result is an increased secretion of
mucus. This manifests itself by ''run-
ming of the nose and eyes, or by an ex-
pectoration of mucus from the bronchial
tubes. The mucus membrane of the eyes,
ears, nose. lungs, and elementary tract is
continuous, so that an affection of one
part can extend through all the rest.
II then we call usual amount of
blood to the stomach, to aid in the d.
gestion of an undue quantity of food. we
produce a congestion of the mucus men,
brane of the stomach, which, after time,
may extend to the nasal passages, or to
the bronchial tubes, producing the con-
ditiOn which we recognize as "a cold
| The trouble is primarily in the stomach,
secondarily in the respiratory organs.
| This manner OF taking cold is a result
of over-eating, but not necessarily of
gluttOny. Over eating is relative term.
An ordinary meal for laboring man
would be over-eating for man of seden-
tary habits. A quantity of food that
would be justifiable under ordinary con-
ditions, would in a state of fatigue, be
sufficient to cause a congestion of the
stomach. and "a cold would be the result
Not knowing this fact, many people do
themselves the great wrong of eating
when very tired, and suffer the conse-
quences, although perhaps not recogniz-
ing their pains as the effects of VIOLA
ton of the law of stGmachs.
"Sore throats, which are usually as
cribed to conditions of the lungs, in nine
cases out of ten are primarily from dis
turbed conditions of the stomach The
throat. or back part of the pharynx, is
more intimately connected with the stom-
ach than with the lungs. The nasal pas
sages connect directly with the pharynx.
and nasal catarrh is usually result of
disturbed digestion. Inflamed ewes. and
itchings of the eye-lids can often be traced
to an irretated condition of the stomach.
Close watching of the facts in the case will
often verify this statement beyond adoubt.
Persons who are observant often find that
a hearty supper will cause them to awaken
the next morning with drv. sore throat,
and a bad breath, both indicative of irri-
tated stomach
''In children who are troubled with
nasal eatarrh. or weak eyes. there will
usual DE found other and more direct
symptoms of a like catarrhal state of the
alimentary canal, torpidity of the bowels.
alternating, perhaps. with diarrhea, a
coated tongue, peculiarly bad breath,
which an educated nose recognizes as
accompanied with catarrh of the stomach.
80. don't worry over your boys having
catarrh." said one mother to another. IF
he don't have that he'll have something
else" wonder what that mother would
have thought if she had heard some one
say. Don't worry about your child's "
ing. II he don't do that, he'll probably
steal" The argument is as sound in the
one case as in the other. If your child
has catarrh, it is an evidence that some
thing is wrong in the physical organism,
ljust as lying is an evidence that something
is wrong in the moral nature. In both
cases one should seek the cause and en-
deavor to remove it. person who takes
cold easily has weak digestion. an irri-
table condition of the stomach. and svm-
pathetically, of mucus membrane in
other parts of the body The circulation
is easily unbalanced. the blood having a
tendency to leave the surface and to stag
nate in internal organs. This condition is
to be remedied, not by local medication,
NOT hr uffs p, -.