The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-08-07
The MoUTH-sReATHINe HABIT.
An Affection that Dlstorts the Features
for Life and Causes Grave Diseases.
New YORK World

An Affection that Dlstorts the Features
for Life and Causes Grave Diseases.
New York worid.l
While a reporter was in the Office of
ell-known ply sician Of this city the latter
asked him il he had noticed q young man
who had jlt passed out The reporter
answered. that he had because he thought
he had met the young man in Brooklyn q
short time before.
"That was probably another person suffer-
ing from the same trouble" said the doctor.
"This is . curious affiiction. 1t is more
common than is supposed, occurs In infancy,
at manhood and at middle age, and causes a
great deal Of suffering; yet 1t Is a strange
thing that people in general do not seem to
pay any attention to this affection when oc-
curing In their own families. In spite Of the
manner In which it distorts the face, until
some actual disease sets in and medical aid
is necessary. Even physicians do not seem
to reflect that this trouble may cause any
one Of O large number of diseases affecting
the system in general
"Why," continued the doctor, "you can
tell one Of these mouth -broathers anywhere
the moment you see him From disease Of
the nose his lip, are retracted, his mouth Is
continually open, his gums recsde and his
teeth protrude, particularly those in the up
per jaw; the flesh that forms the lower part
of the nostrils Is shrunken, the openings Of
the nostrils are diminished in size, there are
wrinkles at the outer edges Of the eyes and
deep lines run from the nostrils to the angles
Of the mouth. These all give the person
either an expression Of idocy, Stiffness or suf-
fering.
aBut the principal thing want to call
your attention to, said the DOCTOR @is the
necessity Of parents and nurses watching
children when they fall asleep and prevent
ing them from breathing with their mouths
open. In grown persons, disease Of the
nose or throat may lead to mouth breathing
add the resulting distortion Of the features,
but 1t is the other way with children. They
should be taught to use the mouth for eat
ing and speaking only, AMI II they fall
asleep with their mouth, opsn the lips
should be gently pressed together. Thus
many constitutional dseases such as spinal
trouble, pigeon, breast AMI perhaps even
rickets may be avoided. not to speak Of
affections Of the moss and throat"
Il seems that medical men are not the only
ones who have studied more or less carefully
the habit Of mouth breathing George Cat
lin, the portrayer Of American Indian life
and customs, claimed in one of his works
that 1t was q known fact that man can in
hale mephitic air through his nose for q GER
tain time In the bottom Of q we'll without
harm, but il he opened his mouth to answer
question or call for help his lungs ara
clio ei and hs expires. Catlin says: .s
u have seen a poor Indian woman In the
wilderness lowering her baby from her
breast and pressing its lips together as it
falls asleep" Among 2,0OO,0oO people hs
found that deafness, dumbnsss, spinal curva-
ture, and deaths from teething and diseases
Of the rcspirator passages were almost un-
known He attributes this exemption from
these ailments so very common In civilized
life solely to the habit OF breathing through
the nose