The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-08-28

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Iho Habit Of breathing Through thu
New Yort VOID. ".
While O reporter was IN the Office oil q
well known physician Of this city the lat
ter,asked him Il he had noticed o young
man who had Just passed out. The re.
porter answered that he had, because he
thought that he had met the young man
In Brooklyn q short time before.
.srhat was probably another person
sutfeftng ftom the same trouble, 'said the
doctor. sl5
sThis is curious affection. Il Is more
common than Is supposed, occnrs in In
fancy, at manhood and at middle age, and
causes;a great deal Of suffering !, yet ID Is o
strange thing that people in general do
not seem to pay any, attention to this
affection when occurring in their own
families, inspite Of the manner in,which
|itdistors the face, until some actual dis
eFse sets In and medical aid ~ necessary.
Even physicians do not seem TO reflect
that this trouble may cause any one OF q
largo number OF diseases affecting the
systemi In general.
S.sNvhy, ninued the doctor, nyou tell
one Of these mouth breathets anywhere
the moment you see them. From disease
Iof the nose his lips are rettacted, his
mouth Is continually open; his gums re.
cede and his teeth tprolrude, particularly
those in the upper 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 nostrilsto the angles
OF the mouth. These all give the person
either an expression Of id.ocy, silliness or
suffering. 3 ~. q
"But the principal thing I want 70 call
your attention to, said the doctor, lis the
necessity OF parents and nurses watching
children when they fall asleep and pre-
vent them from breathing with their
mouths open. In grown persons, dis
cases OF the nose and throat may lead to
mouth breathing and the resulting dis.
tortion OF the features, but it Is the other
way with children. They should be
taught to!use the mouth for eating and
speaking only. and II they fall asleep
with their mouths open the lips should
be gently pressed together. Thus many
constitutional diseases, such as spinal
trouble, pigeon breast, and. perhaps, even
ricketts, may be avoided, not TO speak Of
affections OF the nose and throat
Itseems that medical men are not the
only ones who have studied more or less
carefully the habit Of mouth breathing.
George Gatlin, the portraycr Of American
Indian lie and customs, claimed in one OF
IFS works tliati it wa o known fact that a
man can inAale msphetlc air through the
nose for q cert6int time in the bottom Of a
we'll without harm, but II he opened his
mouth to answer a question or call for
help, his lungs are closed and he expires.
Catlin says: II have seen o poor Indian
woman lnt the wilderness l5wering her
baby from her breast and pressing its lips
together asst falls asleep9 Among 1000
600 people, he fouaa that deafness, dumb:
ness, spinal curvature and deaths from
teethiug and diseases Of the respiratory
passages were almost unknown He az
tributes this exemption from these all
ments, so very common in civilized life,
solely to the habit Of breathing through
the nose.