Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-08-13
The Hygiene Of Old Age.

Speaking of the conservation of life in the
aged, DIR. II. O. Wood of Philadelphia men
tons the case of prominent citizen, who,
having died at the age of 81, was quoted by
his neighbors and associates as being gather
ed like a rIpened sheaf But DIR. Wood OBJ
ects to the smile as being inappropriate, for
the gentleman in question was full Of physical
and mental vgor up to within week Of his
death, and there was no more reason that his
life should terminate so suddenly than il he
had been but threescore.
The eminent practitioner believes that,
aside from deaths from accidents and pre-
ventable causes, the duration of life is fire.
quently influenced by success and failure.
The man who has sucoeeded-and by this we
mean one who has 80 spent his years that
they form gratifying subject for selfreview
can by proper care, prolong his life much
beyond the traditional thereescore and ten.
But sense of failure in life is apt to become
the indirect cause of premature death, for it
exhausts the vitality and detracts from the
recuperative power of the system.
To make old age possible, however, the
several vital organs must be approximately
equal in strength. The man of ordinary ply
sique, who possesses this fortunate balance
of power, will in all probability outlive an
athlete whose development has been unequal.
Excessive strength in one part is, in fact, a
cular system invites dissolution, because it is
a constant strain on the less powerful organs
and finally wears them out. Death in the
majority of cases is the result of local weak
ness. 1t often happens that vital organ has
been endowed with an original longevity less
than that of the rest of the organism, and its
failure to act brings death to other portions
of the system, which in themselves possessed
| the capabilities of long life.
IL
tions of the animal organism change, and
they possess less elasticity to meet and over
come such strains as can be invited with i'm
| punity in youth. Exposure to Indictment
weather, the sudden shock of good or bad
news, are frequently efficient to terminate a
life which with care would be able to endure
| many more years of active usefulness. 1t is,
therefore, highly desirable that persons of
advancing years should make their personal
habits the subject of careful study, and with
the help of some wise counselor regulate their
daily living in accordance with the changed
conditions of their animal economy OF all
the questions which must thus be decided,
few are more important than that of Diet
The loss of the teeth in old age should be re-
placed when possible by artificial substitutes.
But even with the best product Of the den
lists skill, mastication is apt to be imperfect
ly performed and the food of old people
should therefore be easily dgestible, and at
the same time comparatively soft and readily
comminuted. The food should not be toe
stimulating in its nature. Many are injured
by an excess of heterogeneous food The kid
neys, being weakened by age, are unduly
strained if meats and other rich foods are
eaten in excess. Milk and its products, OF
cereal preparations cooked with milk, are
among the most suitable and perfect foods
In many cases too much food is taken, under
the impression that the lessened vitality re-
quires increased fuel to maintain the vita
warmth. But this is great mistake, for il
must be remembered that growth has now
ceased entirely, that but little exercise is tax
en- and that the function of food is reduced
almost solely to supplying the mparatively
small waste of quiet existence.
DIR. Wood believes quite strongly in the usC
of wine by aged persons, as it assists diges
ton and quiets the nervous irritation which
is apt to be the result of feeble health. The
danger of the formation of any evil habi
after person has reached the age of 10 is 81
small that the most temperate and conscien
tious physician need not hesitate to recon
mend the use of such tonic. The question
of temperature is another, demanding NOR
consideration than is usually bestowed upor
it, When the vital fires are losing their ener
gy, and the force of life is waning, 1t be
comes imperative that artificial heat shsl
supplement as far as possible their deicien
cies. Careful heating arrangements anC
warm clothing are necessary, not only for tn
comfort of old people, but for their very ex
istence. And so, in all the details of thei
living, the altered conditions of the organism
must be considered and their requirement
satisfied. In our busy, buried lives, the sci
ence of old age has been too little considered
The span of life, though frightening, is still
unnecessarily curtaied