Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-10-30

College OF Physicians and Surgeons of On
tario; for three years associate physician OF
the Chicago and Cincinnati Throat and
Lung Institute: for fifteen years, and still
proprietor of the Detroit Throat and Lung
Institute; and for several years proprietor
of the Ontario Pulmonary Institute and
Health Resort at Toronto, Ontario. over
60,C00 cases treated by us during the past
nineteen years.
ON ASTHMA.
Itisa common error to suppose every
disease which is attended by oppressed
breathing to be Asthma or Phthisic. We
have shurtness of breath in Consumption,
Bronchitis and Pneumonia, just ss we doin
Asthma. only that in these diseases 1t Is al
ways present, whereas in Asthma it occurs
in paroxysms.
lungs, which manifests itself in periodic at
tacks or ''fts - 1t comes on suddenly and
is attended with great difficulty of breath
ing while it lasts, but when the attack is
over the patient breaths almost as well as in
health.
The Asthmatic fit may come on at any
time, day or night, but most commonly oc
ours after midnight and before morning.
The patient is suddenly awakened by diff.
ficuity OF breathing, feeling OF weight OF
construction of the chest. 1t feels as though
it were bound. He sits up in bed, pants OF
gasps Tor bIeath, and in bad cases, calls foI
the doors and windows to be thrown open.
Perspiration stands cut in large drops on
the forehead, the face looks haggard, the
lips are livid, the extremities cold, and the
heart beating violently.
Perst n badly afflicted with the disea se
are, during the fit, insensible to everything
save the desire for air. l have known them
to rush to the open window and hang over
the sill for hours in mid.winter, utterly re
gardless of the cold. The feeling is pre-
cisely that of pending suffocation, and the
poor sufferer endures tor time all the ag-
ony OF drowning or slow strangulation.
But happily for the patieIt his confidence
never deserts him. He ieels that it will
After a longer OF shorter period, accord
ing TO the severity OF the case-generally a
few hours--the iightness al the bottom of
the chest relaxes the breathing becomes
deeper, the patient can speak and cough
without difficulty, and begins to eXpectorate
freely. At length, worn out by the intens-
ity OF his sufferings. he falls to sleep and
the attack is at an end.
Nervous, Humid and Dry Asthma are
names given to different forms of this
disease. Emphysema is another and more
inveterate kind of asthma, while Hay
Fevei or Rose Cold is a peculiar variety of
Asthma which occurs at q certain season of
the year. Each OF these forms OF disease
differs somewhat from the Others in symp-
toms, but practically these distinctions are
of very little value. 1t does not matter to
the patient which form of Asthma he has
since his sutferirgs are the same in all. In
one case the expectoration becomes yellow
and we call 1t bronchial In another it is
light and we call it dry. When he coughs
up clear water, with white froth on the
surface, we say he has Humoral Asthma.
In Nervous Asthma there is very little ex-
pectoration of any kind. Hay Fever always
begins as crying cold in the head or influ-
enza, and a C ear water RUS from the nose
and the eyes before the Asthma fit comes
OH. In Emphysema the expectoration is
generally thick, and continues so in the in
terval between the fits. while the shortness
of breath is increased on the slightest ex-
ertion.
There is no rule which can be said to be
uniform in Asthma. In one person the
disease will entirely pass off after single
attack, and remain well for weeks. In an
other there will be several fits in succession,
with only short intervals between them,
and then the patient escapes for a longer
period. In some fits occur regularly at
stated times. Some athmatics breathe best
in the city, while others cannot pass night
in town without suheri0g an attack. One
prefers low land as a place of residence,
and another can only sleep on high ground.
A particular exposure of room will often
make a difference, and l have known peo-
pie who could sleep on one side of the
of hay, roses, and even of the stable,
with many is sufficient to bring on arox.
ysm. Some cannot drive behind horses, or
endure cat in the same room
All Luls lnuSL seem strange anu dlmObI
absurd to those who know nothing of the
disease by experience, but those who are
afflicted with it understand tie matter. So
sensitive are some people that they cannot
enter drug store where ipecacuanha is
kept without experiencing an oppression in
breathing.
Asthma depends more on atmospheric
causes than other lung diseases. The mu-
Gus membrane Is morbidly sensitive to
any change In the air, in the excess or def
nf nf ffcu -tvpt he No.,
or dust; on the temperature, humidity, or
even impregnance with the delicate frag-
rance OF flowers and plants. Few people
have any idea of the powerful influence ex-
erted for good or i'll by what we inhale. The
air is the great source from whence we con-
tract most diseases and 1t is only by employ
ing it as the carrier of remedies that many
of them can be cured. This Is peculiarly
the c Sc with all diseases of the air passages
and lungs, Of none more SO than asthma.
1t is foolish conceit of many people to
believe that If they have Asthma they can
not get Consumption. The truth is the
very opposite. 1hey are more liable to
fall into Consumption because they have
Asthma. Another idea Is, that Asthma it.
self is not a dangerous disease, and yet the
published bills of mortality for this city
prove to all who read them that great num-
bers lose their lives every year.
ing is curable. But with these, aided by
proper and skilful treatment, Asthma can
be cured even after the lungs are extensive
ly diseased.
The asthmatic sufferer, therefore, should
ose no time in having this tearible disease
,radicated from the system before it is
forever "too late"
Our Eastern friends should not depend
lpon climatic influences alone, for herein
les the fatal mistake. Nearly every case
equires positive medical aid. so as to be-
'ome rid of the offending matter-the con-
olidated portions OF the lungs-so as to give
lature an opportunity 10 heal them.