The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-10-29

AN@
How the Aged NIay Further Prolong LII,
Valuable suggestions.
From ne ARRuGt VI Hygiene,
tkead betlge IhssAle Sanitary Commission, hEl,
In thllalel Lila, MAJ ", rs ktdl II, by II, /. WOO
n. d. Of ~hllAdeiphlA, truilSuF VI MHtrriR Aed
eaRad Therapeutics ~ tie uniyeEasy Of tenDSy.
Yanta
Within q few weeks the city Of PhIla
delphia has been called upon to noun
the loss Of the man who, although yer,
far from Intellectually the greatest within
her borders, as q citizen Was pIe.emiNuGt
ly chief, Dying at the age Of so or s.
years, he Ia universally spoken Of US beinl
gathered like a rlpeu6d 'sheRi; yet, within
u week oil his burial, he was tull OF mentS.
and physical .ylgor, and his death at thu
time wa unnecessary and ayoidablt
as though he had only reached three
score yeAIa, A very notable per cent.
ago OF the death Of persona WhC
have been successful In life, and have Ut,
tanned beyond the seventieth year, coulG
be, by proper care, long postponed, Fail
me in life in q large proportion Of Cases
saps vitality, and the maj who carries thu
load Of acknowledge OF such failure,
lives under persistent strain, whose Ct.
isCts, though usually not recognized, are
none tho less irresistible. Iu order L.
plotract an advanced life 1t ia well to uu-
deIstand not only the dangers that beset
such life, hut the reason why old age has
been attained.
The humorlst Is greatest when underly.
Ing his rolliCklng is the lesson OF a greal
truth but perhRps few readers,
when they enjoy the broad fun Of
the "One.klorse Shay" as portrayed By
our inimitable Holmes, have recognized
the fact that tho man who reaches old aye
does 80 largely because he has been con
struCted upon the principles Of the iRmolt
vehicle that ran for a hundfed years aud
Barring accidental deaths from railroad
collisions, typhoid fevers, lightning
strokes, and ether more or leas preventa-
bic cRuses, the man who il 80 hniit that
he In equally strougi in all his parts, lives
out his appointed days.
EXCESSIVE s,IUnRtn III n part is q vsrl.
table source OF danger, the athlete par
ishes because his oyar'dNyeloped musCu-
lar ByBtem perpetuGlly strains and finally
weNrs ont q heart or q lung that was oria-
inally contracted for a muscular eppara.
tus OF hall the power OF that which he has
artificial built up. The larger proper.
ton OF mankind die early on account Of
,,lue local weakness, 1t ought to be
generally recognized that human age Ia
not to be counted by years, aud that ia
some constitutions tho general ttssuea are
o uOr ~ titty than they are in other indi-
viduals at one hundred. Many of
tho CsSea OF so.Called nsurastheniR, or
nervous exhaustion, OF men aud women
suddenly or gradually breaking doWu
at forty or fftv, ostenslbly from over-work,
are really cases OF premature old age, and
are to be nurssd and treated precisely as
other individuals would be who had
reached to four score yesrS. Moreover, II
larger prop prtion Of early desthG arc the
result Of Role vital oraAn being originally
,nOowed with q longevity less than tina,
OF the res Of the organism,
Tho reason that consumption is 40 often
utterly irremediable Ia to bs found in the
fact that in not q few CascS tho lung has
reached It's allotted term Of days.
and must die because lie vitality
i, exhausted. II an eye, or other not
vital part, fails from lack Of vital power,
the man exista; but II a lung dies, he
porishes.
Ths result Of these fluctuations ID to
leRd US to this point namely, that tho
igdividuRl who enjoys fair health at
Seventy.fye years Of age has probably
been built upon the principle Of the
"0ne.Horsn shay" aud that he should
be treated as q wise ms would treat
such q venerable instrument Of progres.
sion. He would certainly keep It of
Philadelphia C0bble.stones, and allow 1t
only to be- bowled along some smooth
turnpike, and especially wouldhe avoid ali
jn'ts aud jars which would throw an nu.
expected strain upon one part. The
principle involved III such Cass Ia that
which Ia most vial In the treatment OF
he old-pIoteCtton, aud especially pro-
,eCtion from strain Of any vital paft.
An old man exposes him.elt 10 Indictment
yeather, aud especially to ahigh wind,
Fhich suddenly drives the bloUd from
he snrfaCs upon the Internal organs,
md at the came time by lis very force
checks the entcebled movemcnts
Of respiration, which aid in forcing
the blood out from thoae organs.
AS a result, the man pBrisheo at onc0, he.
cause he has thrown too great strain up
on q weak heart, OF. II able to momentarl-
ly resist the strain, diea In a t-w days Of
pneumonia due 10 the congestion OF the
lung. have known the endden shock Of
good news TO strike tbs old man dom,
10 fatally rs tine pole.axs fells the bullock,
ny causing the blood 10 rush with renewed
lorce throulh the brain, and tear its way
trough the weakened walls Of the hlo1i-
vessels. Again. the violent emotion of q
lndden hSd news may oVerRhelm q heart
ShiCh, with care, would have suitiGed
tor It's duties Tor many
Gears. The Young athlete in the boat
rsCe pullH at his bar until bs drops from
neartstrain, aud, II the he&itstfaln hGs
not been too severe, RECEIVERS hmeelt In \
lew weeks, because the vital elasticity Of
tho hPaIt.tisEpes 10 in Highest ViRor. But
tho epfuehlod and brittle heGrt,muaCla OF
the old mar, strained In some hurried
-fOrt to catch q railroad train, or In soma
,qullly unreasonable procedure, has no
power Of recovery, and rests ittelt only in
death. What Is true In regard to the
healthy Ordinary COUditious OF tho old
man ID more abundantly true III regard
70 tho diseases Of tho old. Medicines
that peIturbate-m0Esurts that brig re.
lief through violent local actions cannot
be borne, and arc not TO be employed.
At the same time, when possible, 1t is
mosl essential 10 arrest AZ ones any tnCipi'
ont disorder In the sged | know an OLD
doctor renowned in al lands, who lived
ten years beyond the period attained be.
fore by any one Of his name, largely be-
cause, knowing himEeli thoroughly,
no arrested In Ito Inception an q lack,
which, IN 9 few hours, might have gain.
eiod fatal force,
l felt ONT hesitation in attempting
to point out in detail the application Of
The principles which have just been
enunclattd, lest this paper may fall into
the hands Of aged persons, and be substi'
k.knI tnH a navNtuI p,,rtbCRoiihu nj lhatR