New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-01-11
Written for the Review.)
:ts of Stimulants and Narcotics
on the Human System.
IV.

~ IV.
q. ALCOHOL AS A HEAT-PRO-
/ DJCER.- En- S11, it was shown that
ethyl alcohol, we'll diluted and gradu-
ally introduced into'the system in small
quantities, disappears. thus leaving lit
tie room for doubt that it is, in part at
least, oxidized and utilized as a food.
! But the hest thus gradually produced
is not the cause of the sensation 3f
warmth which frequently follows the
fsdse of an alcoholic stimulant. The To-
cal Sensation of heat attending the use
of strong alcoholics is caused by the
affinity of ethyl alcohol for water (SS).
1 The sensation of general warmth, how
lever. which is, experienced whenever
/ Ilarger doses Of any alcoholic have been
introduced into the system, is due to
the depressing effect of alcohol on the
nervous system and the consequent dila-
tation of the blood-vessels of the healthy
body. More blood is thus carried to
the skin, and in cold weather, when the
temperature Of the surrounding air is
much below blood heat (99 deg. Fahr.),
the heat-loss of the body is considerably
| increased. In the case OF all but very
small doses, the amount of heat slowly
derived from the oxidation of the alco-
hol is insignificant in comparison with
the loss of heat which the body, in its
normal state of health, suffers from
alcoholics when it is exposed to severe
cold. Large quantities of alcohol may
thus reduce the temperature of the body
several degrees in a short time. The
IL. "a; g., Il
so cold as he really'is owing to the para
lying effect of alcohol on the nerves :;
and it is not, improbable that an intoxi-
Gated personwho is still conscious, may
feel comparatively comfortable while
he is gradually freezing to death. I
1t is true that in the absence OF other
and more wholesome food the body may
adapt itself to the oxidation of alcohol
to such an extent as to supply a consid-
cradle portion of lhe wastes in this way
(s1D:; but it is the almost universal
testimony of Arctic explorers that, in
the normal eonditibn of the body, all O.
hol dinlinishes the power of resisting
cold. This fact has, also been striking
ly illustrated by nuilerous experiments
on animals. Farguharson cites the fol-
lowing: If we place two animals,
one of which has been dosed with alco.
hol, in chamber ofIwhich the temper
ature has been reduced to 10 degrees
below free >oint,s both will speedily
be benumI SLEEP; but whilst the
healthy an lNNhf supported by the
combustion 49, Ues and survaae5
the shock 5mparion will perish
from thisil 'oducing process being
ineertered oy the Slight y
lz13.< ALCOHOL AS A PARk1FRIPTIC.-The
heat-loss produced by aEcohol is not en-.
itirely caused hy dilatation of the blood
vessels. 'Post-mortem temperature is
also lowered by alcohol, thus proving
that part Of t6ifs action is due to a
chem3pal process, callsE5B ii paralyzing
influence on the prote@plsmof the heat
producing cells''2 ';aafq qlharson) An
| an}loGeA facet 4JtS<<alcohol has been OBJ
served in the vegetable kingdom. DR..
Rid ge ascertained tint q sone-sixteenth
per cent. solution Of eSayi alcohol checks
the growth Of water. 5}ess, while u ten
per cent. solution kills the seeds.
But whatever the nature of the proc
ess by which this influenceis produced,
it is an indisputable fact that alcohol
diminishes the tissue metamorphosis of
the living body in proportion to the
dose. [Horsley, 1887, i The red COR
puscles of the blood carry the oxygen
received in the lungs and skin to all
parts of the. e.body, thus supporting the
slow combustion that is continually 60
ing on in the capillaries and tissues.
The presence of alcohol in the blood
diminishes the capacity of the red cor
puscles for carrying oxygen, and checks
combustion and tissue changes.
In the immature body, any interfer.
ence with tissue metamorphosis,is inter-
ference with development and growth.
For this reason alone, if for no other,
total abstinence from the use of alco.
holics is the only safe rule for the young.
The use of alcoholics at an early age is.
in this respect, like damping the fire in
a cold room and expecting the room to
become comfortably warm in the usual
time. IT, hi,
| In the body Of the adult, there is, in
Imost cases, no need whatever of arrest
inc the natural wear and waste; bu1
if slight check is placed upon tissue
change IN the e5full-grown body, its ef
fects are far less marked than they are,
under the same conditions, in the body
that has not yet completed its growth.
| In an article on .'Sedentary Men and
Stimulants'', published in the North
American Review Q887), Dr.. Searle
Icalls attention to the effects Of that class
! of substances known as paratriptics,
| which, as preVenters Of waste, dimin.
ish the amount of food required to be
assimilated and thus, within narrow
limits, work in the same line with
foods, in the body Of an adult. DR..
! Searle holds that dyspepsia and bilious
ness are the maladies to which seden-
tary men are especially subject, owing
to the disproportion between the de
mand forwork made upon the nervous
system aid that made upon the muscles.
70 Replace the dali, waste, sedentary
men eat as largely rs others, thus
throwing a burden upon digestion
. which their habits prevent them from
lightenia&s by muscular exertion. DR.
Searle fads the only feasible means o