St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-06-23
AMONG THE DOCTORS.
Important Information Variety OF
Medical Topics.

! Important Information ON a Variety OF
Medical Topics.
DR.. Underwood. the customs medic
al officer at Kin-Kiang. attributes the
comparative immunity of the Chinese
in that region from typhoid fever
otwithstandin ing that most of the
factors favoring the disease are pres
ent in abundance the fact that
'cold, un boiled water is rarely or
never used when tea can be had. y
The explanation is simple: A boiling
temperature destroys the typhoid
poison.
Having investigated sixty-thrne
cases of excessive use of tobacco, De-
caisne finds forty-nine to be over fifty
years of age. In thirty-seven cases
the smokers pursued the habit fasting,
and in these vertigo was present,
especially in the morning. Sometimes
the vertiginous symptoms have been
COMPOUNDED with those due to cere BIZ al
congestion, and even to heart disease.
Injections of ether simultaneously
appeared to stop the vertigo in few
minu es.
vitality important as the knowledge
may be, it is not always easy in cases
of wounds of the abdomen to deter
mine whether the intestines have been
injured. DR.. Nicholas Sem, of Mil
waukee, startled the surgical section
of the American Medical AssOcia-
ton with ONE experiments in
tended to show the value OF
hydrogen in the diagnosis of such
wounds. Enemata of the gas were
given to the dogs for few minutes,
and it was then ignited at the animals
noses; a stab wound was then inflict-
ed, and it was ignited at the point of
puncture. In like manner pistol.
shot wound was diagnosticated. The
innocuousness of the gas itself was
affirmed and demonstrated. The ex.
periments were looked upon as of the
greatest significance, and Dr. Sem
was heartily congratulated.
A sub committee of the American
Medical Ass ISOLATION on the subject of
infant feeding offers the following as
useful rules: l. In the case of infants
deprived of breast-milk the artificial
substitute should correspond as near
ly as possible to human milk. 2.
Cows milk corresponds to breast
milk in most respects, but its caseine
should be broken up, so as not to co.
agulate in large masses in the stomach.
A portion of milk should be first pep
tonized and then added to fresh milk.
8. Raw starch is inadmissible, and the
practice of adding it to fresh milk is
wrong. Fully-digested food for either
adults or infants is bad for the diges.
tive organs. 4. All nursing bottles
should be boiled several times day
in order to destroy the germs of de-
composition. Desiccated (partly pep
tonized) milk is often convenient
and efficient substitute for mothers
milk.
For every death from smallpox in
the United States during the last third
of a century there have been six from
scarlet fever; and for every death from
cholera during the same period there
have been twenty-five from typhoid
fever There is. it is true. no such
known and tested method of prevent.
ing scarletfever as vaccination certain
ly furnishes for smallpox. but much
could be done to limit the ravages of
the red pestilence than has yet been
attempted; and in the case Of typhoid
fever-that is as absolutely prevent
able as any contagion. It is rig htly
called the typical filth disease" and
its prevalence in community is an
unerring indication of the most dis
gushing form of water pollution.
and health officers and
the opponents of preventive medicine
generally would do well 10 devote
more attention to these diseases which
have become domesticated with us,
rather than expend their energie
SO exclusively upon the exclusion of
Asiatic cholera, yellow fever and other
exotic pestilences. Chicago Meas.