Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-21

freezing point OF ordinary wafer Wlthou
congealing. 1t appears from the sign
that they display in front of their places
of business that the colder they car
make these mixtures the more pride
they take in themselves and the more
customers flock to their shops. Many
deaths of persons have occurred while
in the very act of drinking these more
than ice-cold liquids, and am myself
conversant with numerous cases in which
great mental and physical prostration
was the result, and from which recovery
did not take place for several days. In
two of these instances obstinate facial
neuralgia, lasting over year and yield
ing only to energetic medical treatment
and complete change of climate, was in
| duced.
Besides being one of the most prolific
causes Of neuralgia affections, very cold
drinks injure the teeth. They crack the
enamel, aud therefore increase the liza
bility to decay. Americans as nation
have worse teeth than any other people
in the world, and this fact is due more to
the excessive use of ce-water than to any
other cause. In the old days of slavery
the negroes Of the South were remarkable
for their good teeth, for ice-water was a
drink unknown to them. But with free
dom, and more money at their disposal
than they formerly had, they have taken
to tippling the icy liquid, and as a con-
sequence bad teeth are now frequently
seen among them.
a person who drinks great deal OF
ice-water at meals very materially
lessons his ability to enjoy the good
things of the table, for the sense of taste
is greatly impaired when the temperature
of the inside of the mouth is reduced
many degrees below the normal stand
ard. Indeed, very excellent method OF
counteracting the offensive taste of GER
tain medicines is for the one who is
about to swallow them to hold little
ice-water in the mouth for few mo-
ments. The nauseous dose can be then
gulped down without tenth part OF its
offensiveness being experienced. On the
other hand, the delicate favors Of the
finest wines are entirely lost to the per-
son who has, before drinking them,
taken glass of ice water.
The effect upon the stomach of ice.
water drinking is no less marked. As
soon as the cold liquid reaches this or
gan the blood vessels, which are en-
larged during the process OF digestion,
in order that the due amount of gastric
juice may be secreted, are at once con-
tracted, and the function is accordingly
more or less completely arrested. Con
tirmed dyspepsia is a necessary conse-
quence, and this frequently assumes the
form Of gastric cataarh, than which few
disorders are more intractable. Nor
does the morbid action cease here.
Many case of obstinate diarrh9a owes
it's origin to the refrigeration of the sym
pathetic ganglia of the abdomen induced
by e-water. There is some reason to
believe that cancer of the stomach-a
disease certainly more frequent among
Americans than other peoples like.
wise one of its consequences.
1t has been asserted by some medical
writers that excessive ice water drinking
is prolific cause of Bright's disease OF
the kidneys. There does not seem, how
ever, as yet. to be sufficient evidence to
support this view, but it is, nevertheless,
quite possible that it is not altogether
unfounded. Judging by analogy, and by
what we know of the effect of ice.water
upon other internal organs, | see no
reason to doubt that the kidneys may
also be brought under its morbid in-.
So long as there is reasonable doubt
upon the subject, it would seem to be
prudent for those who are predisposed to
kidney disease to drink water consider
ably above the temperature of 32 de-
grees.
Water for drinking purposes should
never be below so degrees. We can
almost always get it, even in the hottest
weather, as cool as this by letting it run
for minute or two from any household
faucet, or drawing it from any country
well. Ii not, there is no objection to
cooling it to the point mentioned. The
East India monkey" which can now
be had almost anywhere in the country,
and by means of which the contained
water is cooled by its own evaporation,
answers the purpose admirably. am
quite sure that If ice-water should be
generally discarded as a drink the aver
age duration of life would be heightened
and existence rendered more tolerable.-
North American Review.