Evening journal., 1889-05-23
ALL ABOUT Hay FEVER.
FACTS CONCERNING THIS SlNGU-
LAR AlLMENT AND ITS CAUSE.

1
The popular term hay fever gives but an
| iundeauate idea OF a curious complaint, the
worry existence of which was not fully recog-
nizri till tho BEGINNING of the present cen
| turv when Ir. John Bostock published an
account Of his own symptoms and suiferinSs
| At that time it was dinhy regarded us sort
OF fanciful hypochoDdriecal affection, OF
which thoss who had little or nothing 20 do
became tho subject but cases have OF lato
years been frequently recorded wneh prove
the disorder to be one OF great interest on
account Of tho mystery attaching to It's carly
history; its prevalence in an climates and
countries, and tho painful pertnacity with
which it cllngs to its victims
| IN THE MERRY HAYrNe TINE
| II is called in Germany fruhsomner Ka-
| tarrh, or early summer catarrh; and among
ourselves, hay fever or hay asthma. since
the more usual kind begins and ends with
the hay season, varying in the time OF year
during which it appears according as THO
hay season is early or late. AS long as the
grass is in flower, it persists; with that, it
ceases
The complaint is however, by no means
limited to the flowers Of the field The same
symptoms may be produced by very difeer-
ent causes; by sunlight, by violent exercise,
by the dust Of rooms; and 80 sapricious are
its ways that it is sometimes difficult 20 as
sign sufficient cause for its appearance.
Rose fever and rose eatarrh arc well
known In tho United States, where the ros0
is largely cultivated Peach cold is an aE'oc
ton Of a similar nature In India the bios
ssm of the mango is said to produce it; and
Trousseau afiirus that he always had asthma
sr a.. 4.
with a bunch Of violetS The neighborhood
Of a priveb hedge and the pollen OF tho com
mon daisy are said to have given rise to
more inconvenience than even the scent Of
new mown hay We are told of lady WHO
could never remain in the room with a single
stalk OF Indian corn without being seized
with shortness Of breath; and an instance is
recorded of man that could never pass the
shop of a certain ropemaker in his native
town without suffering from asthmatic symp
tomf, presumably owing to the dust from
the fax.
Cullen speaks of the case Of a man who was
seized with fits of sneezing whenever rice was
thrashed II the neighborhood of his house;
and the effect Of ipecacuanha dust is well
known to hospital servants Medical students
have declared that they are attacked with
powder IS merely opened in the room where
they are, and that In none Of them does asth-
ma occur under any other circumstances; nc
other irritant will produce 1t. 1t is related
that the wife of an apothecary was seized
with asthma whenever ipecacuanha root was
powdered in the surgery, even II she hap
pened to be in another part Of the house al
the time. People insensible to ipecacuanha
will experience the same sensations from lin
seed, mustard or scammony; and an epidemic
Of sneeging was traced 70 the use OF bitter
apple which had been powdered over a variety
Of articles MS preventive Of moth Scents o.
all kinds may induce asthmatic attacks, anc
thundery weather proyokes them
An American writer has remarked tha
tho complaint is patrlcian, occurring mainly
amongst those in high rank and social posi-
ton, OF who are eminent for mental anl
literary attainments- Dtvines, poess, meii
cal men and ladies OF fashion are includeC
in the list Of examples It is certainly
corroborating fact that farmers and flel,
laborers, who are OF necessity exposed t
the influence Of pollen, rarely suffer from it
owing, it is contanded, to absence Of prcdis
position, which mental CULTURE induces
whilst it is more simply explained that the
arc rendered insusceptibls to tho action 0
grasses by constant exposure to their in1u
ence.
ASTHMA FROM AHIlfALS
Similar sufferings to those produced b,
vegetable etiluvia occur from contact witt
many animals. DIR. Hyde Salter, in hi
valuable work ON asthma, relates that he ha
met with many cases in which the efiuvipn
from horses, " Id beasts, guinea pigs, cattle
dogs, rabbits and hares would inmediatel,
give rise TO paroxysm. Ono OF his patient
always had &c of asthma brought on by tn
presence of horses. He was the proprietor 0
an equestrian establishment, and was there
fore always asthmatic; but he had no sus
picion Of the real cause OF his symptoms til
he made his fortune and retired from busi
ness, when he almost Immediately lost them
Cat asthma, from nursing a cat or kitten
closely resembles hay fever, and the parox
ysIns are even more violent. The inauena
seems TO be stronger in kittens from tw
months old and upwards than in full growl
cats; but after the removal Of the cause th
| symptoms very quickly subside Som
people are attacked with sneezing in tn
! presence Of all animals
There is no invention or imagination o
exaggeration in these things, and what ma,
be en- irritant TO one class of asthmatic
may not be in tho least SO to another. On
person is obliged to expatriate himself in th
hay season; another cannot endure the seen
Of flowers; another cannot sleep on a dow
pillow, or use mustard in any shape, or pas
a poulterer's shop. Even the sunlight is ter
riole to some iuveterate sueezers
a sudden fright may induce fit @
asthma, or, on the contrary, may cure it
indeed, cure by violent emotion is NOR
sudden and complete than by any othc
remedy. A confirmed asthmctic states tina
once when he was suffering from an un
usually severe attack, 50 bad that ho hat
been unable to speak or move all day, h
was suddenly alarmed by tho illness Of
relative He ran down two flights Of stair
and up again, administered tho restorative
he bad procured, and then observed, to hi
astonishment, that his asthma was gone
Another sufferer relates that he was in be,
breathing with the greatest difficulty, an,
unable to move, when a fire broke out op
posite his house. When tho excitement We
over, be found that he had been standin,
with others looang ont OF tho window an,
thai lie had forgotten all about his asthma
Chambers Journal
She Lives I'm "A Box.
The attention Of every one about the tw
! railroad stations was attracted by an "Ossi