Wichita eagle., 1889-09-06

| ty. A second seems to suffer exclusively from
influenza; a third from coryza: fourth
| from a mild but incesSant catarrh; a fifth
| from a sore throat, and sixth from bad
cold and general depression In several in
| stances the Eustachian tubes and even the
| inner ear are affected, resulting i'll partial
deafness, pain, roaring n the ears and other
| and kindred troubles. Nausea, lack OF appe-
| tite, indigestion and other gastric troubles
| have also been remarked by good authori-
| tee.
| Notwithstanding the ignorance which pre-
walls as to the nature, causation and treat
| ment of hay fever, much valuable informa-
| ton has been collected in the past five years
by physicians and scientists At the break
ing out of the complaint the nasal secreUions
are found to contain a number Of bacilIi very
similar to those found by Huxley and Tyn-
dali in hay dust and the atmosphere Of noto-
rously unhealthful stables and barns. These
bacilli increase with terrific rapidity, and
seem to swarm in the field of the microscope
when the disease reaches its worst stage. At
ter a day or two they are found in the saliva
and the other juices of the mouth. They
have also been found il the passages, in
water of the eye and in the contents Of the
stomach As the disease diminishes the ba-
cilli grow less in number and, it would seem,
in vitality as well Some German n1icroscop-
lists claim that there are two distinct kinds of
microbes instead Of one, as is the prevalent
opinion in this country The difference seems
immaterial BECAUSE whether one or two In
kind, they behave in the same way and un-
dergo the same development and change
A %hac 7ra IF I Y do
stroyed by the germicide compounds Of cheni-
cal science Corrosive sublimate, salicylin,
zinc chloride, iodide or suhphate, camphoric
acid, thymoi, eucalyptin, carbolic acid, iron
salts. sulphurous acid, whether in vapor or
solution, chloride Of lime, and the remainder
of the long series of antiseptics, disinfectants,
anti-zymotics and bacillicidee discovered by
science in late gears, have been used in this
regard ard have proved of greater or less
virtue in relieving, if not in curing, hay fever
The present and the better practice seems to
be in using those preparations which Kill the
microbes, such as very delicate corrosive sub
Innate, salicylic acid salts, c=anphoric acid
and thymol, without irritating the human
tissues, giving pain or producing unpleasant
results.
Where, as is almost always the case, there is
Inflammation and constituencies OF the interior
tissues of the nose, the more common treat
ment has been to combine with the germicide
some sedative, such as morphine or cocaine
While relief has in such instances been almost
invariably obtained, cures have been rare
OF the many observers who have tabulated
the disease, the most sang7,ine statement has
been that 10 per cent. of tho afflicted have
been restored to health through the Sc of
medicine; the least favorable makes the
figures per cent, while the average is about
T. This may in all probability be accepted as
an approximation to the truth.
It is an instructive commentary upon the
efficiency of the physicians art. A disease
which seems simple, which involves no vital
organ or function and which never results in
death. sets at naught the medical faculty and
appears as mysterious and insoluble as lep-
rosy, lupus, cancer and hydrophobia Nor
is this stating the facts too strong" OF the
many opinions of great physicians compiled
by the Hay Fever association, each one is
confession of the inability of the medical
profession to cope with the evil. $50 to the
mountains, sail out on the ocean, travel in
high ATTITUDES, or else stay home and suffer
till the disease has run its course" is almost
the only advice that can be obtained from
the schools.
Yet there is a bright light upon the hori
ION. Electrical science, which has revolu
tionizad medical science as well as the other
great fields of human life in the past deca de,
now proposes to enter the lists gainst hay
fever. AS the disease appears to be the re-
suit of some weakness or morbid action of
the nerves, both local and constitutional COM
plcated by the attacks of bacili which come
into active life in the summer months, the
acknowledgements proposes to treat the
former with electrical currents and the latter
with the germicides already described
Dr. A W. Jackson, prominent medical
electrician, says: "There is no doubt that
the cure of hay fever lies in the proper
application of the galvanic force The
Interior cause Of the malady lies in morbid
nervous action, local and general, for which
electricity offers the best, if not the only,
remedy. The treatment to be used is not as
vet quite certain but wall consist in stimu-
1ating and strengthening the nerves with
mild continuous currents, and In local appli-
cations of the force both continuous and.
alternating. With this, Of course there must
be employed some non-iIritating auiseptc
which viii destroy the microbes that seem
TO be the immediate cause Of the disease.
Some electricians go so far as to believe that
the current will destroy many of the microbes,
but this is, think, matter of conjecture
rather than an aScertained fact. The SUCCESS
under the treatment l have described is
greater then that under any other known
system, and is close on to % per cent. That
il will go higher with increased knowledge is
evident to any one who knows the progress
of eectro-therapeutics in the past ten years. "
In the meantime, and until jackson and
his fellow electricians perfect their new sys-
TEN, the only thing TO be said to rich suffer
ers from the malady is "Go to the White
Mountains or else to the Paris exposition"
and 10 poor ones stay at home and suffer.
FALES-CURFIs.