Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1890-03-06
HEALTH NOTES.
A Very Common Delusion Which
Is Mere Moonshine.
Treatment of Small Wounds-A Snuff for
Nasal Catarrh-PreparatiOn of Chill
dren's Drinking Water-The Sick
Room-Infant Apparel.

In contemporary there recently ap-
peared highly sensational item about
"a ferocious cat" '1t sucks the breath
of a Beverly child with nearly fatal re-
suits" 1t appears that little girl was
found asleep with a cat lying on its
breast with its head close to her mouth,
sucking her breath" 'The eat was
driven off and the little one tainted
away, and it was feared that she would
die" OF all the delusions which pos
sess mankind-and there are almost as
many as there are grains of sand-this
ing in what is called the enlightened
age, but such yarn as this, reported
with an air of credulity, bellies the fact.
There is absolutely no foundation for
the delusion; it is pure and simple moon
shine. A baby might sleep with a era
die full Of cats without fear of losing its
breath. As far as the danger from them
is concerned, cats are as harmless as
dogs, and every one knows that the
latter are common bedfellows of
children. A good, clean, healthy
dog or cat would not, by sleeping with
1t, threaten the health of child, any
more than would its little brother or
sister. These animals are, of course,
liable to diseases not easily detected by
their owners; they are also often the
the carriers of infectious disease.
Again, they throw off impurities in the
breath and through the skin, as do the
highest order of animals. The sleeping
room of the average child is too small,
and does not hold pure air enough for
him alone: and so another occupant,
be 1t child or dog or cat would
have an unhealthy influence-one would
be as bad as either of the others. For
these reasons it is not we'll to allow
pets to sleep with children, and for none
other The cat lay on the chest of the
Beverly child. The little ones breath
ing, in consequence of the pressure, be-
came laborious. Beyond all doubt,
frightful dreams were also induced.
In one of them the child is suddenly
awakened, and in a state of terror very
likely it did faint away; it would not
have been surprising had convulsion
come on. Assuredly there is nothing
mysterious in this case, and the symp-
toms were but the natural result of the
cause; only very little common sense
is needed to plainly trace one to the
other. But superstition and common
sense are incompatible; and when
they occur together superstition has the
call.
A small cut is often held to be toe
trifling for treatment, and so is practi'
cally neglected. A small wound upon
the hands, as one made by a pin, some.
times proves very dangerous, as appears
from the following case, the facts Of
which were developed at coroner's in
quest in London recently: 1t was shown
by the evidence that the deceased and
his sweetheart were, as the latter said
''larking," when she happened to scratch
his thumb. He disregarded the scratch
which festered and resulted in blood.
poisoning. He was admitted to the
hospital, became delirious, and died foui
days later. Death was due to blood
poisoning following the wound in the
thumb. The jury returned verdict o.
accidental DEATH" Fortunately, such
cases as this are very rare. The hands
of every one come in contact with sub
stances which are more or less poison
Gus. An unbroken skin on any part Of
the body is a very decided barrier to alb
sorption, and that on the hands, thick
ened and hardened, is especially i'm
penetrable. The bodies of victims o.
certain maladies are in the most intense
degree poisonous, and hence are danger
Gus to touch unless care is used
In making autopsies on such, i
there is hangnail on either of the
fingers, or the skin is otherwise broken
unless some especial precaution is taken
blood-poisoning is very likely to result
in consequence of the absorption of tn,
fluids. But while the skin remains in
tact there is little or no danger of sucl
results. Physicians before making a.,
topsies, and students before dissectI.
generally paint any little scrstcf
hsng-nails, etc, with collodion,
afterward lubricate the hands we'll =
sweet oil or some other oily
which closes the pores in the 81
obviates the danger of absorptiG
they cut or prick their hands v
work they rush at once to the s.
tily wash the parts, and then.
wound is bleeding freely, suck
If water is hot handy for
hasty wipe is all that is dor