Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-09-06
OvERwoRKING THE BRAIN.
Some OF the Early Signs which Indicate
Danger OF Mental Collapse.

Some brain workers toll on year after year
contenting themselves with the relaxation OF .
day or two now and then. says the Boston
Herald They have no real vacations. and the
brief intervals that they are away from their
duties do them but little good. rot being long
enough for them to forget their work and ver-
atoms and get out Of the groove they have
been running in. There comes at last to these
men a time when memory weakens. when a. 10
hard FOR them TO fix the mind upon one sub
ject and their work seems TO grow more and
more irksome. And in conversation there is
slight tendency TO incoherence. II lie rather
difficult for them At times 20 express them
selves clearly; tho suitable words do not come
TO them as readily es they once did
When converslng thew start IN well. but
after a short time their idcss are somewhat
confused aud they obliged 10 make con-
siderable effort 20 keep their attention fixed
upon the subject that they are discussing In
writing there Is a hesitancy. especially on long
words or sentences. They are obliged TO stop
and think. seeming TO drop the thread that they
have been holding. These are signs Of mental
failure which must not be disrvgarded In this
condition of brain exhaustion not only are the
reasoning faculties sluggish. buJ unusual Effort
Is required from the weakened will 10 keep the
attention fixed.
Good mental work Is then ACCOMPLISHED onlv
at the expense OF the brain, which is stu fur
Their weakened by every intense effort The
time has now come when mental rest Is itn-
perative. And II should be as complete an
possible. A long vacation should be TAKEN
short rests are not likely to do any good
sea voyage promises the greatest good TO tho
weakening brain worker. On shlpboard he
seems 20 drop almost entirely out Of his old
life. His vacation should not Ice OF less than q
months duration. aud il ought 20 run on for
several months Failing 70 take the needed
rest insanity is very likely 20 be tho penalty
In occasional instances where the liver II %
fault medicines are capable Of doing COED
But such cases are exceptional. and as a gem
eral rule they would do Indefinitely more harm
than good. The liver Is oTten blamed when
guiltless OF any fault II is quite the custom to
attribute 20 t every little arrangement OF
digestion, and TO try 10 whip IL into line with
laXatives aperients and liver medicines" In
! very many instances the real trouble 10 els
where and the liver IL doing it's work we'll In
most of the others that much-Rbused organ
is simply suffering from exhaustion. induced
by overwork. In only few cases Of the so
| called bihousncss does the liver actually need
| a spur in the shape OF medicine.
Very few people show any consideration for
this most important and faithful organ. Thew
are not only gluttons. but indulge IN foods
! which the liver must work early and late to
dispose OF and when at last 10 is exhausted.
| they try 70 stimulate il with drugs. showing as
little mercy as does the man who belsbors his
| horse which is literally tired out What the
liver needs IN most casessf blliousness is rest.
| and il can only be enjoyed when proper foods
are eaten. IL he with refractory liver will
| only tighten its work occasionally and LED
| drugs alone, he will have but little, IL any
| cause for complaint.
IL child has a convulsion. whatever be the
cause. every possible precaution should lie
| taken TO prevent second attack. Very often
| commissions occur IA infancy in consequence OF
! indlgestible foods and various other causes
/ aud yet are never suffered from ia after life.
| But where several commissions have been eK-
| pcrienced in childhood there are grounds for
| fear that the victim will sooner or later become
epilsptic. large proportion Of cases OF eri-
| lepsy exhibit history of repeated con, ulsiuus
| during childhood. Ii is utterly imposs Die TO
discriminate between those attacks IN children
which are simply accidental and not likfly to
occur again and those which mark the COM
| mencement of lifelong epilepsy.
| Hence, in all Instances, every precautiOn
should be taken against their recurrence. Pc
| yond doubt there are children born with an
/ epiiepuc tendency Nho escape the terrible
| malady, the credit being due 90 parents who 80
1 care for them that the weakness is overcome
| and the nerve system brought up 20 the normal
| degree of strength. Some children, yCly likely,
| are doomed 10 q hopeless epiieI,sy from tie
moment they enter the world. but II N reason-
! able to suppose that the most of those who are
| born with the conyulsiye tendency might re-
cover from it were they rightly treated.
Contrary TO the popular notion. the free use
rise to bowel troubles. IL really tends TO pre-
vent them. Fruits. when rightly INDUCED. are
| easy of uIgestlon; they promote the health 81
the organs which dispose OF them and Keep the
intestinal canal free anG opeu o. cOuase. un-
! ripe or spoiled traits are menace and lab O
| TO excite summer complaint. but beyond doubt
| this Is far the most often caused bv milk AL
| meats which have undergone poisonous changes.
The fact is universally recognized that flesh u
all kinds decomposes very rapidly on keeping
| in hot weather.
1t cannot be as well known that the same
kinds OF food also decompose more duickl '
within the body during that season than they
do in cold weather. The poison which results
from decomposition acts powerfully both &C
an emetic and a purgatye. In n word, ID
causes a severe cholera morbus Fortunately,
the liver Is able TO destroy some of this poison.
There is. however, limit 10 such power. aud
If too much enters or IL generated within tie
system, the liver cannot turn il all back but
some passes into the general circulation, where
II does serious mischief To forego meats en-
tirely and live upon fruits, vegetables and
farnaceOus foods, is infinitely the wisest and
safest plan TO follow during the hot season.
A curious phenomenon which Ii sometimes
met with is the so-called phantom tumor 10
appears in the abdomen and feels under the
hand exactly like a true abdominal tumor. This
occurs almost exclusively in very nervous, hys-
terical women and is the result of muscular
spasm OF the abdominal walls, and possibly the
intestines. In some cases IL persists for a long
time, in others it remains only for a short time,
then disappears. very likely to return again.
| Charlatans occasionally tell OF their marvellous
cures of ovarian tumors. which they have
caused to melt away under their wonderful
magnetic influence. When it is known that
their subjects were hysterical women and their
so-caled tumors were muscular contractions
the mysterious element disappears and leaves
| nothing for the pref, nder to boast Of
A very small quantity OF alcohol taken at the
time of eating will usually act a spur TO d.
gestion and quicken il. But the quantity can
scarcely be greater than a teaspoonfuL What
passes an ordinary drink OF brandy or whisky
| would be quite certain to retard digestion nm
| less the lndulger had a stomach whose func-
lions had been perverted by an Incorporate
| use OF such drinks