Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-12
MODERN MALADIES.
Diseases Following in the Train o
 Progressing Civilization.

All About Railroad Kidney, Telephon,
 Tinnitus, Electrical Sun-Stroke, Tole.
 scopic Eye and Numerous Other
 New-Fangled Ailments.
 AS every pleasure in life brings its corresponding pain or bitterness, so il
 may be said that every civilized aid te
 existence devised for human kind de
 velops an agency for introducing new
 Ills to torment alike suffering flesh and
 the Esculapian brain. The invention
 or steam locomotion, telegraph and tele.
 phone Instruments, electric lighting and
 various time and labor-saving machines
 while adding SO much to public comfort
 and convenience, havo also brought into existence curious diseases, which, ac. cord1ng to the Times and Register, form interesting contributions to medical science, although less interesting and more expensive to the suffering victim
 Railroad spine, or railroad shock, an affection unknown before travel by rail became so common, has been a familiar malady for some time; but one more recent is rail road kidney, a disease not unlike Br1ghts disease, but of nervous origin, due to concussions received on rail roads. There Is disturbance of the general system, especially of the func- tlons Of the kidneys, the symptoms lis appearing when the sufferer leaves his regular work. The overuse of the telephone produces 8 curious disease, in some respects a form of asemasia, a volitional overstraining of certain powers by which we perceive spoken words when nnf or perceive his gestures or the move- ment of his lips, thus creating confusion of ideas, general nervousness and lack of self-control. Certain of the senses are developed at the expense of others, the natural equilibrium being unbal- anced. Telephone tinnitus, aural over- pressure, is caused by the constant strain of the auditory apparatus in per- sons who use the telephone continually, the ear becoming intolerant of the tinkle of the bell. The symptoms are buzzing noises in the ear, dizziness, neuralgia pains, and, in some instances, sub-inf1ammatory condition of the membrane tympani. The telegraphers' cramp and the professional akinesia are of the same order of affections as the writer's cramp or the violinists' cramp. Electrical sunstroke is an affection that attacks those who are exposed to the intense rays of the electric arc used in fusing or welding metals, protection against this being afforded by wearing a mask of gray taffeta and gray eyeglasses. Op- thalmia photoelectrica is an 1nf1amma- tion of the ey& in persons employed about electric lights, and is caused by looking at these brilliant lights at a short distance away. A succession of bright spots repidly follow one another over the visual field, and at night there is inability to look at light without pain and profuse flow of tears; the eyelids are swollen and movements of the eye painful. This lasts few hours, and is succeeded by feeling of pain. ful weariness. The ordinary telescopic vision is disease by which the visual field is limited concentrically, and the sufferer can finally see nothing except that which is directly in front of his eye; this condition being due to lack of nutrition of the retina or to some dis ease of the periphery. An affection of vision similar to the telescopio eye may also be produced by the action of qui- nine. The telescopic eye peculiar to lighthouse keepers is thickening and enlarging of the bony walls of the orbit, caused by the persistent and re- peated pressure at the end of the tel escope upon the surroundings of the eye, inducing g chronic form of periostitis or ostitis: the eye gradually protruding, but not becoming myopic or astigmatic. The divers bends is 8 new form of caisson disease, which attacks the victim on his return to the open air with nervous prostra- tion. The cavities connected with the nasal passages are obstructed in some cases completely while the men are at work, and in some cases extreme deaf ness has been induced. The sufferers often reel and stagger like drunkards, and metimes are affected with-partial paralysis. Electricity has been used with success for the treatment of this disease. Civilized indulgences and van ities have also contributed their share of the diseases that af1ict the modern world. Tight shoes, by oompressing the nerves of the foot, have created 'Mor- tons toe." Then the tennis elbow and | baseball shoulder tell their own story; while chronic catarrh is in 8 large num- Der of cases said to be due to cigarette throat, the result of smoking the much | condemned but still favorite cigarette. Inventive genius is still at work improv- ing the arts and sciences, and SO the de- ! mon of disease, ever on the alert, will ! swoop down with his at- tendant ills to the end of time, keeping l with the march of civilization. !
 The Preachers Encomium.
 There recently died man who had | for years kept a drug store in Medford. |