Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-02-09
NEW YORK LETTER.
M. JANEwAy ON OUR NATIONAL
scOURAGE, PNEUMONIA
r.,sss that Produce Pneumonis-Hsrsdi-
t.ry Deterioration-Our Overheatsd
DwelIines-Thc Grip and It's
Curc-Bronchitis,E Etc.
correspondence Of tho Richmond Dispa.ch.I
New YonK. Februarv 1900

| fion pneuWohin hhS Increased IN the United
States to an extent that makes il almost a
n,a,,onal scourge. In the larger cities IL
10 especially dreaded. The mortality lists
chow that it ia responsible for a very large
proportion OF deaths. and science has thus
Far been apparently unavailing in restrict
inc It's ravages. In majority of cases
ayen the most skilled physicians acknow-
ledee themselves powerless TO do more
than soothe the sufferer. az the disease,
once begun. must run its course.
Lately public attention has been spe-
cially directed to this modern scourge,
which has come to be recognized as the
natural sequel of many of the milder forms
Of lung trouble. Not in many years has
death made so wide swath among the
ranks of the famous as during the present
winter. Both here and in Europe the wave Of
pneumonia that followed in the wake of la
grippe carried of hundreds who we're emf
nent in all the notable paths of life-kipgs,
sayants, authors, and statesmen alike. For
weeks the press in almost every American
city printed long and ominous daily lists of
the dead. If ever visitation of cholera or
vellow-feyer had produced one quarter of
the number of deaths directly traceable to
pneumonia III any one season the commu-
nifty wound have been panlc-strlcken.
INVESTIGATION or PNEUMONIA.
There is very general movement on the
mart of the medical fraternity here and
elsewhere to devote the fullest investiga-
tion TO pneumonia and its train of kindred
diseases rs the most important question
that affects the public health at the pres
emit time. 1t may presently be expected to
occupy a leading place as O topic in the
medical journals and among hospital
studies. There are already several hundred
works upon the subject. mainly European;
| iav nd
these are inadequate.
Yesterday / called upon one of New
York's most distinguished physicians, DIR:
Thomas Theodore Janeway, and talked
with him about the remarkable growth of
this deadly disease.
Pneumonia ls q comparatively recent
name for what was known fifty years ago
under a variety of different designations"
he said 1T is the same with diphtheria,
which many people regard az a new
disease, but it isn't. II is identical with an
ailment which some four or five centuries
ago was known as the Syrian sore throat
because it was thought to have been i'm
ported TO Europe from Syria"
HrGH-PREssURE CIVILIZATION"
"To what causes do you attribute the re-
markable increase of pneumonia"
at is chiefly due to our changed habits
of life and to the high-pressure civilization
of the age we arc living in" he replied.
THE higher the civilization the more liza
bic we are to diseases. While | believe
that on the whole men and women are bet
ter physically to-day than they were in
the time Of our forefathers, still there arc
many enervating habits contracted and
many facilitating usages. Men are per-
haps more liable to disease from these
| causes than women. 10 is one OF the
penalties Of o high-pressure civilization.
ut would be tedious 10 enumerate the
causes that produce such effects. Our
people live in rooms heated by steam
or by furnaces. and lily ventilated; indeed
not infrequently fresh Dir Is almost shut
out from superheated dwellings. Late
hours and improper food have, / think,
| very little to do with it, although OF course
| they help along the general deteriora-
| ton. The habit Of promiscuous drink
| ing has to do with it great deal. 1t may
| not act directly on the individual. but
| tho next generation feels the effects.
| In this way hereditary deterioration is
established. There is a constant influx of
bright men from the country districts to
| the cities. and their families very often
amount to nothing, from the causes have
indicated. How few brilliant men of the
last generation have children anyway equal
| 10 themselves? If there is any deteriora-
| ton in the race it is in the cities. But 1t
would be unjust to claim because of nu-
| merous instances that the whole race is
| therefore deteriorating."
DETERIORATION IN THE CITIES.
as it among this class that the national
| disease finds its readiest subjects?"
Unquestionably. Now. a great deal
| has been said lately concerning the condi-
| ton of the blood in diseases like the grip,
consumption, and pneumonia. Thefact is,
| the condition of the blood in a majority Of
diseases is still debatable question. BY
| that mean that it is not Of all settled that
| it really undergoes any radical change IN
any of the lung-diseases."
"You have read of the discovery by
Professor Weichselbaum, of Vienna, OF the
grip bacillus?"
Yes with n smile. II am not pre-
pared to either give assent or denial to
the report. The Professor is well-known
savant. but he cannot be placed in the
same category as Koch. | should not care
to consider az serious any alleged dis
covery that was not conducted on a
thorough and scientific plan of investiga-
ton. The bacillus of consumption has
been fully investigated and is we'll defined.
but the experiments with the bacillii of
pneumonia ale vet in their infancy. The
system of producing these minute bacillii
by the culture process is an extremely deli
cate one and calls for great skill"
THg GRIPPE AND ITS CURE.
"Now that the grippe is about over,
what is your conclusion as to its real cha
racter?"
Tho grippe is pure Misunderstanding
else.n
There nre many people living in the in
terror, far from any large city. who find it
impossible to call in the aid of skilled ply
sicians when attacked by pneumonia. Can
you not furnish few practical hints for
such cases?"
a few simple rules might be laid down.
On the first appearances Of the disease the
patient should be put to bed Immediately
and not allowed to leave it until the dan
ger is over. He should be given a small
dose of calomel. This should be followed
by Browns mixture or the compound lico-
rice mixture. as il is called in the Phama-
copeia. Two grains of quinine every
three hours will keep down the
fever Milk or light broth every two
or three hours should be given. The
room should be kept at a uniform tenn
perature of about 20 degrees and ventilated
from the adjoining room. so as not to snb-
iect the patient to drauSht. A woollen
cloth should be thrown over the chest, but
the patient must not be smothered with
pillows. A blister might be placed on the
chest where the pain IS most intense. 1t
can De tfealeu WIN sweet OIL OF EdStline
when it is desired to remove it. As little |
stmulants as possible should be given, I'M
less the patient is weak; but this is seldom |
the case with people in the country.
SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMONIA.
"Pneumona." added DIR. Janeway. |
generally begins with a chill, followed |
after twenty-four hours bya high tempera- |
ture a pain in the side, through the back, |
or under the armpit. The pain is generally |
in the right side. AS it increases it becomes |
harder for the patient to breathe. and his |
respirations are deep and difficult. 1t Is |
accompanied by pumping headache, |
still more rapid breathing, and a flushed |
and anxious face. tho features being drawn |
aud haggard about the lips and the skin of |
the mouth. There is high fever; the [
sufferer is restless and sometimes de /
lirious.
II don't think it is possible to adopt alb
solute precautions foravoiding pneumonia. |
After it has begun it must run its course, |
like all other contagious diseases. Old |
people are specially liable to it, and those |
who are dissipated. IL finds its easiest |
victims among those who drink heavily. /