Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-22
LA GRIPPE IS HERE.
1t is Making Life a Burden to Scores
of Pittsburg People.
SEVERE ATTACKS ARE NUMEROU
One Doctor Declares the Disease is as Prev
alent as Last Year.
BAD WEATHER CAUSES TIE SNEEzlNG

If You have "bad cod Id your node, !"
and feel like man who just escaped from
a peace conference between the rival Celtic
factions you may put it down you have not
yet lost your grippe, but if the case OF in
fiuenza under which you are laboring con-
tinues to do business on your system you
may lose it.
La grippe has struck Pittsburg, and it
has caught on as successfully as first-class
farce comedy playing at popular prices.
Everybody that is anybody-and nearly
everybody ls-has found friend, oh, such
friendl in la grippe, and it clings to them
like climbing vine to brick house.
No fatalities have been reported as vet,
but la grippe is so tenacious that it will not
allow the patient to escape even through the
valley and shadow o! death. Like dragon
it stands before even that reliet when one
thinks death and little white robe would
be comfort.
A DISPATCH reporter yesterday called
on his homeopathic physician and described
his symptoms. A bad cold in the head and
soreness of the lungs, accompanied by
numerous pains whose location could not be
actually described, because they fit to and
fro like hob-goblin.
DECIDED CASES OF THE DISEASE.
Young man, you've got la grippe" said
the doctor, seriously, and he proceeded to
lay out few mild doses. Indeed. they looked
entirely too mild-mannered to tackle a case of
the influenza that mad demonstrated its ability
10 make life burden to its victim.
mis- lryaG m
companions in my misery" asked the patient:
"Uh. yes. DON'T worry ON that score" ," repiled
the disciple of 1Esculapius. There are hun
dreds of people who have even worse case
than yours. Go thv way rejoicing"
Most of the physicians have horror of the
word grippe" for some reason or other. 1t
might be because they object to anything which
can get a tirmer grip on the patient than they.
However, the majority of Pittsburg's physl-
cIans are not that kind, and will acknowledge
rival That ia grippe is in its glory they uo
not deny ana it is said by some tnat lts leroclty
is greater than it was last year. Some physl
clans deny its existence, but others say they
have had ii great many cases of 1t.
DR. Joseph N. Dickson declared yesterday
that he finds as much of it at present as he dld
year ago. There are some new cases, while
others have second attack of the same case
they had year ago. We have four cases IN
IN the house now, and am one of those cases
myself.
THE GERM THEORY EXPLAINED.
''There is no doubt of the germ theory, and
we are now having just the kind of weather
that produces the disease. In cold weather the
germs are driven to the ground, and in warm
weather they are dissipated in the air. The
intermediate temperature throws The germs
into the air we breathe, and thus the disease is
contracted. When the thermometer ranges
from 35 to 65 degrees is the worst time for the
patients.
THE pecularity of the disease IS that it at
tacks the weaker organs of ones system. If
your heart is weak it effects The heart. or it will
Then, it might be the brain, the kidneys, or the
lungs. There is also sometimes combination
of bronchial troubles connected with it. In
some of the most severe cases it will cause
DEATH"
DR.. Hofmann OF Penn avenue. says he finds
a great many severe colds and light attacks of
influenza, but nothing SO serious many he
had year ago. All the cases so far coming
under his notice have been of a mild form.
DR.. Edmundsou, of Fifth avenue. finds
coughs, colds. catarrb and pneumonia in abund-
ance. II can't say that it is the exact type OF
influenza of last year" said he. ''but it is GER
tainly the same thing in y milder form. This
weathe- is very bad, ard it is enough to make
out"
Quito a number of the most prominent
physicians find numerous cases of T. grippe on
their lists, while others that they have so
far failed to encounter anything of really
serious nature. However, there are times
when doctors get run OF one kind of cases.
while other physicians in the same locality do
not secure cases of the same disease, no matter
how prevalent it may be.