The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-16
DEATH AMONG FlREMeN.
About Forty Per Cent Succumb to Iseepir
ntOry Dlscascs.

Aeoue Forty Fer Cent Succumb to Iseepir-
! Rtory Diseases.
| DIR. Mays Of this city has recently
been conducting Investigations for tho
! purpose OF determining what proportion
OF deaths among flrcmen arc duo to con-
sumption OF the lungs. Tho results ap-
pear in tho Philadelphia Medical and
Surgical Reporter. and they reveal the
fact that this class OF mon arc singular
ly promo to fall victims to that gravest
of maladios.
IIe sont out circular to each Of the
fire departments OF tho principal Amor
lean cities, and tho returns showed that
during given period thcre had been
dS4 deaths from all causes. la of those
deaths be;ng caused by consumption, So
by other diseases OF tho lungs, 1923 by other
diseases than consumption and those of
tho lungs. and 1870 by accident
According to this showing very nearly
one-third of those who died had con-
sumption, and larger number died
from that disease than in consequence
OF accidents. Notwithstanding the haz-
ardous nature of their calling. But
this, says the doctor, does not give q
truo idea OF the fireman's liability to
pulmonary diseases; nor, perhaps, of his
whole liability to consumption, for 1t is
quito certain that this disease makes q
frequent beginning in pneumonia or
bronchitis among these mon.
Tho total number of deaths from pneu-
monia were thirty-eight. but there is o
good reason for believing that at least
some OF these were duo to consumption.
From an inquiry into the length OF sick
ness OF those who are reported as having
died from pneumonia in tho Philadel-
phia department. probably none died
from acute pneumonia. But ovcnitt this
suspicion is not we'll founded. in any
case it still remains fact that forty por
cent. OF tho causes OF death to which the
fireman is Liable como through respir-
atory di eases.
Considering that fircmen arc picked
mon, and subject to the rigid physical
examinations when they enter upon
their duties, they may be considered an
unusually healthy class when they join
their department, and singularly free
from even tho tendencies to consump-
ton Now. tile generally accepted tho
DRY as to the causation Of this disease is
that it is conveyed from one person to
another: in other words. that it is conta-
gious, and OF germ origin.
DR.. Mays emphasizes the fact that
hremen. of all mon, are tho least liable
to contract consumption by contagion,
hence he believes that the results OF his
investigations among this class OF men
goes long way to prove that consump-
ton can not possibly be dependent upon
a single specific cause. lie says that he
who carefully watches the different
steps in lis development must feel that
1t rises only when and where the bodily
energies arc sapped and exhausted re-
gardless OF tho absence or presence of
exposure to specific germ. Hence,
any cause which is capable OF destroy
ing the vigor and vitality OF tho body is
also potential cause OF pulmonary con-
sumption.
So far as he is able to Judge. there is
no class of mon who arc more omen to
encrvating and depressing physical in
huences, or who suffer greater drpriva-
tons OF rest and sleep than tho iiremcn
OF large cities. Liable to he called out
ut any time, their lfc is, in great pat
ono OF perpetual excitement The sud-
den transition from warm room to ac-
tive duty on cold winters night
sometimes tho urgency LoiDg so great
that they AFRO compelled to finish their
toilet en- route to fire; the daring, the
excessive and almost superhuman cXer-
ton demanded in battling with tho
flames: the extreme oscillations Of tenn
pcrature to which their bodies are sub
jectcd bathed in Precipitation at ono
moment and drenched and chilled by an
icy stream of water tho next; the ncccs-
sity during emergencies OF wearing and
even sleeping in wet clothing from ono
fire to another are burdens which no
human constitution can long SUCCESS
fully withstand, and arc unquestionably
some OF the most prominent causes
which undermine the health of these
self-sacrilicing men and make them so
vulnerable to the disease undor consid-
Grafton. --Phiiadelphia Press.
Curious Prescription.
few days ago a Chinaman named
Wong Chin Foo. residing at 2 Mott