The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-05-07
Written for TIE NATIONAL TRgEUNE
WEALTH BINTS
For Old and Young.
By FELIX L. OSWALD, ". D.
CHAPTEE OK.


the flight Of birds and the phenomena og the
sky 10 cOnstrue q presage Of conquest and the
Roman General SertOrius went so far a. TO
make the deliberate forgery Of lucky omens
a constant practice.
On the Same plan many clever physicians
fight their battles against the enemies Of human
life. They conceal their own miseiviugs, aud
use every symptom OF recovery to revive the
courage Of their patients; though some Of those
patients are apt TO accomplish the same par
pose by methods Of their own. Sisters Of
Charity, with their firm belief in the prOtec-
tion OF Heaven, 90 unscathed through the
infected districts OF fcver-stricken cities. and
hospital nurses arc apt 20 develop q similar
fearlessness by trusting 10 their constitutional
immunity from cODtagiOn. II seems, indeed
rs II a sort Of instructive foreboding would
indicate the degree of danger in such respects
medical friend OF mine who is a total alb
stainer from stimulants, which his theory
makes to include meat and cheese, has come 10
consider contagious fevers the direct couse-
quence OF dietetic errors. and visits sick-roo
with the confidence Of a rubber-gIOved repairer
Of electric wires. physicians are not Ioug-
lived breed Of our species" says he, but / am
confident that / shall never die Of certain
diseases that scare most Of our fellow citizens
into huudTed-mile runaway race. My friends
ilatter me by suggesting that / must be sus-
tanned by a sense Of duty, but / must confess
yelIow-fcver ii tried to. unless | were first TO
change my plan Of diet for a couple Of years.
With other diseases / might have no such
difficulty, and in spite Of all precautions I am
liable TO ugly misgiyiugs whenever / have %
approach q smallpox patient"
Among those precautions disinfectants are
the most available, though not always the
most popular. Professional nurses often lessen
the gratitude Of their employers By didusing
far-Teachiug OdOr Of carboic acid and DR..
Claude Bernard deserves n statue for publish
ing his experience in favor Of the belief that
ordinary perfumes in small quantities will
answer just the same purpose. They seem TO
Tcpel the floating microbes as they repel moths
aud mice, aud even New Jersey masketOes.
Oil Of anise has pleasant aromatic, but by no
means very powerful! odor yet visitor to one Of
our Atlantic seaside resorts states as the result
OF repeated experiments, that two or three
drops Of that fluid, spriukled on the pillow
just before going 10 bed, will diminish the
gnat- plague OEe-haIf ~ more than can be
claimed for an ordinary mus<etO- bar where
the list Of tipulary insects includes the tiny
variety known as black guats." Musk,
orange-oil, and oil Of bcrgamot have proved
equally etieaeious and certainly deserve to be
tried in preference 10 nauseOu5 chemicals.
Less easy 10 explain is the rationale Of pre-
caution that has proved It's value BY practical
experience, viz, the practice Of taking q small
lunch, eating a handful Of raisins or anything
to employ the stomach, for a couple Of minutes
just before entering a sick-roOm. An empty
stomach increases the effect Of many drugs and
for similar reasons may render the system more
susceptible TO the influence Of the contagious
principle.
Still less easy would il be 10 account for the
influence Of mental conditions in the proven
ton Of disease, but the intimate iuteTactiOn OF
mind and body has been demonstrated by too
III 4 a. -
doubt. DIR. 4. COmbe, in his work on the
Management Of Infancy" quotes a case OF
that sort, which in the Middle Ages would
probably have been aacTibed % the malice Of
supernatural agencies: ~ lady having several
children, Of which none had manifested any
particular tendency 10 cerebral disease, and Of
which the youngest was healthy infant q few
months old, heard Of the death from acute
hydrocephalusJ Of the infant child Of a friend
residing at a distance. with whom she had been
on terms Of close intimacy, and whose family
had increased almost simultaneously with her
own. The circumstance naturally made
strong impression on hes mind, and size seems
to have dwelt upon 1t the more, as she hap
pcncd at that period 10 be separated from the
rest Of her family, and to BE- much alone with
her baby. One morning, shortly after having
nursed IT, she laid the infant in tho cradle,
asleep aud apparently in perfect health. Her
attention was shortly attracted By q noise aud
on going 10 the cradle she found the child in a
convul5On which lasted few moments and
then left it dead"
The mere dread Of having been bitten by
rabid dog has more than once developed all the
characteristic symptoms Of q disease OF which
the suspected animal was afterward found to
be Vholly free.
Passion may produce kindred effects by
somehow exerting depressing influence on
the vital organism, and in No. 5l6 of the Lon
don LaHcet "a correspondent describes the case
Of "a woman who had a small tumOr removed
from the back OF her head, and for several days
after remained in an irritable temper, but
without serious consequences, till one morning
she fell into a violent passion. Soon after
ward she suckled her child, which almost at
once was seized with commissions, and died be-
fore the doctor had reached its bedside. A still
stranger case is that Of puppy which was
seized with epileptic commissions on sucking its
mother after fit of rage"
a writer on the treatment Of scurvy describes
the effect of the opposite emotions-bope and
confident expectation Of recovery: During
the siege OF Breda in 1925, the garrison having
been reduced to a state of extreme distress by
scuTvy in it's severest form, attended with a
great mortality, so that the city was on the
point Of captivating, the Prince Of Orange
managed 20 send word that the officers should
soon be provided with medicines of the greatest
q
detection Of camOmile and camphOr were put
in the hands OF each physician, and il was
publicly given out that three or four drops of
the mixture were sufficient TO impart a healing
virtue To gallon of hquor-not even the COM
manders being led into the secret. The effect Of
the soldier faith in the Princes Remedy
was most marvellous, for not only was the
spread Of the disease checked, but % large pro-
portion of those who were then suffering under
it, including many who had been for some time
completely inyalided, recovered very rapidly"
Persons who cannot get themselves worked
up into the requisite amount OF confidence in
iaith-cures of that sort, may at least divert
their minds from the thought Of danger by
engaging in notwithstanding pursuits on
the plan of Marshal SOult, who advised the d rst
Napoleon to protect the health of his army
during a tedious eneampment by iHstituting
athletic prize contests aud let the company
commanders read off every night bulletin
Of foot-races and wrestling matches.
As q rule the c0ntagiOn Of epideMies spreads
most rapidly ia damp, warm weather, aud it is
a good plan to attend to city business on cool,
clear mornings, and stay at home as much as
possible during the afternoon, especially on
sultry or rainy days. During the recent grippe
epidemic in the city Of Chicago, the rate Of
mortality was found 20 huctuato with every
change OF the thermometer and reach its max
imum at the end OF ! warm, cloudy week about
the end OF March.
"Avcid crowd" is in such cases a general
rule which might be modified by the advice to
avoid crowded rooms public or private. and
stuify street-cars. A mass meeting in open air
tpu1f coincide with suaci.liy uuf1var..Ifa at