New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-16
CHANGE OF AIR.
SCIENCE OF THE MATTER-A REVOLT
TON IN MEDICAL OPINION
From The New Review.

SCIENCE OF THE MATTER-A REVOLT
TON IN MEDICAL OPINION.
From The New Review.
Although change Of air. is one OF the most gen
orally recognized means Of restoring lost heaitn,
very little is known to the reasons why tempo,
removal to new district is frequently OF sucn
great benefit to invalids.
That progress has been made on the pract,caiw IA.
distinct from the purely scientifc-sde OF the SUD
ject is made plain by the fact that most Oh inc
hundred years ago have now been almost entirely
discarded Better methods Of observation and
more exact habit OF recording results OF treatment,
IL enlightened theories on the Physiological
effects Of change OF air-have enabled US 10 take
seems odd enough to in the present day that our
and their physicians c ann
spoke warningly OF Its dampness and chilling enects
and trying for delicate lungs In the olden tune
dwellings were scarcely ever built on an erninehce
sites being those in sheltered valleys Most OF our
ancient mansions and farmhouses occupy damp ana
Builder Would think Of selecting English literature
tells the same story From the time OF Elizabeth 10
hst Of Tnd ns Of as the
ideal places for human dwellings Up to the time OF
to warm and damp regions such as the West In.
dies or Madeira. because 1t was thought that
from the harshness OF our climate. A very favor
tie last OF the eighteenth century physician
since it was thought that natal air. would be
likely to prove peculiarly beneficial This last
from our modern standpoint. strikes being
something more than mere piece Of plausible en-
faith physc the doctors Of those days did not lose
sight of the Importance Of conforming to Natures
programme.
CLEAN SEA AND MOUNTAIN AIR
Although the beneficial effect of sea voyages was
to extent recognized. It is easy TO understand
that the ships OF the seventeenth and eighteenth
Wb sa Hp and nu nsrd biscuits scarcely gave
broken-do invalid fair chance OF deriving any
great amount Of good from change OF air taken un-
der such conditions
Generally speaking we now consider that sea
from organic impurities. Probably IT is this quail
ity more than any other. which gives II It's revlv-
ciogged and polluted atmosphere OF large towns.
Yet purity Of the atmosphere per Sc Is no prevent
OF patients to seaside watering places and high
land sanatorums II any invalid who has thus
tives Of his favorite health resort, he would prob
ably be dsqueted to find that pale sickly children
Patients With weak lungs are often sent to winter
in Devon and Cornwall, although the mortality from
dents OF these favored counties is not whit less
than among the jewellers In the midlands and the
counted for that such migrants to warmer climes /
almost always derive marked benefit from the
When the late John Addington Symonds first
went to live In the searching and rarehed atmos-
phere OF the Engadine, not few OF his friends
thought that he was making a fatal mistake. and
that he would certainly the ienfsnGy to
But sinae then opinion has so veered round that
64f aP paces Of refuge %
Lattery certain dry and elevated parts Of South
favor. because it has been found in many cases
that the safety of the patient depends upon his re-
Of BrtaR p' and the colonies offer greater advan
tages in the way of occupation than do the Alpine
regions Of Europe.
NOT A QUESTION OF TEMPERATURE.
1t is by no means easy to indicate all the reasons
" a health
beneficial in Of weakness of the lungs. AS
as our ancestors Imagined e and although dryness
may have something to do with f. we ind that our
ferers from chest complaints. There can be no
SG sss TFo1 sa e scGr Sf aa
ing recovery. Consumption. like all other diseases
ms S s according to the latest medical Phil
osophy. strife between the constitutional garri-
blood corpuscies and the invading hordes of the
enemy. The various characteristic symptoms
many phases Of the Combat Many physicians hold
a' the ana en H hs
that the skin. as an excretory organ as we'll as
porant strategic point and therefore attracts the
Sombatants Of both armies In the near neghbor.
strife goes on between the phagocytes and their
microscopic antagonists and the result is certain
ing tissues AS a rule, the defence and attack are
so conducted that the war is prolonged for days
side are nicely balanced II the invaders can be
Kept in check In this manner the disease
wears itself out, for the heterogeneous cannot
stand long siege, owing to the readiness with
which they exhaust the provisions around them.
There is also good reason for believing that these
living posons provide their antidotes for II Is
found that In places where they have lived a new
material has been developed probably
product excreted by the bacteria themselves which
Is nimical 10 their continued existence II seldom
happens that the human fortress Is carried by as
sault at the first onset; although in some cases Of
cholera. pneumonia, and In fact nearly all kinds
OF diseases caused by heterogeneous such n
rapid and fatal termination OF attack may take
place within very short time Of the first invasion
Now In the air Of this thckly populated country
1t has been abundantly demonstrated that living
only are they set ahoat in countless myriads from
their breeding places generally some living fellow
creature), but the humidity and temperature Of our
atmosphere serve to maintain them for some time
In lively condition and possibly to enable them
TO increase. II is plain that II lessen or
lanx or phagocytes Will have much better chance
or conquerng and expelng the foe One
way OF bringing this about Is the removal Of the
patient TO climate where the physical wear and
tear are somewhat lessened. and where the atmos-
phere Is not only normally free from disease germs
but Is inimical TO their existence outside the body
All this Is fairly comprehensive: but It is evidently
not the whole story There contiguous regions
In South Africa where the air is equally pure ac-
cordng TO physical tests. and yet proves Ia
vorabe to consumptive patients and the other
rather the reverse
VIRTUE IN MERE CHANGE
This brings back to the evident fact that there
is peculiar virtue in mere change. 1t seems TO
give FLIP to the whole system. and especially TO
increase the recuperative power. The persistent |