The times., 1897-05-16
What It Is and What Can Be
Done for 1t.
THE PNEUMo-GAsTRIc NERVE
A New York Physicians Close
Analysis of This Most Eccentric
Afflictfon-A Near Relation OF
Hypnotism-It Is Wise to Stay on
Deck as Much as Possible.


physician, who has served as ship
surgeon several seasons, lis one of the
oldest things that human flesh is heir 70.
1t is really reflex action of the pneUmo-
gastric nerve. The pneumo-gastric nerve
is one of the tenth pair OF cranial nerves
The nervous system OF the human anatomy
becomes accustomed TO the stability OF
objects around us, and, consequently, as
soon as most people get on the sea, where
the only thing in Sights rolling waves and
fleeting clouds, the pneumo gastric nerve
rebels
'Seasickness mi ght as well be called land
sickness or sky sickness or mountain sick
ness as far as the name itself goes, be-
cause person who has never seen a body
of water bigger than the spring branch on
the farm where he was reared sometimes
experiences what is known as seasickness
in riding on pond or lake Riding in
train, swinging, seesawing,. and riding in
al elevator produce it, and persons looking
at the pockets on fence in driving by
rapidly, have been known to become very
fall out of swing or from a seeSaw
all in heap, and too prostrated, physically
and mentally, to speak That is the result
of seasickness
.'Of COURSE, il is not so severe or lasting
as case which occurs, say. when one is u
day out at sea, but II is just as disagree
able for a few minutes. Be that as il
may, tits called seasickness, because most
persons red onland and when travel.
Ing on water the abrupt change of their
usual surroundings gives rise TO this re-
flex.
The severity OF the disease varies among
individuals according 10 the condition OF
the nervous system. Some persons are
much more impressionable than others,
and they are the ones who suffer most. A
high-strung. nervous, hystecicalpersOnis the
one most apt To suffer, yet this is not in
yarlably So often q great,ystrong man,
Dragging every few minutes about being d
first-class sailor, is seized and brought so
low that all he can do Is to want to die
'Hypnotisn and seasickness are pretty
close cousins. A persons mentality has
q great deal TO do with. the, degree OF his
suffering and yet the consition itself when
realized is most horrible The depression
is fearful and the physical discomfort just
as great. a popular idea exists that If you
have seaSckness once that gives immunity
from second attack. The man who sets
his hopes on this belief Is TO be pitied. A
person might cross the ocean twenty times
q year and be seasiek every time. Again
he might cross ninety aine times without
missing meal and die OF nausea on the
hundredth voyage. Sea voyages are like
childrcn-you never knew bow they are
going TO turn out, as far as your pneuno-
gastric nerve is conceEaed.
The condition of seasickness is greatly
aggravated by surroundings, particularly
bad odors. Steerage passengers are much
more apt to suffer than are those i'll the
first and second cabins. Their close con-
finement between decks, the narrow,
stifling quarters, and -uuappetizing food
are often such as would make a seasoned
sailor succurnb It is In this class that
the ships surgeon has his most aggravated
and dangerous cases of seasickness. The
patients will not assist themselves, and
their general stupidity makes 1t very hard
for doctor to do anything more than TO
hope that kind nature or a rapid voyage
will do what he has failed to accomplish.
asked the reporter.
II can't say that there are many deaths
from this disease" answered the author
ity, "but those who say Well, know L shall
be very seasick, but thereis great deal Of
consolation in knowing that II can't kill
me- don't know what they are talking
about. The great depr ession and the
wearing, tearing strain on the nervous
system, produced by the convulsive action
of the abdominal muscles and the inability
OF the system to take nourishnient, oc-
casionally result in death. A ships sur
geon, IL not extremely careful, is liable to
have seasick patients, through their own
ignorance or religious prejudices, starve 10
death. What is meant by that? Just this:
AS rule children do not get seaSck. But
/ remember, when crossing the ocean one
summer, being called TO see two children
in the Storage who were very H. They
were Polish Jews, and the mother and
father were with them.
''They were all rather emaciated when
they came aboard, and in three days the
boy was in q comatoSe condition except
when reused bynausea There wasn no medi-
cine that would do him any good, and L
soon saw that the only thing was TO nour-
ish the little fellow. / ordered the mother
to give him beef tea and few drops OF
brandy at short intervals, but to my sur
prise he did not rally. j soon learned that
it was part of her creed not to eat any
meat that had not been blessed by rabbi,
and so she was calmly throwing the beef
tea overheard. We put the child in the hos
pital; the attendant fed him every two
hours, an d before we landed he was better
than he was before he sailed. Twenty four
hours more without nutrition would have
killed him.
"Never get in debt to your stomach, is a
very good rule to follow when sailing the
seas If well, a person should Keep some
thing in the stomach, and If sick, after
each spell some food should he taken for
two reasons. First, there should be sofile-
thing there TO give up, and then the sys-
TEN is bound to absorb some OF 1t, anu
In this way the strengths kept up. There
is absolutely no medicine on the race or
the earth that will stave off a case of
seasickness or makeit lighter. Any doctor
will give reams of testimony concerning the
trouble he has hadin fighting the numerous
concoctions recommended for this disease
Some people begin to dose for days be-
fore starting on voyage. The only thing
that is advisable is to give the liver a
thorough overhauling and then make up
the mind that no such thing as seasickness
can come to you.
"It is wise to stay on deck as much as
possible Usually If person who Is SICK
can be persuaded to go on deck, and lbs