The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1897-08-06

| reported to the Academic dc Medic
cine on June q, 1892, ninety-cight
cases is only six years, which is just
twenty-six cases more than Pasteur
himself reported fJr eight years.
The same manipulation may
be found in the reports for other
years. DR.. Dulles attributes the
faith in the Pastcur method, which
has so widely extended among med
ical men, to the "stupendous tallacy
thst Pasteur has saved from death by
hydrophobia during the last eight
years nearly $4,000 persons, who are
in the report spoken of as cured
Of this number he is supposed to
have cured about 1,400 Frenchmcn
in the year 1S93-morc persons than
have died from hydrophobia in the
United States in a century DR..
Dulles believes that the Pastcu,
method has done nothing whatever 10
diminish hydrophobia, but rather,
on the contrary, that it has done
much to increase the number Of cases
of simulated hydrophobia. and still
further, that it has communicated to
large number Of persons purely
artificial disease by the injection of
diseased animal matter into their
veins. In this opinion Drc Dulles
may be in error, but if lie is, it is in
cumbent upon the disciples Of Pas
teur to show his error. Until they
shall do so, We do hot see how nor
why any one should be expected to
regard the Pastcur method with any
thing but grave apprehension.
TIE BUIssoN CURE BY vAroR BATHS.
Another method Of cure has recent.
ly come into much favor with the
medical faculty in general. 1t is
called the Buisson cure. 1t is very
simple, and it has this great merit,
at least, that if it does no good. it
can do no harm. 1t consists simply
of hot vapor bath, repeated nor,
or less frequently, u. Duis.ion re-
commenting at least seven baths rs
desirable, if not essential, to a COM
plcte cure. The theory is that the
poisonous matter absorbed into the
system from the bite ola rabid dog
is completely cxcrctcd by these baths.
DR.. Huisson himself was bitten by .
MAD -'log in 1926. lie took varor
Daths anu was he'~N- ettnckea- -Lx Inv
drophobia. In other cases of ptrsoils
who had had Il similar misfortune DIR.
Buisson has followed the same treat
ment with invariaLlo success. In
England ana elsewhere, particularly
of late years, the same treatment has
been applied and appears to have bccn
equally effective. TO say the least
We should expect it to be so. 1t is
reasonable to believe that the protusc
pcrsplration caused by IA vapor bath
should completely cxcrctc the poison
Gus element lodged in the patient BY
tho teeth ofthe dog. Repeated baths
would, of course, be oven more effect
i've in this way than single bath.
The effect upon the pa.icnt's nervous
system might also be reasonably cx-
pected to be soothing and quoting.
The hope and belief of the effective
ness OF the remedy would Danish that
cxpectant attention which appears TO
be the real cause of the hyStclical af-
lection known by tnc name of hydro
phcbia. ~ Al, events it is free from
the da"gcrs Of the pastcur treatment,
and it may help to hasten tic time
whom the superstition of hydrophobia
shall cease to effect civilized mankind.
who alone are subject to it. while
savagcs, the round world over, arc
exempt.
| CONCLUSION.
! We have said, and we repeat, that
hydrophobia is one of the rarcst of
diseases, and that when it appears to
be developed, we believe, it in the
vast majority of cases, to be simu-
lated disease produced by morbid
imagination. We do not 90 so far as
to assert that it is never caused by the
bite of rabid animal, and therefore
we would advise that all proper care
should be taken to destroy, without
delay, all animals that arc affected
with rabies, Yet, here again, we
must recall the fact that rabies itself
is one of the raicst of all the diseases
with which dogs and other animals
arc affected. When we hca: the cry
of mad dog the chances are mil
lions to one that the dog is not mad {:
it is the people who aro mad with