The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-04-01
COLDS CAUSED BY MICROBES.
The Germ Theory Is Now Accepted by
BncteriOIOgists.

bUCIeTlOlOSy mas at IaSI ulNulSeu Ine
cause of the greatest of all medical
mysteries-the ordinary cold. 1t has
been attributed to all causes-air, mois-
ture, too much cold air, overheating
and, recently, to the stomach and over
eating. The laboratory where the
microbes are caught, cultivated and
tanned like little beasts for several years
has been trying to identify the germs
of ''colds," as colds seemed to lead to
many diseases that have well-known
germs. The first discovery was that in
colds there are several varieties of
that produce the same results.
Germs look altogether different un-
der the microscope and in the culture
tubes, where the microbes are bred,
after they have been identified and sep
arated from others by being shared
(from the common feeding ground of
all sorts OF bacteria) with a platinum
needle. Then to make certain that the
real microbe in a given disease is found
the germs must be injected into a rab-
bit or guinea pig Tor some dispensary
patient to see if the same disease will
"PPedI' MlcTODeS when cause COLDS
are always in the body or in the air.
There are 20 different forms of bac-
terra constantly present in the nose. in
Guiding nine or ten which are danger
Gus under certain circumstances.
There are 90 forms of germs in the
| mouth, 40 of which may cause serious
disease
everyone knows that colds are usu
ally caught by getting oneself overhead
ed and cooling off suddenly. When
the surface OF the body is oyerheated
all the microbes i'll the air seem to be at
tracted to the body, especially if the air
around IS chilly or damp; microbes can
not De killed by cold or damp, but they
40 not Ike 1t and are always on the
watch TO hnd a resting place in man,
especially III one who IS oYerheated and
whose skin Is covered with perspira-
ton. II the nose is always i'll condi-
ton OF "catarrh' 1t is easy to see how q
fresh cold or acute attack of catarrh
is caused by exposure to chill. But
Low about the various symptoms in
other and distant parts of the body
which generally follow a cold?
When the body is Overheated and
then chilled the immediate effect of the
cold on the surface of the body is to eX-
cite contraction of the blood vessels
near the surface. Thus the blood is
driven from the surface to the inner or
gans. carrying along with it any mi
| crobes that may have been lodged near
the surface. This eXcites int1amma-
| ton in some organ far away from the
first point affected. The way it seems
10 act is as follows:
All processes going on in the body are
| governed by the central nervous sys-
TEN. If, as result of exposure to cold,
the regular routine of nutrition and of
circulation is checked in one part of
the body, the nervous force sent out
| from the central nervous system if shut
off in one place will be increased in an
other. Such increase is really int1am-
nation. If any organ is liable to chron-
ic Inflammation this will be the place
| picked out for the acute trouble as re-
suit of having caught cold. All the I'M
| employed microbes will collect there
and unemployed microbes i'll a slight
ly intiamcd organ arc certain to make
| trouble. There is, however, one safe
guard which saves the body from de-
structlon every time cold is caught.
There is in the body set of vau-
able street-sweepers who do in the
blood vessels and tissues exactly the
work of the STRENGTHENING depart
ment. These are the white blood cor
| puScIeS, or leucocyteS. 1hey differ
from Col. NarlngS white brigade in
that they eat up the debris, the mi
crobes and such things wherever they
hnd them. The more germs and bac-
terra collected together in one organ the
more the white corpuscles swarm in
Just like the regular street-sWeepers in
the dirty downtown districts.
II these white blood corpuscles are
caught while at their w9rk 1beir round
| DouleS may be found hlled up with the
bacteria they nave eaten. In case OF
sudden emergencies (lke pneumonla)
an immense swarm OF "hlti' cofpuscies
Will suddenly appear
1here are all sorts OF ways OF treat
ing an Inflammation IN an organ.