The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-05-01
COLDS CAUSED By MICROBES.
The Germ Theory Is Now Accepted By
BacteriOlOgfsts.

The Germ Theory Is Now Accepted By
BacteriOlogists.
Bacteriology has at last divulged the
cause of the greatest of all medical
mysteries-the ordinary cole 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 platinum
needle. Then to make certain that the
real microbe in given disease is found
the germs must be injected into rab-
bit or guinea pig Tor some dispensary
patient) to see if the same disease will
appear. Microbes which 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 oyerheat-
ed and cooling off suddenly. When
the surface of the body is overheated
all the microbes in the air seem to be at
tracted to the body, especially if the air
around is chilly or damp; microbes cam
not be killed by cold or damp, but they
do not like it and are always on the
watch to find a resting place in man,
especially in one who is overheated and
whose skin is covered with perspira-
ton. If the nose is always in condi-
ton of ''catarrh" it is easy to see how
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 cold?
When tie 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 infiamma-
ton in some organ far away from the
first point affected. The way it seems
to act is as follows:
All processes going on in the body are
governed by the central nervous sys-
tenn. 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 infiam-
nation. If any organ is liable to chron-
ic Inflammation this will be the place
picked out for the acute trouble as "a re-
suit of having caught cold. All the UNI
employed microbes will collect there
and unemployed microbes in a slight
ly inflamed organ are certain to make
trouble. There is, however, one safe
guard which saves the body from de-
struction every time cold is caught
There is in the body a set of valu-
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
puscles, or leucocytes. They differ
from Col. Warnings white brigade in
that they eat up the debris, the mi-
crobes and such things wherever they
find 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.
If these white blood corpuscles are
caught while at their work their round
bodies may be found filled up with the
bacteria they have eaten. In case of
sudden emergencies Qike pneumonia)
an immense swarm of white corpuscles
will suddenly appear.
There are all sorts of ways of treat
ing an Inflammation in an organ.
Many are as familiar to the public as to
the doctors. The old-fashioncd porous
or mustard plaster is simply means to
collectquickly largernumber of white
blood cells in the places where they are
needed. The same is true of all hot app
plications, blisters, painting with iodine
or red flannel rags.
The new idea of cold, then, is that
it is nervous disease, which, to do any
serious harm, has to work through the
microbes, which are always present in
the body or in the outer passages watt
ing for chance to make trouble. The