The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1898-01-29

In the shfn-Contact Even of the Clean
iy ~ >7~ead Cont"gian-serious Re-
sull. From Hand Ciasping.
l. II possible fer 4 man to co-1lnu-
uicatc disease to another by the shaking
of hste,:
Ii th1s c7c-t.:on be true, should the
cus;rra be aa~ldonel or should it be
mo. ned uo6ez medical instruction SO
as t. 5,iaia7i2e the danger?
IT. e-.is.ence Of micro-orc2nisns
min "si - life and health has been es-
tabli,aafi leyond dispute. Dr.. hreiter
fouads his thesis, recently printed III
The Medical REGARD, On this ~hypothe-
sis. But his leading point, insisted up
on with much force, IS the danger which
is hidden il the apparently harmless
and sometimes pleasing custom Of shak-
ing hands. He SAYS:
"That the surface CT the human body
is a very hotbcd for tie propagation Of
a great variety Of micro-organlstas
F%uerbinger. Nilttnlan, Bizzozero. Ma
eiora and WEIGH have tlucidated most
contlusively. Ii is certainly beyond the
shadow of a douat that III tins presence
of a ~predisposinG factor AID sometimes
even without th1 the rliercbic diseases
are ustared into existence by te@jr icai-
vidual prototypes, The aslag essentially
brought about by c1-tcct IA some way
of the two contingent II, scc. Modern
surgery is founded ia this principle
The carefGI4ess with which VIC prepare
our hands and surgical i~nstrcments be-
fore and after a surgical operation we'll
e~xenlpliGes the Importance ct q faTnil
iarity with its dangers ii every sense,
eve recognize that many Ct our nj
crobic diseases, especially Of the eEan-
thematio tzpe, eliminate their toxic Gig
ment very largely through the medi1fa
of the skin, which r1decgoas extensive
exfoliation, disseminating the poison far
and wide. Isolation is resorted to and
enforced most vigorously, thereby check
ing the spread CT tho disease, and then
disirfectaats laTisii7 use9 cause the de-
strrctioa O. the ohendirc armies. u
the e. CT scientific ~prcpEylax-s conse-
ouor1 Epoa the i--tr111e..34 q the mi
crogcoce, Lacte-.clcgv ana antiseptics
we ana c steady dcc!ile CT epldemics
either developing II tLo outer world CT
in our hospital va-5y. Yet accidental
inoculations CT tuberculosis, smallpa-
and VACCINE, - We as LlC-a horrible
diseases, ST., e-iass md arc but deTloa-
strations Of Gtae~ IN unavoidable cause
or O faulty Observance Of Established
data"
DR.. Prefer Si-c1 . thorough diseus-
sion as to what nay bc tie result Of con-
tact of the hands. EIa declares that with
men uko arc Ct clearly habits, but who
have acquired disease and such as they
would visA to hide from their fellow
men, tho specific bacilIg3 s this disease
has bee, found i flt1 collected from
the hand. We his found trharcle baciIli
in the dirt taken from tie hand of the
man suffering 1ro1. t-cercalczls, the
Klebs-Loeffler 1nicr3ae a@g1c cases Of
suspected dirhtheria and had no doubt
that the sreciic germs of every mlcrobiC
disease mag I'D wQuld 10 furEd IN mil
lions CT the e~l~faees cf the hands il
proper eEac--naatation were made. Il.
proceeds g follows;
"MG2y v~.c9izGs Of scarlet fever, bet
in the ea-ET c2a desqualnative sts-2s
especially tho latter, ere walking TIL
streets CT e7c-y large city ready u IL
graft upon tic moist hand Of any chance
acquaintance tbc prolific virus Of th(
disease. The s2mo Kay be sald of Per
sons with paimGe2zT tuberculosis
whose hands and hanGha-chiefs, throrgi
constant wiping Of the mouth, are ion
and saturated with the bacteria ladel
expecto-ation OF the disease. Tu5c-cu
iosis CT the hand, the lesion laES5 9
small in area, often painless and nn
recognized as such for a long while ana
perhaps 1ntreated, is By no means a.
infrequenS occurrence. Scabies, w
know, has g marked prediction for tn
hand. Need / mention others? Nov
whether these conditions are the result
OF hand to hand contact or not does no
matter. The conditions themselves ar
dangerous elements, and it is the con
sideration of such factors in tho causa
fiou Of disease that we are studying.