The Portland daily press., 1898-02-08
Portland W. c. 7. U.

LoFulduu w. VI i. Y.
At the outset of this brief consideration
of the subject upon which 1 have been
asked to say few words, let me clearly
state my conviction that the legitim ate
sphere of alcohol as remedial agent is
q very limited one, that the medical pro-
fession as body is year by year coming
to value it less highly, and that it's use
in diseased conditions should be even less
frequent than it is today. That it has no
proper place in medicine I cannot believe.
AS to the narrowness of its rightfCl
sphere, if we look for moment at some
of lis we'll known physiological effects.
and consider that this remedy is always
given in material, ii not large, doses,
and that the powers of resistance OF the
system to any deleterious influence are
liable to be diminished in any given
direction by disease, l think we shall
find reasons for concluding that substance
so potent for physical harm should be
used with the utmost discretion ana
moderation, in the most carefully chosen
cases alone. The irritation of the diges-
tive mucous membrane, followed by IN
fiammation and by catarrhal conditions;
the hyperactlvity of the glands OF the
body leading, in the case of the liver, to
disorder of the secreting power OF It's
cells, and, where great amounts OF aloo-
hol are taken, to contraction or cirrhosis
Of the organ as whole; the marked &C
tion upon the heart, causing first an over
activity, to be followed by reaction so
great as to be, as believe, in sc ae ex-
treme CASES of disease, a cause of <leath;
the exciting effect upon the nervous sys-
tom, followed by depression, and later the
actual structural changes which take
place in the brain and spinal cord; the
disturbance of equilibrium of the COM
pick chemical processes going on in the
organism, and essential to, the mainte
nance Of its life; and finally the general
primary stimulation OF most or all of the
bodily activities, with the Complementary
and often serious reaction which latter
wonld emphasize-all these and other
effects not alluded to here, would seem
to warn us to beware how we administer
such an agent to the sick.
In support of my belief that physicians
are relying less than formerly upon alco-
hol as remedy, appeal to some OF the
modern text books and periodical litera-
ture relating to the practice of medicine,
with the methods employed by number
of intelligent and careful practitioners in
the management of their patients
Taking pneumonia for an example, a
disease in which it has been, and indeed
still is, quite customary to give consider
able amounts of alcohol, especially in the
heart weakness so often a dangerous feat
ure in such cases, we find Prof. Strum-
pell of Erlangen, an eminent authority in
the old school of medicine, using these
words in his work on practice: We never
could satisfy ourselves of the often praised
influence of alcohol upon the action OF
the heart;n though he at the same time
admits that in small quantities it may be
of some benefit to the pneumonia patient.
He pertinently inquiries Why should we
expect sick persons to fear doses of alco-
hol which have only bad results IN
healthy men unaccustomed to then?"
The same author says in writing on the
treatment Of eonsum ption of the lungs:
'Small amouts of good wine may aid in
improving the appetite and general CON
dition. Many physicians, indeed, believe
that the stronger alcoholic beverages,
euoh as brandy and the like, are of special
benefit in the treatment or consumption,
but we doubt it'' In impending heart
failure due to acute Inflammation of the
substance of that organ. DR. Hale,
prominent homeopathic of Chicago,
condemns the use of alcohol, and advo-
Gates the administration of aromatic
spirits of ammonia instead.
Az coming more under the head of pre-
yentiye medicine, Prof. Helmuth of New
York, well known homeopathic sur.
econ Of about As. years. experience, calls
attention, in his text book Of surgery, to
the much greater susceptibility to the
effects of intense cold observed in those
who take alcoholic stimulants before ex-
posture, and says the history of Polar ex-
neditions and other facts prove 1t beyond
q doubt He also remarks that cold
water. or better still cold tea, afford the
best preparation for exposure to severe
cold.
And DR.. Fisher, a homeopathic writer
on diseases of children, declares himself
20 be opposed to the use of alcohol In
diphtheria, in which disease be says: 'sIt