Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-21

have been for some time free from them
and so have lost immunity.
Among Animals.
Additional evidence that colds are infec-
| tious is furnished by what We observe
among our domestic animals. Cats seem
TO be specially susceptible. Probably they
often bring home from their nocturnal ram
bles those mysterious catarrhal attacks
which so rapidly run through the house.
1t is an old saying, 1.-The cat is sneezng,
We shall all have colds" Sheep, too, are
liable; whole flock may suffer. and may
show that curious eruption round the lips
(herpes labiaiiS), which We al know only
too well as one of the most unpleasant ac-
compartments of bad cold in the head.
On the Australian sheep runs, when the
shearinS season comes round, the men who
COngregate at the sheds are frequently
smitten with an illness of a catarrhal ma
ture, which rapidly takes hold of them,
and often affects some 30 per cent. Some
times it becomes very serious, and may
even develop into a fatal pneumonia. To all
appearance it is caught from the sheep.
Horses Are Susceptible.
Horses. too. are very subject to nasal ca
tarrh, and it is a widely prevalent belief
among cOachmen that if a horse goes into a
fresh stable. and especially if horse which
has been out at grass goes into a stable
with other horses, it will be most likely to
develop cold. So, 800, 1t IS noticed, will
horses bought at a fair, and this is popu-
larly attributed to the draughts to which
they have been exposed. AS it is admitted
however, that any other horses which may
have been in the stable generally catch this
cold from the newcomer, surely it is more
reasonable to suppose that the latter has in
like manner received the infection from
some of its neighbors while on sale A
medical friend of the writer's lately made
an interesting experiment. He has two
horses. and has been in the habit of turning
a % IN he
brought it in again for the winter it used
invariably TO develop a severe cold. Coach
men VIII tell you that this is due to the un-
accustomed warmth of the stable, which
makes the animal ''nesh.' Last year how
ever, before bringing in his horse the doe
tor mad his STAGE thoroughly disinfect ed
and Hme-waShed, and put no other horse
INTO IL. me one which came in from grass
then remained perfectly free from any
symptoms of catarrh.
Danger of COddlirg
All this evidence seems to force US to the
conclusion that a cold is a specific infec-
tious disease. and that without the possf
bility of infection it is impossible to catch
1t. That is to say that it is due to a micro
organism, and that without the presence of
TINS mlcro-OrganiSm the disease cannot he
CoHidcita, ne the exposure what it NAV
mat IS the bearing of this belief? Is it of
dHy Importance to US, if true it be, to recog-
d
with the commonly accepted theory which
may De roughly stated as follows First
tnat the greater number of illnesses beein
win cold This is more or less correct
secondly, that all colds must necessarily he
que 10 exposure of some kind to drauehts
damp. cold. or wet, though this exp6sf1ra
may be so slight that the sufferers are often
quite unconscious of it. and say: Il am
sure don know how l have taken cold -
Inc practical result of this theory is that,
IN their fear of these unrecogniZed exro-
SEFeS. people are apt to take more and more
CdFt OF tlemSelVes-in other words to cod
ole more and more. This treatment tends
70 make them more and more delicate: less
ara less able to Withstand exposure: oora
ana more sensitive to the depressing effects
OF cold; less and less capable of reactinp
nealthIly against it; and what is far worse
more ana more afraid Of fresh air and good
NeHtlldtl0n. In the back blocks of Aus
r3Ila the writer has actually known y
hohthIy nurse. strong in the consciousness
~ uhqueSuohed wisdom, and armed by the
authority OF established custom. even when
the Thermometer stood at 90 in the shade
rtiuSE TO open the window. lest her patient
should tax" cOld) And this coddiing treat
Hlent: when It is applied to children, is es-
peclaIiy injurious, causing them to grow I'D
dehcate instead of sturdy and strong. ana
IN the long run tending to undermine fhe
ROBUST health and hardhoOd of our English
race Now If this commonly accepted
theory IS. after all, an erroneous one; if all
lhlS oFer-carefulness is not only injurious
IN many ways, but is altogether useless as
precautionary meaSure-giVen exposure
10 infection which must sooner or later be
mclrfed-then surely il is important that
We as nation should give up our tradition
al belief. howsoever much we NAV have
cherished it If the alternative theory that
or infection. be the true one and if 1t be
frankly accepted, many consequences must
follow, which ii is impossible to consider
mere. But one thought forces itself upon
US II II be trde that exposure is not the
direct cause of the disease: it, as seems
probable. it only acts by lowering our vital
lty, and so enabling the germs to get a
foothold, surely the more we become in
ured to such exposure the less likely will
II be TO AFFECT US in this way-a Thought
which. If acted upon. would go far toward
preserving that hardness which is so char
acterlstic of our nation which would prove
as effective protection against cold as
against other enemies.
May we hope for anything further Shall
We ever be able to avoid colds altogether ?
Probably we shall; probably ere long our
bacteriologists having discovered the hos
tile microbe. having learnt his habits trac-
ed his life history and tracked him to his
lair. will be able to show us how we can get
the better of our foe, SO that in the oft
recurring struggle he, not We will succumb.
ana we shall soon cease to fear him.