New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-05
THE FRESU-AIR TREATMENT.
THE RECENT REVOLUTION IN DEALING
WITH CONSUMPTION


forum. AND THEIR WONDERFUL RESULTS
Few such radical changes have been eHec'eo
In the theory and practice OF medicine Win"
the last decade as the general acceptance ol '"e
belief that consumption Is a curapie flai'uy'
and the extensive employment OF the FRESH al
system Of treatment Of that once-dreaueu u''
ease The Tribune has on more thah one oc
casion referred to the double revolution thd'
has been taking place in the professional anu
popular mind on this subject, but 1T is possible
that some Of the following details viii be ne" 10
its readers.
Dr. Brehmer, a physician living III 'I'e'i"'
Austria was the pioneer in this movement. Inc
success that attended his venture at "oepel >
dorr inspired several others. in Europe and the
United states. to establish sanatorla snhHar 10
his The English were somewhat slower than
Continental and American medical men 10 auop'
the idea. but they have now fallen into lhe'
The old way to proceed when one was ai''0'
cd with phthis was to house the patent care
fully keep him or her in an apartment where
the tcmperature was high and. in order to eX-
clude draughts, to overlook precautions Tor ven
tiation In IL light Of modern science 1t is
10 wonder that so many consuHptNes u'eu'
even with the best Of care in other respects
lated to foster the disease instead OF overcom-
ing it,
The benefits derived from the fresh air sys-
fem are due in the first place. TO the avoid
arce Of breathing a second time air that has
once entered the lungs and thus become pol
soucd Oxygen nourshes the lungs. The lungs
Of weak people need nourishment more than
those OF the well and strong. But impure ar
especially air that has been deprived Of its
oxygen by breathing is hurtful even to sturdy
people Then how much more so to the weak!
The oxygen works beneficially in two ways-lt
builds up the patients strength. and 1t Kills the
microbes. Sunlight, too, is potent Germicide
and when its influence Is combined with mat
Of the doubly helpful oxygen the bacillus OF
consumption stands poor show Of survival. IL
shrives up loses its poisonous power ana dies
So accustomed have people become, however.
70 the old way Of coddlinG themselves, mat at
first they have a prejudice against the new
treatment which is hard to overcome. The
whole thing seems so unreasonable and danger
GUS Yet the experiment has now had such
thorough trial, and has yielded such splendid
results, that any one possessed Of ordinary IN
tclligence needs only to look into the subject TO
be convinced. The od-fashioned chest protec-
tor is another cherished relic Of the old system
IL is popular mainly with the more ignorant
classes but has its friends among the better
educated also Its abandonment is usually &C
companied with regret and misgivings, but II
the new treatment is pursued the value of the
chest protector is quickly dsproved.
The fundamental principle OF the fresh-air
treatment is that the patient shall spend all
his time. waking and sleeping. in what amounts
to open air. There are four different places IN
or which he is likely to find himself in the
course Of the twenty four hours-the dining
room. the "liegenhalle" or veranda, the bedroom
and the region entirely outside the building that
constitutes his temporary abode.
At the famous sanatorium at Nordach, in the
Black Forest, the dining hall is inclosed at the
ends, but is open along the sides, that the
outside air can enter freely. and the conditions
within are practically the same without. In
the bedrooms the window space Is larger than
in most private houses, and the windows are
never shut \ free interchange of atmosphere
between the inside and outside is going on all
the time. The verandas on which the patients
spend the greater part of their waking hours,
are about two or three feet above the ground,
from seven to ten feet wide. inclosed at the ends
and open in front 1t is customary to have
th-m face the south or southwest. Curtains
Shield the invalids from blazing sun and from
beating rain or snow, but no obstruction to a
free circulation Of air is tolerated. and the tenn
perature, winter and summer, remains the same
as outside the shelter Of the vcranda
Hithcr the fceblest invalids are carried on
their couches and those who are better or
walk out and in without assistance Lying out
Nat is encouraged such attitude seems to
enable one better to Withstand the cold At first
there is protest against being compelled to
endure a lOw temperature. and the earlier
posures are carefully graduated to the condi-
lions Of the case This IMPORTANT matter IL