Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-07-24
OPEN AIR TREATMENT.
1t Is Recommended by Physicians for the
Cure Of Tuberculosis.

The North London hospital for con
sumptives, which employs the open
air. method, has just made its annual
report, and as shown by this the re-
suits have been wonderfully sat,sfac-
tory. There are several such institu-
ions as this in other parts of Europe,
but the North London is the pioneer in
England, and the result of its work has
been looked forward to with a great
deal of interest, abroad as we'll as at
home.
There is no longer any doubt of the
| fact that the open air" is the most
| valuable agent that al be employed
in the treatment of this disease and
indeed the only one that offers n rea-
sonable hope of improvement. The ex-
~perience of the people of New Mexico
has fully demonstrated that fact. 1t is
admitted by all scientific men who have
given any attention to the mattet that
the atmospheric conditions in this Sec
ton give more promise of relief to the
| victim of tuberculosis than those of any
| other quarter of the world, so far as at
present known. but the experience of
physicians in all parts of the territory
is invariably to the effect that even I'M
der climatic conditions he most favor
| able, there is but little hope of improve
ment in the patient who keeps himself
shut up indoors, and that the chances
of being benefited by the climate are in
proportion to the amount of time spent
in the open air. If this fact could be
made generally known, a large major
ity of those who come here expecting
the climate to cure them while they
keep themselves shut up in offices or
stores during the day and in close bed
rooms at night, would probably stay at
home, thus saving themselves the effort
and expense of coming. and live just as
long.
The open air. treatment does not
mean to sit or walk out Of doors for ar
hour or two a day in pleasant weather
and keep yourself carefully shut up al
the rest of the time, but it means tc
actually work and sleep and live in the
open air, going into the house only fol
meals, and to take shelter from storms
This, of course, is hard on the mar who
has no money and is not able to carr
any except by a business that keeps
him in the house, but it does not memo
matters any for him to refuse to recog.
nize the inevitable; many of natures
conditions are hard, but there Is moth,
ing to be gained by ignoring them.
II Here is an extract from the repor
referred to which will give the reader
good idea of the success hat has at
tended this treatment at the Londol
hospital:
early last year t%wenty-four bed
were set apart experimentally, and tn
windows of the wards in which thes
beds are situated have remained opel
7 in all weathers, the patients being KEEP
: warm by means of additional blanket
} and artificial heat, and this treatment
7 combined with proper rest, good feed
ing and graduated exercise, has PROVED
/ so successful in arresting the progress
I Of the disease that every available war,
: except those reserved for bronchiti
] and asthma cases has been converte'
s into an "open-air" ward.
e Where patients have been adn1itte'
in the early stages of the disease recov
e cry has been attained in the majorit,
of cases, and rs per cent of the case
have done so we'll as to encourage tn
hope that they may be considered a
permanently benefited. The medica
register, in his report, says that nearl.
all the patients eventually return t.
their work. some to their ordinary oc
equations, but, wherever possible, t.
work in the open air. Though it canno
be said with confidence that none o
these will ever have a relapse, it is Ger
tainly true that the vast majority o
those who follow out the hygienic prin
ciples and mode of living which the.
have been taught in the hospital, will
continue to do WE'LL"