The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-04
MEDICAL NOTES.
prepared for the Sunday journal by
an Old Practiti0nerD


an Old Probationary
| person need not have delicate skin
to have an irritated skin. and many who
| consider themselves tough-skinned are pc
culiarly subject TO irritation by objects
| with which they come in contact in every
day life. This may be a simple redness.
| or il may be severe, and even erysipe-
| latous. DR.. Harding lists a number of
| plants which cause such Inflammation.
among them being the poison ivy, dogwood
or poison sumach, and the poison oak. the
handling of which will cause quite Sc
| we're Inflammation and sickness. Many of
the common wild flowers are also irritat-
ing to the skin. among them being the
| buttercup, field daisy, goldenrod, wood
| anemone, clematis and garden nasturtium.
| Among the drugs used for medicinal pur-
poses, tincture of arnica, balm of gilead.
| hamamelis, common salt and belladonna,
| ETC., will often cause irritation when APP
piled to the skin, and thus do more harm
| than good especially if the skin is broken.
Kerosene may cause serious trouble, and
so may undiluted glycerine and almond oil.
Occupation, also, has much to do with
the condition of the skin. Strong alkalis
metal polishes and shoe polishes, paints.
and even chocolate may cause inflamma-
ton OF the skin. Many insects, too, are
potent factors. among them being mos
quitoes fieas, bedbugs, black flies, wasps.
bees, hornets, spiders, caterpillars. etc.
Yet a person may not be affected by any
one of these. owing to some inherent power
of resistance, while others may be so affect
ed by one that exposure will cause not only
irritation of the skin, but fever and de-
lirium. Unfortunately, there is way
of discovering the individual susceptibility
and the individual must discover it himself
by experience. which is apt to be ex-
ceedngly unpleasant one.
The Raw Food Society, recently or
ganized at Chicago, is trying to form other
societies in other cities The object of the
society is shown by one Of the resolu-
tions: THAT it is firm conviction that
man could live much longer in proportion
TO the number of years required Cor de-
velopment by eating raw food; ill health
would be the exception rather than the
rule and pestilence and contagious dis
ease would be wiped from the land. We
believe that children reared on uncooked
foods will be giants physically and in
tellectually" Like all fads. this has an
element of truth in it, Meat juices are
most readily assimilated by the system
and require the least effort for their trans
formation into blood. but this is more
than counterbalanced by the danger from
disease. Butchers are cited evidence of
the good effects of raw-meat eating. since
some chew pieces of raw meat while at
at work. but physicians know that butch
ers, for this reason, are affected with
intestinal diseases, and the presence of
| parasitic worms and trichinae occur most
often in raw-meat eaters. Cooking, more
over, effectually kills all germs of dis
ease that may have made meat their breed
ing ground and it makes it more digest
ible. Aside from these and other objec-
tons the idea of eating raw meat is so
nauseating and so barbarous that few
people of common sense would harbor the
idea for a moment In the matter of raw
vegetables and cereals the idea is much
more irrational for such food is almost
absolutely indigestible by man in its raw
state. Only by the process of proper cook
ing can the cells be broken up so that
the gastric juice can act upon and digest
the food.
1t is rather late IN the season to fight
mosquitoes but the women might take up
other health questions depending upon the
determination of nuisances and thus profit
by the example of the women of Richmond
Hills, near New York city, who listened
to a scientists explanation of the devel-
opment of the mosquito and then formed
a club TO fight 'em. They enlisted num-
) Der of small boys in the cause and armed
them with kerosene in cans, securing the
country and literally treating every pud-
de- ditch, pond or marsh to a dose of oil
AS result the ladies sat on their porches
during the summer without the annoying
; hum or bite of the mosquito. Women's
: clubs have done much good in many lines
OF humanitarian work, but the health de-
5 rartment seems an especially good field fol-
| their energy. If the women of cities
and towns would have medical men in
struct them in the elements of the causa-
D ton and prevention of so-called filth dis
eases, for. instance. the number of such
2 diseases would be greatly decreased and
humanity benefited thereby. Cleanliness is
the first law of health. and one is bette,
adapted to maintain the law and order OF
/ cleanliness than woman, whose pride is q
clean and tidy household. BY all means
T let such clubs be formed. and let the badge
be miniature broom and pail
4
. The law properly forbids indecent ex
4; ! posture of the person by insufficient cloth
e ing, but it seldom happens that the Law
: has anything TO say about the style. Tn,
: local board of Vienna, in one of the dis
5 tricts, however. has issued edit agains
long dresses; or. rather. has displayed
placards in the parks notifying all womer
wearing trailing skirts TO hold them clear
+? of the ground, stating that the inclosur,
is devoted TO the recreation of persons de
Z srous of escaping from dust in the streets
}. and they naturally object TO having tbs
D women kicking UP dust in the park. Tn,
: School Board of FL Paso. Tex, require:
u the teachers TO wear short skirts becaus,
a long ones sweep the streets and gathe
germs that may injure the health of tn,
Il pupils This is much moro sensible thar
the edicts of other school boards which