Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-06-14
THE LINEN HANDKERCHIEF,
A Doctor Dcnounces n ms n sprcnder
of DIncnsc.

Away with the linen handkerchief, says
Dir. Pfciffer, the dscoveror of the in
fuenza bacillus. The handkerchief propa-
gates 20 per cent Of all colds and in6am-
nations of the head, throat and nose he
declares 1t often causes erysipcas to
spread, and that influenza reoccurs sea-
son after season in cpidemcal form is
directly traccablc TO the use, or abuse, of
the linen handkerchief
Every physician knows the influenza
bacillus. 1t is easily killed, because it
cannot live where disinfcctants are en-
poyed. 1t will die quickly if its Gle
mcnt-water substancesis drained off.
The bacill Of cholera. typhus, tctanus,
blood poisoning, etc, even those of the
dreaded plague. are confined in the in
tcstines, in the skin or blood. II per-
son is known to have one of these dis
eases we take all possible care to pre-
vent the spread of its microbes to other
persons. So we now seldom hear of an
epidemic of those maladies in American
cities.
If the staphylokokke and streptakokke
bacilli which cause colds in the head,
catarrh and sometimes erysipelas, and
the small. rod shaped microbe which
causes influenza were treated like the
others named, like them they would do
only individual harm. But fashion, i'll
understood or wholly msconstrued no.
tons OF cleanliness, and finally courtesy
are against the self suggested prccaution-
AIRY measure.
In this case the poor and ignorant, also
the unwashed, are not to blame. It's the
pcrfumcd woman of fashion and the man
in patent leather boots and a high shirt
collar who act as distributors of dis
ease.
A cold in the head, influenza and sim
liar maladics cause copious flow of tears
and sncczing and tingling Of the nose,
followed by watery and other acrid dis
charges. These tears and the mucus
TEEN with millions upon millions of rod
shaped microbes. which ought to, and
could be, destroyed in short order, but
instead are collected in handkerchiefs.
The handkerchiefs are buried in the
pocket, and what is quite as bad, or
worse. good many microbes cling to
the sick PERSONS hand or glove and are
transferred to other persons by means
of n handshake.
No one suspects that the sick person
carries veritable arsenal of microbes
in his pocket. Yet every physician can
tell you that handkerchief and pocket
furnish all the elements calculated 10
prolong and propagate the microbes life.
The microbc needs nourishment, dark
ness, warmth and dampness. The dis.
I charges furnish the first and last, hand
kerchef and pocket afford warmth and
darkness. Every time the sick person
puts his hand in his pocket he is liza bic
to infect it with the dangerous microbes
and every handshake he deals may trans
fer to others the disease from which he
is suffering.
Let us take pattern" says DR.. Pfeif
fer, after the Chinese and Japanese
who, instead Of the linen square, employ
small sheets OF soft paper, which they
carry along in blocks and that are thrown
away after use. This fashion is much
cleaner than ours, besides excluding al
element of danger that is always with
us as long as we stick to the superan
nuated linen handkerchief"