Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-05-03
THE SAVING OF LIFE
BE PATIENT IN CASES OF DROWNING
Or AFFIRMATION.
II May lie Necessary ~ Keep Tn
Tongue Traction For Three Hours
to Revive the spnri> Of Intent Life
That SIN Exists In the victim.


the persistence Of latent life i'm the case
of the asphyXiated. IT is popularity be
licyed that If the subject cannot be
brought back TO life after ton minutes
application Of the usual methods all fur
Their efforts are useless. That is Il most
unfortunate error, and it should hc
guarded against. 1t is an ignorant prcju-
dice that has sent many people to their
graves who might have been saved by
the exercise Of little patience.
Some years ago n coast guard named
AgDel was on duty at point called
IAnse du Prophetic, on the southern
coast Of France. He heard cries Of dis
tresS. A cabin boy Of one of the vessels
at anchor was drowning. The master Of
the craft plunged into the water TO save
the boy. The effort was too much for
him. lie became exhausted and both
were about to sink when the coast guard
came 10 their assistance. With difficulty
he managed to bring the man ashore, but
the boy disappeared under the water.
Agnel swan out again to the place where
the boy sank and after repeated dives Mt
last succeeded in bringing the little fell
low to the surface. The boy had been
under the water for more than ton min
utcs. lie gave no sign of life. Rc.pira-
ton was suspended completely. But Az
mel, remembering the instructions i'm the
circular given by DR.. Iaborde Of the
Academy Of Medicine, tried regular trac-
tons of the tongue and continued them
for three hours His praiscworthy porSc-
verancc was crowned with success. Rcs-
pration was at last rc-cstablished. and
the boy recovered. Tho case Is mention
cd in the official report Of NJ. Nauter,
chief Of the customs service Of Marscil.es,
10 the dirccteur generate.
Until 1895 no Psychologist and no med
ical man would dare to assert that in
such n case latent life could subsist for
hours But three hours does not mark
the extreme limit. As a matter OF fact,
we do not yet know the length Of time
that separates apparent death from real
death. II varies according to the SUBJ
jcctS. But nevertheless il is certain that
the survie, or latent life, always exists in
the case OF a subject whose organs are
sound. Exterior or apparent death re-
vcaled by the suspension Of the function
al manifestations. especially by the sup
preston OF the cardio-re-p iratory func-
ton, is not the final and real death.
"While the organism ceases 10 live on the
surface" says Or. Laborde of the a-ade-
my, at lives inside" That is to say. life
ence Of the functional properties of the
organic elements and tissues. The sensi-
tive properties are the first to disappear,
then follow the motor-nervc functions
and finally muscular contractility. Com
plete death demands time.
In short the general mechanism may
be stopped by the cessation Of primor-
dial function, like that Of respiration. but
if the organs are not injured they can he
started again and be made to resume
their normal action. While latent life ox-
lists one should never despair of saving 3
drowned or asphyxiated person. Tie
most Indispensable function to arouse is
that Of respiration, the primordial funC-
ton Of life. II is necessary to excite the
respiratory reflex, which. according to
DR.. Laborde, possesses extraordinary
vital power and endurance.
Now, what is the duration Of the latent
life OF the respiratory reflex? The above
mentioned case shows that it can last for
three hours. DR.. Labordc reports a length
of from two to three hours in his expert
ments on dogs. lie selected in one case a
strong bull terrier and chloroformed the
animal until respiration was completely
stopped. The dog was apparently dead.
Fifteen minutes traction revived him.
Then the experiment with Chloroform
was renewed and continued until all the
evidence Of complete asphyXia was estab-
lished. The fractions we're begun five
minutes later. Tho dog was called Laza-
rus, singularly appropriate name. This
time be appeared to be sure enough dead
After two hours Of fractions he gave M
sign Of life. Dr. Laborde gave the case
up, but an employee of the laboratory
bn
of poor Lazarus continued the traction,
He noticed that the tongue began % red
den, which is the sure sign of the return
Of the first respiratory movements AT
or 2la hours of fractions resprator!
hiccough was established, followed 10y
Gasps, and at last regular breathing Toe
gan. Lazarus opened his eyes and locke.
around in astonishmeut. He recoyere,
completely.
1t may be asserted with confidence tina
the respiratory reflex subsists, ready =
go into action again. for at least thre'
hours after the condition Of appareu
death. That is an important fact which
should not he forgotten. Some peop.,
may be astoniShod ut the idea Of ling a
fractions continued for three hours. SIcl
treatment requires great patience. DR.
Laborde uses, instead Of his fingers an,
piece Of linen, machine which grip
the tongue and makes 20 fractions
minute.
This important method discovered b.
NJ. Laborde for rcviync subjects appGl
emily dead has also the advantage O.
being able to establish real death wit
absolute certainty. Death is clearly prov
cd when the respiratory reflex is uhol
ished after five or six hours.
Formerly all hope Of saving a browne
person was given Up when. after half n
hour. all the ordinary old means Of rcstc
ration were exhausted. But now when
bathcr is taken out of the water appar
emily dead or a fireman is a<lhy Kate
] by mephitic gas. regular tongue traction
must be rc-orted TO- not for half an hon
only but for hours, and in most cases tn
J unfortunate victims will be restored. I
save a life is the nohest aston that on
can perform.-Courrier des Etats Cnis.
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