New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-17
THIRST IN HOT CLIMATES.
ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO PROMOTE IT-HINrs TO
SOLDIERS.
SOLDIERS.
From The Hospital.

From The Hospital.
Preach as we will sanitary questions, teacL
our soldiers as carefully We like that muddy
water or water that has been exposed TO risk
OF pollution must at every sacrifice be rigidly
avoided, in practice all these maXinls are thrown
10 the winds In the presence of thirst all men
are equal, and the educated and the I'M
educated alike Obeying one common and ire
sistibIe impulse, which drives them to drink the
poison which little later lays them low with
typhoid and dysentery. OF all measures tor
the prevention of disease among troops, by far
the most efectual would be the prevention OF
thirst. II that were possible. ana we heed not
be surprised that both for this reason and lie
cause thirst Is one of the most miserable or
fortunes, inquiries are continually made as 10
how ii can be best prevented and how best 1t
be relieved
In seeking a solution of this important prob
lem the first thing to remember Is that thirst is
not a mere desire OF the lips OF mere craving
OF the stomach. Thirst is a want arising in
every corner Of the organism from every tissue
being deprived Of some OF the water winch
is essential element in its normal constiJu-
ton Putting on one side then. such trivial
methods as pebble sucking, Splce eating ana SO
on. which act merely by preventing dryness OF
mouth real thirst can only be relieved by water,
and il whatever form the drink is taken by
which it is aIeviated il is the water which 1t
contains. and the water alone, that Is efectuaL
Again, the only way to prevent thirst Is TO
the blood Practically, then, the problem Is re-
duced to this how best 70 prevent undue loss Of
water from the system?
no control. over that by the skin We can exert
some influence by care as 10 clothing and as TO
drink The more men drink the more they per
spire. and if they obey their natural impulses
in this regard they are sure 10 lose Tar more
wafer through the skin than is at all necessary
II is the loss of water by the kidneys, however
that is the most under a mans control and
what we wish especially to insist upon IS that
alcoholic drinks, in consequence OF their duretlc
action are very Intellectual thirst quenc hers
They relieve for time but by their action on
the kidneys they remove almost as much fluid
as they add. that the condition or the blood
is very rapidly brought back TO what IL was
before or even made worse than ever Uni
versaI experience eufOrces the lesson that how
ever comforting at the time. ale rot produces
thirst especially when much physical eXeTtOn
is being made II takes out as much as II puts
in and certainly should not be drunk when
economy in fluid is essential
Another and most important cause OF waste
ful excr-tion Of fluids from the body is impa-
tjenc- Of the earlier and bearable degrees Of
thirst The human body must part with a Ger
tain quantity Of water TO form the necessary
ev-cretions Nature however. with her usual
liberality. has arranged for the watery fluids
required for this purpose TO be setreted IN far
greater quantity than is absolutely necessary,
and much Of this excess Of secretion ceases when