The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-14
THIRST IN HOT CLIMATES.
Alcohol and Tobacco Promote It-Hints
to Soldiers

to Soldiers.
Preach as we will on sanitary Ques-
tions, teach our soldiers as carefully as
we like that muddy water or water that
has been exposed to risk of pollution
must at every sacrifice be rigidly avoid
/ ed, in practice ali these maxims are
/ thrown to the winds. In the presence
of thirst all men are equal, ana we zee
/ the educated and the uneducated alike
! obeylng one common and irresistible
/ impulse, which drives them to drink the
| poison which little later lays thtnl
| low with typhoid and dysentery. OF 2ll
measures for the prevention OF disease
among troops, by far the most esfectuai
would be the prevention of thirs--, il
that were possible, and We need not be
surprised that, both for this reason and
because thirst is one of the most mis-
erab.e of tortures, inquiries are contin-
ually being made as to how it can best
| be relieved.
In seeking solution of this import
ant ppeblem. the first thing 10 remem-
Der is that thirst is not mere desire
| of the lips or 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 which is an essential element
in it's normal constitution. Putting on
4 one side, then, such trivial methods as
pebble-sucking, spice-eating and so on,
which act merely by preventing dryness
of the mouth, real thirst can only be re-
lieved by water, and in whatever form
the drink is taken by which it is allevi-
ated, it is the water which it contains,
and the water alone, which is effectual.
Again, the only way to prevent thirst
is to avoid undue loss of the watery
; constituent of the blood. Practically,
then, the problem is reduced to this
how best to prevent undue loss OF water
from the system.
Over the loss of water by the lungs
, we have no control. Over that by the
skin we can exert some influence by
care as to clothing and as to drink.
| The more men drink the more they
2 perspire; and If they obey their natural
impulses in this regard they are sure
? to lose far more water through the skin
than is at all necessary. 1t is the loss
e of water by the kidneys, however. that
I is the most under mans control. and
what we wish especially to insist upon
{ is that alcoholic drinks, in consequence
G of their diuretic action, are very In
q ,ffectual thirst quenchers They relieve
for time, but by their action on the
{ Kidneys they remove almost as much
= fluid as they add, so that the condition
: IF the blood is very rapidly brought
y back to what it was before, or even
e made worse than ever. Universal ex-
. oerience enforces the lesson that, how
c ever comforting at the time, alcohol
z produces thirst especially when much
a. takes out as much as it puts in. and
II certainly should not be drunk wher
G economy In fluid is essential.
Il Another and most important cause
!, IF wasteful eXcretion of fluids from the
Is body is Impotence of the earlier ant
Is bearable degrees of thirst The human
4 body must part with a certain quantit,
A of water to form the necessary eXcre
/. tions. Nature, however, with her usua
v 'iberality has arranged for the water.
m fluids required for this purpose to b.
u, secreted in far greater quantity than i
of absolutely necessary, and much of thi
A. avcess of secretion ceases when les
d fluid is taken into the system. Unfortu
n 1ately, the same water starvation
pr which diminishes excretion also pro
IN iuces a sense OF thirst, and many
n nan who is impatient of this discom
n fort and tries to check it by constan
ii. tipping might as we'll empty his waite
g bottle onto the road. No man can ex
D, ert himself in a hot climate withou
h, becoming parched. and this early thirs
a aust be nut uD with when the waite
ne supply is limited. Any ATTEMPT to reall
lis lake it merely leads to wasteful pas
"a ~e of fluid through the system
he THEN about tobacco. Smoking is prof.
". bly, not in essence such thirsty prt
50 -eedir~ as some people ima~ine. Hab
ne Nas much to do with the drinking wit
ii which il is often acconoariad. Sti1
Is. lnbacco should not he ir6uIped In du
n '1g the early hours Of the march. The
We IAN be no doubt that it enables men
IS hear fatieues ard discomforts whic
ck -~itho'it it would be fourd almost unel
al 7ura bic. and amonp other things
MT 10 with the mieeries Of thirst RI
ais ne Verv e'''canV OF tobacco Tor r.
~ 70 keep it back until It is really wante
80