The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-15
MEDICAL T
Prepared for the Sunday Journal by
an Old Practitioner

press their patients by apparent super
human knowledge. Van Duyse, of Client.
according TO the British Medical Journal,
INDUCES in this method. as is shown by
the following story: A lady came to him
complaining Of intense pain in one eye,
when he at once said to her: Madame,
you keep birds. Four days ago you cleaned
out the cage Since then your eye has been
bad" The patient was astonished at this
instantaneous diagnosis, which seemed to
her almost miraculous. But the thing was
very simple. a husk of grain had become
implanted in the cornea. The lady had EVIL
IDENTIFY blown into the seed glass, and a
husk, thus set flying about, had stuck in
her eye. The cornea showed a grayish
halo at the site of the lesion and was
somewhat puffy at the edge; vascular re-
action was beginning to show itself in the
.neighboring part of the ocular conjunctive
and a clinical experience had taught the
observer that four days was about the
time necessary to produce this state of
things.
1t is not generality known that potatoe
leaves and stalks are poisinous, but this
is called to mind by a report from Ger
many that fifty-six soldiers were recently
poisoned by eating potatoes. The sick
ness began with chills, followed by fever,
headache, collie, vomiting and diarrhosa
leading to collapse and developing jaun-
dice. Upon investigation ii was found that
the soldiers had eaten sprouting potatoes
and were thus probably poisoned by the
alkaloid solanine. an ~irritant and narcotic
poison. 1t is quite probable that a small
amount of this poison is found in potatoes
during the process of termination, and
DIR. Pfuhl believes that mild cases of in
digestion. diarrhoea, etc., may be due to
eating terminating potatoes. This subject
is a timely one at this season of the year,
and due caution should be used. The pre-
cautions taken in the German army are to
cut out the sprouts and carefully peel the
potatoes, then cutting them up and allow
ing them to stand all night in water. In
the morning they are rinsed off in running
water and cooked for twenty-five minutes.
- -
The fact that the German authorities at
Bonn some time ago had an Investigation
upon alcoholism among the pupils in the
primary schools shows a startling state of
affairs. Sixteen children out of 100 did not
drink milk, and absolutely refused to drink
IL because it had no SAVIOR. OF 237 pupils,
seven to eight years of age, there was not
one who had not drunk wine, beer or whis-
KY, although % per cent. had never tasted
whisky, but habitually drank beer or wine.
Eight per cent. of these children were
given their glass of whisky every day by
their parents, that they might become
strong. AS a result of these Investigations
IL was proved that children most accus-
toned to alcohol showed the least inteIli-
gence, children who had their morning
glass of whisky and found no SAVIOR in
milk showing it by great i%nattention DUR
ing the morning hours. A curious fact
shown by this investigation was that
young girls who took whisky with their
boys.
DR.. Hills k a very optimistic view of
the use Of whisky, and claims that the
fusel oil renders it more healthful and
palatable when it has properly aged, the
process of ripening requiring from ten to
twenty years. He believes that properly
ripened whisky is not really very danger
Gus, and makes a thousand persons happy
to one whom it Injuries. In a state of physi-
cal and nervous exhaustion he states that
1t enables a person taking it to continue
work for a certain extra length of time.
and later prevents the utter collapse that
might otherwise ensue. These statements
are questioned by many, but there is no
doubt but that in a state Of exhaustion
due to disease, whisky or similar alcohol
ic liquor has a beneficial effect, and may
be taken for some length of time without
appreciable injurious effects, without even
any signs of intoxication.
A common symptom in some forms of
nervous diseases, especially nervous ex-
haustion. is the belief that the patient has
not slept when in reality he may nave en-
joyed a good nights rest. Such patients
complain of an inability to sleep and are
honest In their belief and statements. Err
lenmeyer. calling attention to this, refers
to a condition occurring in health In which
the person believes, even after a consider
able period of sleep, that he or she has not
slept at all, a condition that may occur dur
ing a railroad journey, a person falling
asleep and awakening only when the train
stops, without any recollection of having
passed way stations or in fact of having
been asleep. The practical application of
these facts is that caution should be used
in the use of sleep-inducing drugs, which
should not be given to nervous patients
simply upon their statements that
they cannot sleep, but only after they
have been watched.
AS the germ theory is comparatively new,
there is no test of the longevity of a germ.
La Suisse narrates an incident which would
seem to show that germs retain their vital
iy for centuries. In 1860 Harlem, In Hol-
land, was devastated by the plague, and
among the families extermiated was that
of Du Cloux, the members of which were
Inferred in the church at Harlem. Some
thirty or forty years ago the masonry of
the tomb became impervious and the vault
was rebuilt. The masons who worked i'm
the tomb for a day or more were attacked
By the disease. and infectious buboes de-
veloped. For more than two hundred years
the germs Of the pest had been inclosed in
this tomb and were still morbifc, so that
there seems to be no limit to their vitality
and virulence.
DR.. Banks, an English physician, has re-
Gently made an exhaustive study of the
death rate from cancer. He does not be-
lieve tina the increase of mortality is due
to poor hygiene, as there has been marked
p,nrovamantc In water sl1nnlv draiuaCa