The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-20
Medical Notes.

A--~So-~.~>~~~o~~~o
Suppose your foot fast in a blacksmith's
wise;
Then turn the screw perhaps lust once or
twice.
Till you the height of agony procure,
That human natures able to endure,
The pain of rheumatism, you thus find
out;
Give it another turn. and that's the
govt
rheumatism is a so-called general dis
ease due to the presence of an excess
OF Tactic acid in the blood. The Joints
are the parts chiefly affected, the pain in
them being probably due to the stretching
Oh and pressure upon the nerves due to
over dfstention of the blood vessels and
the presence in the tissues of emulation
of Serious fluid.
Persons who suffer from rheumatic at
tacks, as rule, inherit a rheumatic dis
position, but those who are thus afflict-
ed, by proper precautions in eating and
drinking and clothing and manner of liv-
ing, may avoid the painful manifesto tons
Of actue disease. A person, for example.
VINO has had rheumatism, is as good as
barometer, for when the weather is
damp and cold he can feel it in his
bones. This fact suggests a remedy, to
prevent an attack of rheumatism in the
form of warm clothing, wooden being
the material, par excellence, for UNDER
clothing and night wear But there is
a great difference in flannel; some is like
hair cloth, vertiable instrument of tor
ture and penance, worse than the disease
the latter is usually comfortable and
eHc1ent. Children, especially, are fretted
and even made sick by the irritating eff
feet OF very coarse, so-called Scotch fan
mel, and this alone may account for
case of fever in sensitive children and
h.
to the skin, thin guaze undervest may
be worn under a thin wooden shirt II
this is not comfortable, silk may be worn
but the expense of this renders it I'M
available to many. Some rheumatics ex-
perience relief and gain protection, by
channels skin vest worn over the under
clothing, but this should be perforated
II used, to allow the escape of perspira-
ton. Others have vest lined with light
weight flannel, with a flannel back for
the weak part of q mans otherwise ra-
tbonal dress, is the thin back of the vest
A flannel back in place Of the thin
back put ON by tailors will often make
the vest the best lung protector and anti
rheumatic garment possible and may
render man proof against colds, coughs
and rheumatism
On the other hand, too warm clothing
Is Injurious for 1T causes profuse pers-
piration and the person in this condi-
ton, who goes into the cold air, SON
feels chilly and clammy, because the
cold interfereS with functions of the
sweat glands and thus one Of natures
methods of getting rid of waste matter
is derarged; a safety valve is, so to
speak, tied down.
In an acute attack OF rheumatism the
most marked symptoms is the pain in
the joints which is fugitive In character,
now in one joint, now in another until
ha ok Of
Is high, there is great thirst, perhaps
nausea at first, loss of appetite, slight
amount of high colored urine, and al
ways a profuse, acid, souF-smelling sweat
which often irritates the skin and causes
an eruption owing to irritation of the
sweat glands and pores.
The joints affected are painful, tender
hot, swollen and red, and the pain is in
creased by motion or pressure. The joints
usually affected are the knee, wrist, ell
bow, ankle and the hands and feet, and
there is popularity in the disease that
known as parallelism, the corresponding
Joints being affected on each side, or
analogous joints on one side, as the ell
bow and knee, the wrist and ankle, etc.
1t is, in a, sense, self-limited disease,
running It's course and leaving no after
effects, the swelling of the joints going
down and the pain ceasing, but every at
tack renders another more likely There
is danger, however, especially in children
that the heart may be attacked, and 4
serious if not fatal results may follow,
while recovery may leave the patient
with a chronic heart disease. In some,
especially children, the manifest symp-
toms of rheumatism may be slight, so
slight as to be considered simply a slight
fever. but heart disease may be melted
by these attacks. Medical advice is there
fore necessary, but If physician can
not be consulted the following sugges-
tions may be useful.
The patient should be put to bed at