The sun., 1902-03-09
HOPE FOR CONSUMpTIVES NOW
AMPLE MEANS TO PREVENT
OR CURE THE DISEASE.
prssh Air First AMONG Them -Precsu-
tions Easy for Rich and Poor Alike to
Observe Medical Views Aboufs Tu'
bercuiosis To Reduce the Mortality.

ton, Easy for Rich and Poor Alike TO
Observe Medical Views Abouts Tu.
. bercuiosis Reduce the Mortality.
. There is a chance now Of decrease In
the tuberculosis mortality said promi-
nent New York doctor recently The
death rate from tuberculosis has been
.ipnlv outrageous IN the last fifty years
and it's enough TO make n man swear, to
,hlnk of the number OF lives that have
been sacrificed TO the disease just through
vheer ignorance-crass idiocy.
.Whv. II New York had lost 10000 lives
IN Ave wears through cholera or smallpox,
cverybody would have been up In arms to
Asht the disease, yet remember that was
che pulmonary tuberculosis record for hve
wears. And was there any excitement
Bless you. no.
-I'm slad the world seems to be waking
nm at last, in regard to consumption. and
that New York is rubbing its eyes along
,vitb the rest. We may bring down that
death record In the next FIVE years. We
osrtainly will bring 1t down nightly In the
next ten years.
sof course, the positive determination
.of the nature OF the disease was the first
-step. Nothing ould be done until that
was settled and all the doctoring was done
under false hypothesis.
To-day we know the germ nature OF
, consumption, know that cold has nothing
70 do with 1t and we have no excuse for not
Aehtlng II TO a finish, AS long as there are
people living In overcrowded, li-ventilated
quarters, people who are starved for air
and proper food, people whose work Is
. oonfning and tends TO suppress the breath
ing capacity, there will be consumption, but
wen among that class, the percentage
of the disease can be phenomenally lowered
by common sense applied TO daily living,
. and believe there's little or no excuse for
consumption among the classes privileged
I TO breathe fresh air and having q simple
! but nutritious diet.
Mind you, don't say all cases Of con-
sumption can be cured. Some are too
far gone when taken In hand, but think
that any incipient consumption may be
, easily cured under favorable conditions,
and consumption may be avoided under
almost any conditions
The trouble is that the average man.
woman or child will not spend time or
s1ertion on simple precautions. They
will not believe they are in danger OF the
disease until they have a well-advanced
case Of It.
Even then, they will not take rational,
natural methods 70 check IL. They'll
take medicine. II they are poor they'll
probably take patent medicine.
sThey might as well eat soap as remedy,
unless they adopt the other common sense
treatment One hour OF exercise In the
fresh air Is worth a gallon Of any cough
syrID
"Of course Il Is absolutely proved to-day
that consumption even in its advanced
stages can, In very large percentage OF
cases, be cured by the open-air treatment.
Give me any sufferer from pulmonary
disease, not in its worst stage, and let me
take him to the mountains for three months
and II don't cure him. III pay all ex-
penses and big bonus.
But the average consumpttve can't
knock Of work for three months. fant
afford three months idleness In the noun
tains Perhaps his chances aren't so good
but he can do lot OF things TO better them.
Under ordinarily decent conditions, be-
Beve he can cure himself.
One Of my confTeres said that the hu-
man organism was like savings bank
and would accept even the smallest de-
posits The man who can't 60 to the noun
tans for three months can at least get an
hours exercise In the open air every day.
Let him walk at least part way 70 his
morning work and part way home-brisk
walking with shoulders back and lungs
expanded by deep, full breaths. III he lives
where he can. let him get an axe and log
In a back yard or shed and go TO work with
them, OF let him put up a punching bag
in a shed or in a room whose windows could
be we'll open. and have a go at that bag
every morning. or let him swing dumb
bells or Indian clubs-always in the fresh
air, mind you.
Impure air is the big basis OF tuber-
,NN ~ ha 10 a n
less Of 1t, but let's make the amount as
small as possible.
-One reason why consumption has in
creased Ia that our houses have grown air
tight. The windows now fit closely, The
radiators take the place OF open freplaces.
There's too little fresh air, tell you-too
little fresh air That's one reason why we
have 2eocO cases Of tuberculosis in five
years.
People shut themselves In the house as
soon as October is over. Nonsense! Winter
Ia the time for people with weak lungs to
be out Of doors, provided they aren't get
ting wet.
In summer doors and windows are open
and the house is endurable. but in winter
the tight shut house Il a regular breeding
ground for tuberculosis. Even inclement
weather out of doors Is better for con-
surnptivee than staying indoors.
In very cold weather, below zero, 1t may
do 70 stay In. The cold will offset the con-
ilneinenl, pioNiueu tHe Houso ISL o'ei-
heated
THAT old night-air bugaboo has worked
UP more consumption cases than most
things. You can't imagine how many
people. even now, sleep with their windows
closed and breathe impure air all night.
It's suicide, but both poor and rich do IT,,
Il can make some allowance for the
poor, because they are cold In winter,
have little bedding and won't be able TO
warm their rooms the next morning-but
It's suicide, all the same. Now, I'm going
70 talk about the poor first, the slum livers,
because there Is world Of consumption
among them, and conditions are most
against their throwing II of. They must
do the best they can to fight 1t of, and
here are some Of the things they must do.
First, ventilate their rooms as thor
oughly as possible. Where seven OF eight
persons live in one or two rooms with win
dows opening on a small, dark court, good
ventilation isn't possible, but at least they
may keep the window wide open at night.
Most Of them shut 1t tight even when
they sleep eight in a room. through the
winter. They may open the window and
let the air in several times a day, during
the winter, too. Any outdoor air, even
slum air. is better than foul indoor air.
and cold is infinitely less dangerous than
impure air.