Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-09-26
LIE caase and sic Of fIay &c.

HE Cause and Cure Of nay EcFef.
Hay fever Is a catarrhal affection of
the eyes, nose, and throat, accompanied
by violent sneezing and asthmatic
symptoms. to which very many persons
are subject in the summer while others
are entirely immune The attack com
monty begins in the latter part of May
and continues six or els hit weeks.
Medical treatment has hitherto been
of little use. The best palliative is
trip to the seashore.
Until recently there has been uncer-
tainty as to the cause of the disease,
which has been variously attributed to
the heat of early summer, calculations
from grass and new-mown hay, me
chanical irritation by pollen from gras-
ses and other plants and, recently, to
bacteria
Prof. Dunbar, of Hamburg, who has
been studying the subject for seven
years, now publishes, in the Deutsche
Medizinische Wochenschrift, expert
ments which seem to disaprove all
these theories and also TO hold out the
hope OF curing hay fever by rational
treatment
According to DR.. Dunbar, the disease
is caused by the pollen of grasses, but
not mechanical irritation lie has ex-
tracted from the pollen poison, or
toxin, which is insoluble in ether and
alcohol, but soluble in water and weak
saline solutions, tears, the mucus of
the nose and the serum of blood. A
solution of this toxin dropped into the
eye or nose at once produces the char
acteristic symptoms Of hay fever. The
same symptoms in an aggravated form
occur when the solution is injected
hypodermcally.
This discovery suggested treatment
by the serum method and Dr. Dunbar
set to work to produce a curative serum
by inoculating animals with pollen
toxin. For several months these ami
mails yielded a blood-serum which ag-
gravated instead Of relieved the suffer
ings of hay fever patients, but in time
counter-poisons were formed in the
blood of the inoculated animals and a
serum was obtained which, when drop
ped into the eye or nose together with
pollen toxin, completely prevented .he
attack which the latter alone would
have caused
Experiments looking to the cure Of
the disease began in the latter part of
January Of the present year. A drop
Of very active pollen toxin was applied
to the eye, and, as soon as the first in
Illumination appeared, drop of the
serum was applied. The burning sen
sation ceased instantly, but soon re-
turned. Then second drop of serum
was applied, with similar results
After four drops bad been thus given
at intervals OF five minutes the burn
ing did not return and the redness and
inflammation ceased.
When the applications were made to
the nose the curative effect was more
strongly marked, because larger guam
titles Of the antitoxin serum could be
used.
There is therefore good reason to be-
lieve that the disease can be checked in
it's earliest stage 10y applying the serum
10 the external mueussurfaces. Hypo-
dermic injection of the serum would
probably be necessary if considerable
quantities of pollen toxin had already
passed into the blood
Probably more powerful serum can
be obtained than was used in these
experiments, tt is not yet certain
whether there is single pollen toxin.
a single variety of hay fever, and a
single curative serum, or different
toxin. disease, and serum for each kind
of grass and grain. Dir, Dunbar has
proved, however that serum from ami
mails inoculated with maize pollen is
etlicacious against hay fever caused by
rye pollen.
1t is noteworthy that rye. barley,
wheat, rice, maize. and every kind of
grain and grass which DR.. Dunbar has
Investigated yield toxin which causes
hay fever, while, on the other hand, he
has rot succeeded in obtaining such a
toxin from amy plant not of the grass
family tGraminiW}.
The toxin is permanent aud, as the
above mentioned experiments show, is
AS viru)cnt in winter rs in summer.
Scientific American
MliSir