The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-14
COLD STORAGE AS
LOCKJAW CURE
is BELIEVED inefficient
SAVANNAH PHYSICIANS DO NOT
CREDIT OMAHA REPORT.

Drs. RaIstOh baltimore and George
white Can See No Way by which
the Cure is Accomplished Through
the Application of COId-The Eff
feet of Indian Arrowhead Poison
and the Anti-TOxine Treatment.
Dangers of the Cold Storage Meth
OG.
Placing a patient suffering from
lockiaw in cold storage to effect a cure
is a method not looked upon with IA
vor by Savannah physicians. Several
were consulted yesterday about the
Omaha case mentioned in the Morning
News, and in no instance was a favor
able opinion obtained.
The case in point was reported from
South Omaha. A person suffering
with lockjaw was ordered placed in
cold storage by his physician. This
treatment was given him and, accord
ing to the report, a cure was effected.
The details of the treatment were not
given in the newspaper dispatches. but
the method is condemned on the gen.
eral rules of medicine and health.
Among the Savannah physicians who
We're consulted on the subject were DIR.
Ralston baltimore and DIR. George
White. Both physicians stated that
they did not believe that a cure could
be accomplished by the cold storage
method. In discussing lockiaw and its
treatment DR.. baltimore said:
The Muscles Contract.
muscles of the body. 1t begins with
then slowly spreads. At last the res
piratory muscles contract and the pa
tient dies. either from suffocation or
from complete exhaustion. The suf-
ferings of those afflicted are terrible.
The methods of treatment now used
are injections of anti-toxine serum,
and in some cases an injection of a
certain poison used by the Indians to
poison their arrow-heads has been eff
fectively used. These injections have
the effect of relaxing all the muscles
of the body, producing an almost COM
plete paralysis. Contraction is there
fore impossible and, breathing and the
heart action continuing unaffected, the
patient often RECEIVERS.
81 doubt the efficiency of the cold
storage treatment and can see no rea-
son why it should effect a cure. OF
course if the cold could be applied to
the wound from which lockjaw may
result as soon as inflicted, the effects
might be warded off. But under these
conditions a man would be almost con-
stantly freezing himself at different
points of the body. The serum treat
ment 1 believe to be the most eff
cient."
Injection Into Nerve.
DR.. George White when asked about
the matter said that he could not see
how the cold could effect any cure and
in addition, he believed that that meth
cd of reducing temperature would be
almost fatal to the patient.
Cocaine injected into the nerves
themselves" he said. lis a method of
treatment that is coming into favor.
1t has been found that in the case of
injections into the blood, that no eff
fects are felt until the nerve ends have
taken up the matter injected and car
ried it to the brain and spinal column
This process is necessarily slow and
often the disease will kill the patient
before the injection has time to get
in it's work.
"Under the cocaine treatment an In
csion is made in the spine and the
nerve roots and ends bruised. The Co
caine is then injected and is at once
taken up by the nerves and carried di-
rect to the brain. Paralysis results
almost Immediately and the spread of
the disease is checked. The great
trouble is that the effects are not last
ing and constant injections must be
made until the disease has run its
course and played itself out.
Danger From Cold storage.
"The other method is the injection
of the anti-toxine serum continued
DR.. White, land this is believe, the
method most commonly used. have no
faith in the cold storage treatment, be-
cause l cannot see how it will act
with any beneficial results In fact,
it seems to me that there is grave
danger of exhausting the patient and
allowing the disease to make greater
Roadway.
There are methods for reducing the
of the body that are used
in many cases, and even i'm these the
utmost caution must be used. If a
person were thrust into cold storage
and practically frozen, I believe the
results would be disastrous. If neces-
sary to reduce temperature the other
well known methods are safer. can
not say that 1 place any stock in the
cure of lockjaw by the use
of cold storage"
other physicians who were interview
ed expressed similar opinions, and as
stated. there were none found who
took a position favoring the freezing