The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-12-03

INST NaitIa&ts "a certain &c
gree of heat is essential to life. Tha,
therefore, must be maintained.
By the aid of a small instrument mad,
especially for the purpose, We are abb,
10 ascertain the degree Of internal hea
OF anyone at any time. By repeated
tests you will find that the amount q
neat present in good health is Just al
so.Z. as marked on this instrument.
When the fever OF smallpox has sci
IN, the heat will have risen to f03. oil
perhaps even los. By feeling Of the pa,
tents hand a sensible mother or nurse
Will be quite able to judge when some
thlhg OF this nature has taken place. al.
though she may never have seen a "clin.
ical thermometer" Still. it is of nj
mail Importance to have such an in.
strument as this.
lake a case in which the heat is 100
degrees Fahrenheit, At this stage the
FEVER Is what might be termed noder-
ale, and if ii gets no higher, the danger,
n even the difficulty, will not be great.
by simply applying cloths wrung out OF
cold water, the heat has been brought
down to zoos, and that in less than hail
an hour. The amount Of danger thus
averted by lowering the temperature to
THIS degree cannot be oyerestimated, i
But let us consider another case. The
patient Is a child, and the heat is l05.
Ihls could not continue long and recov-
cry De possible. The whole body is
wrapped in cooling cloths. which are
changed as soon as they become in the
less heated. until the thermometer in
dicates l01. What a difference now as
compared with a case in which the heat
continues to rise until it reaches loo or
more, n is not reduced for, say. even
as short a time as IL hours.
You must keep uppermost in your
mind the fact that smallpox poison in
the system depends on the degree OF
heat by which it Is propagated, and YOU
Will then see how mild a case must be
when the heat is e~ffectually moderated,
as compared with one in which ii is al
lowed to continue increasing.
This, however. leads me to remark
that If an etfectual lowering Of the tenn
perature is TO be secured, there must be
determined effort for the purpose. Tho
cooling Of the head is the first thing to
be done, because OF the soft character
OF the brain, and the Importance of say
ing that. But, if the cooling is limited
to the head, it may fail to produce as
heneticent results as are desired. So, the
packing of the whole body may be nee
essary to get at the circulation as it
passes through the heart itself. and this
is best done by pressing cloths. cooled
with ice If possible, over that organ.
l would not recommend the use Of ice
ITSELF but that a cloth be wrung out of
cold water, and then a piece of leo
wrapped in it for a minute or so. Then
lay this, say four ply, over the left size.
and press it very gently until it gets
In the curse of half an hour
you will see very good results from this.
course, it should be done in a wa7
perfectly agreeable to the patient. The
great thing to be kept in view is reduc-
ing the violent heat in the whole sys-
tenn, until it is not much higher than II
;hould be.
The very greatest announcement
ought to sustain us in helping a sufferer
n such a matter as this. Even il we
succeed in bringing down the heat only
half a degree, that would. in many cases.
be the means of saving a life, where il |
might otherwise be lost. In other cases |
It might mean the saving from disfg-
lrement of the countenance, and. cor
iequentiy, a great measure OF sore dis
ress.
No n need rest satisfied with such
results as these. He has only TO
,ersevere with the natural means, and
lie is perfectly sure of success. The
effect of vinegar, or good acetio
.cid, is very great, and in cases of small
OK it is otherwise most desirable.
1t is, hence. of great value to sponge
he body, under the bed clothes, with
his, as we'll as to cool otherwise. The
urious matter is. that the commence
nent of an attack of smallpox does not
itself by an increase of vital
ction, but in the opposite. 1t is not an
natural flow of spirit, but an unex-
lairable WEAKNESS that appears first.
Tor is it heat, but chiIliness, to when
ttention is first directed on the part
t those who are watching. Yet It is
be same when you cast a shoyelful of
-esh coal on a moderate fire. You cool
t first, and the heat follows only after
time. So, when the poisonous SUBJ
of this disease comes first on, or
ito, the nerve centers, 1t tenas to
mother them till they have set up their
owerful action. This is called tho
cold stage of all fevers ,
1t is at this time, however, that it is
astly important that something be
,ne, at least to mitigate after stages.
here is by no mean any time to be
,st now. You may do two things in this
I'D stage. First, you may give small
of such acids as will neutralize Z
lie poisonous substance in SO far as they :
ZACH 1t. Half a teaspoonful of cream {
tartar, in hot water, given every five l
inutes will do good service, But tof '
Importance you may wrap the :
ct and legs, above the knees, in a bet '
m~entation, and if there is pain in the '
.ad you may 90 the same with that $
OF less than two yards Of flannel should s
soaked with hot water, and paeEed c
ound the feet and limbs. covered with :
good, thick sheet. A yard or 90 may j
put on the head, 50 as to heat that Z
also. BY doing these things you !
We the vital energy from being ex- I
.usted or smothered, as it would be IL c
-. 49,, .rto n rarrIv ct,ppIia6 ~fraulaaa n