Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-05-17

should never have been allowed 10
leave home. The hospitals. Sanatoria.
and poor houses are hlled with dying
Consumptives. Public and private char
ity is taxed 10 the uttermost. and still
| cannot meet the demands made upon
them. No wonder these localities are
seriously considering the question or
| legislating against us. We have no
moral right 70 burden them with the
care of consumptives. Fortunately the
discovery that these patients can be
safely treated at home comes at a
/ time when they can be forced back
upon us. not only without detriment
but 10 their great advantage. Ii has
been demonstrated that tuberculosis
can be cured in Illinois. II is also a
well established fact that where pa
tients recover they must afterwards
continue TO live under substantially the
same climatic conditions as those
where the cure is effected. Ii is 4
matter Of common experience. so com
mon that there are few exceptions To
the rule, that patients cured in the
more favorable climates relapse on
their return to this climate
Food Regulation.
We have also made a mistake in
regarding fresh air as the sine qua
non N the treatment of tuberculosis.
Nutritious food, regular rest and eX-
ercise are each of essential import
ance. Highly nutritious and property
regulated diet is, if any difference.
even more essential than fresh air,
This fact Is not generally recognized.
and where it is. is not sufficiently en-
phasized 1t will not do to leave the
patient TO his own discretion i'll any
thing. and especially in the matter OF
diet This must be selected for him
and precautions taken that the patient
shall not eat such food as a capricious
appetite will almost certainly lead him
to select Since the whole question is
one of nutrition, ii is essential that the
patient be fed. not what his appetite
may suggest but a balanced ration
which contains from day to day all the
elements of nutrition of which he so
much stands in need. In order to &C
complish this the one who prepares
his food should have n scientific know
edge of food values. This leads me to-
suggest that domestic science as taught
in manyof our technical schools should
occupy a conspicuous place i'll the
treatment of this disease
Housing of Patients.
In the housing of tuberculosis pa
tients we have yet much to learn. II
was natural that sanatoria for the
treatment of tuberculosis should att
first copy the usual methods of hospi-I
tai construction, hence there has arts
en- a too expensive ideal Our aim should
be to supply the maximum amount of
pure air at a minimum expense. In
favorable climates the tent has been
largely and successfully used. At first
thought il may sem incredible that pat
tients can be comfortably housed in a
tent at a temperature of twenty-five
degrees below zero Yet this is just
what the patients of the Ottawa tent
colony have been doing during the
past winter. one of the most severe
we have experienced in the northwest
for many years.
Inasmuch as no systematic attempt
had ever been made to treat tuberculo-
sis in Illinois by modern methods the
state medical society established tent
colony at Ottawa to demonstrate that
this disease can be successfully treated
here as elsewhere The demonstration
was only intended 10 cover a period
of a few months, hence it was desira-
BILE that the equipment be inexpensive.
To this end the tent was adopted. 1t
was not believed at the time this meth
cd would be feasible in cold weather
or would be accepted by the patients
even if it were; therefore a large
building was secured where they could |
be housed during the winter. Ii was eX
pected that as the cold weather came |
on. patients would move in this build |
ing at their pleasure. In order to keep |
them out as long as possible each tent
was supplied with an oil stove, which was |
expected to supply only sufficient
warmth for chilly. or moderately cold |
weather Ii was anticipated that as /
the weather grew colder the patients |
would go indoors. But they did not; |
even the most delicate women remain |
ing in the tents Instead of suffering /
from the cold they were comfortable |
and rather enjoyed the experience. |
Several of those who were accustomed |
to living in frame houses declared they /
would have nave been less COHllOIld~
Bile had they been at home. Even new
arrivals during the extremely cold
weather insisted upon going into
tents. Their action is the more re-
markable when we take into account
that many. if not most of them. had
come from homes where it was dih-
cult to drive them away from the Wit
lated and super heated atmosphere Oh
badly ventilated houses.
Use of Tent.
Since it has been demonstrated that
the tent is practicable in cold climates
it should be used more extensively. II
fulfills the conditions most perfectly |
from scientific standpoint. From an
economic standpoint the tent com
mends itself II costs from four 10 /
Ave hundred dollars 10 house a patient !