St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-05-20
II 49,
Home Health
Club
By DAVID Il. FEEDER, Ph. D.. MA
La Porte, Ind.
COLDS
j, ~ 3


1t is s very easy matter to ''catch cold''
and great many persons catch cold
without having the least idea how they
caught it. As rule, downright careless
ness is responsible for the majority OF
colds, but very, very often it may be the
| direct result of overcarefulness.
1t is fact that in one form or another
colds cause more deaths every year than
any other one trouble affecting the hui
man race. Generally cold is serious
| matter, and should be quickly over
come, for to neglect it might result in
disaster. Still. many colds are trifiing,
and Nature may overcome them without
any special efforts of the sufferer. Prob
ably this is why SO many colds are neg
| lected until it is too late to render serv-
| ice. No one can answer for what sud-
! den cold will do. The most vigorous
may Unexpectedly rush into pneumonia
| and be dead within week; the young
and the delicate may fall into bronchitis
or plurisy and end in consumption.
The man or woman who neglects or
trities with cold and considers it a
small matter that may be left to get
well OF itself is making a mistake in too
many Instances. - II cold is perfectly
simple, then SO much the better; it can
be ended with very little trouble, and all
danger be averted But it is not an easy
thing to tell how severe the course Of a
cold is going to be or to realize how sud-
denly a trifing cold may rush into the
gravest conditions. Prompt action can
never do harm, and it may prove i'm
mensely profitable. This is especially
true in the case of children, when the
dangers of delay are serious.
Of course, cold is not thing that
enters the body, and that may be driven
out in substance, although ordinarily
speaking, we allude TO 1t as if it were.
In few plain words l will try to ex-
plain what "cold'' really is, and then
all may intelligently undertake it's pre-
vention and management.
First. will mention the colds of which
we are conscious at the time of taking.
These are usually due to direct exposure
to dampness or draughts while the tenn
IS much lower than the natural tenn
perature of the body, which is SO de-
grees Fahrenheit A person standing
in windy place or facing the wind
when the cold air is laden with moisture
is very apt to "catch cold" Under such
circumstances the cold air contracts
the millions of little blood vessels or ca
pi!laries on the surface of the body; and
by such contraction the blood is
squeezed out Of thep and the surface
becomes pale or blue, and the fullness
disappears, giving pinched look to the
skin.
AS there is a certain quantity of blood
Il the body, and the contraction of the
minute blood vessels On the surface does
not consume any blood, it is evident that
the blood driven from the surface must |
accumulate elsewhere, and so cause an
body. Driven from without, the blood |
crowds the inner vessels and distends |
them, and causes al excess in one or
more Of the internal organs. In other
words, congestion.
Just which one of the inner organs or |
structures Of the body will be affected |
by the excess of blood driven inward by |
the contraction of the surface depends |
upon variety of circumstances.
A few points in relation to Catching
cold" are worth remembering, and
knowledge of them may be the means
of avoiding trouble. a person sitting or
lying down has lowered circulation and
cannot endure to great degree of cold
as person of the same strength who is
in action. So long as a person is in fair
motion, Or making good muscular exer-
ton, the blood current of the entire
body is hurried in proportion to the de-
gree Of exertion, and, while this goes on,
the liability to catch cold" is greatly di-
lninished. even under exposure.
A person who has been in motion will
find his susceptibility to cold increase
quickly as soon as he stops the exertion
or sitting in the cold or in a
draught after walking or working may
cause the surface to become suddenly
chilled and result seriously.
Removing coat or wrap while the
body is still overheated from walking
or exercise is prolific cause of danger.
And walking into cold atmosphere
when overheated, without throwing on
an extra garment, is another source of
serious trouble. Many a woman has
walked from the ballroom into the en-
BRACE of pneumonia or hasty consump-
ton.
Coming suddenly out of the cold into
IN excessively warm room is another
method of catching cold" A person
coming out of the cold is almost certain
% hasten up to the fire to get warm, and
soon commences to sneeze or suffer from
| cold, Thought TO be the result of the
outdoor exposure. In such cases the cold
lir gradually contracts the small blood
'essels in the mem branes lining the
lose and upper air passages, and drives
len change to heated atmosphere re-
axes them, and the blood rushes into
hem in large quantities, and brings
bout the conditions known as cold.
some persons by indoor life, become so
ensitive that merely going from room
# one temperature into another of q
lightly different temperature will cause
slight cold; and many realize when a
DOM is getting too warm by the effect
+ it's temperature.
| have mentioned that children are
ften injured by the process of hard
ming" The opposite OF this is often the
ase. In the kindly fear lest a cold be
aiken, children are often kept entirely
90 warm, thereby relaxing the pores
co freely, and thus helping in the very t