The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-30

1t has jalousies instead Of glass windows
and IL Is bare Of thick carpets and other
useless furnishings. Arising in the morn
ing he takes a cold shower bath and eats
a very light breakfast.
At noon he eats a ever lighter meal,
and after rising from the table takes a short
rest. In the cool OF the evening comes
his principal meal OF the day.
Americans would do well in summer 10
initiate as far as possible this typical white
man Of the tropics.
The Investigations OF, Swift. Darrach,
Gerhard, Parkes, Packard, Wood, Pepper,
Dowler, Levick and the other Psychologists
who nave studied sunstroke prove hat with
ordinary care 1t Is avoidable. Its younger
brother, heat exhaustion, Is also avoidable.
The latter is less serious than the former,
and usually yields to treatment quite read
lily, but it NAV pave the way Tor serious
maladies and should be regarded warily.
Sambron, a British investigator, is OF the
opinion that sunstroke is an infectious dis
ease, caused by a defin tie microscopic
organism. He points out that IL often
occurs during comparatively cool weather
and that great heat does not always pro-
ducc 1t.
be also avs that post-mortem examina.
tions show changes in the brain tissues OF
victims which can be accounted for only
as the result Of bacterial activity. His
conclusions were set forth in the British
Medical Journal mint or ten years ago
at great length, but few Psychologists agree
with him.
Gutteras, another investigator, says that
sunstroke is sometimes chronic, though
always in a mild form. He says that in
Florida this condition ia called Florida
fever or country fever and that il is fire.
quently mistaken for malaria or typhoid,
There is no reason TO believe, however,
that such fevers are in anywise related to
sunstroke. That they are caused by eN-
posure to high temperatures may be true,
but that they bear any appreciable resem-
blance to true ~siriasis, with it's sudden onset
and quick course, is questionable.
Heat exhaustion is foreshadowed by a
feeling OF great weakness and restlessness.
II may be produced by exposure 20 the
direct rays Of the sun. and then again it
may be caused by sleeping in a warm room,
by overwork in hot weather or by exposure
to great heat for hours at a time. as in a
kitchen or bakehouse.
The patients skin grows cold, his pulse
becomes feeble and his legs scarcely sup
port him. He is, indeed, much III the con-
dition Of a person about TO faint from over
e~Xertion, severe pain or loss of blood.
The most effective treatment involves
the use OF stimulants, but these should be
administered by a physician.
The temperature of the body affords
a ready means Of diherentiating W.
sunstroka and heat exhaustion. IL the
PATIENTS skin is hot and red he should
be flooded with cold water, as described
above. -,
If, on the contrary, his skin is cold and
pale he should be wrapped in a blanket.
Inasmuch. however, as il is always possible
for the lay man to make a mistake in diagno-
sis, and such mistakes are apt to prove
fatal, it is well at all times to get a ply
stefan at once.
One of the unfortunate things about both
sunstroke and heat exhaustion ia the fact
that they have those who recover from their
effects unusually liable to future attacks.
The man who has once suffered a sunstroke
is ant to be bowled over again. and this
liabilityi is much greater than il the case with
the average man. II is therefore advisable
for those who have recovered from such an
attack to avoid all muscular activity in
summer-a least for ten years.
A~nythingwhich weakens or debilitates the
body increases likelihood OF sunstroke.