Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-14

gia and then again it may lead to abscess
of the brain meningitis. 1t is caused by
the influenza germs invading the nerve It's
sues. the spinal cord or the brain. Some
times the symptoms are much like those of
sciatica a other times long-continued de-
lirium or insanity results
s. The stomachic type is characterized by
a general invasion of the digestive tract
by the influenza germ. The first symptom
is vomiting, and this is often followed by
acute pains in the abdomen. diarrhea and
other disorders of the bowels. When the
germ invades the organs used for the elm
ination of waste they are impeded and
jaundice appears. When ii stops off at the
vermiform appendix the result is one of the
multitudinous varieties of appendicitis.
There are other minor forms of the dis
ease. but those outlined above are the ones
most often encountered. They we'll exhibit
the fact that influenza is malady to be
taken seriously. Its germs make them
selves at home in any vital organ and
wherever they take up their residence they
make trouble. When they are confined 10
the upper air passages, the result is merely
what seems to be an extraordinarily bad
cold. But when they get into the lungs, the
stomach, the liver the spinal cord. the
vermiform appendix or the brain, the pa
tent is very i'll indeed.
The Chief Danger.
But the chief danger of influenza lies, not
in its own direct effects. but in the fact
that 1t greatly weakens the body as whole
and opens the way for the entrance and
rapid increase of organisms of other dis
eases. The influenza germ secretes a VIC
lent poison, and this poison, as has been
stated, produces all the customary Symp-
toms of the disease. The blood has hard
time manufacturing enough antitoXin to
counteract It, and when the work is done
and the patient is cured the blood in his
veins is exhausted and vitated. 1t Is then
that the pneumococcus comes in and causes
pneumonia, or the tubercle bacillus enters
and produces tuberculosis.
To understand all of this better it may be
well to call to mind certain facts regarding
the human body's devices for fighting the
germs of deadly diseases. Most of the
work is done by the blood, and its chlef
weapons are it's leucocytes, or white cor
puscles. These white corpuScles have a
great appetite for germs, and under high
power microscope you can see them at
work. The white corpuscles appear as
transparent bags and the germs as little
dark specks of various shapes. Through
the walls of each corpuscle you can see
three or four or a dozen dead germs inside
1t eats lot of them, and II the germs are
not too numerous and the white corpuscles
are in good health, every germ in the blood
stream will be gobbed and destroyed.
But in some diseases the germs multiply
with such astonishing rapidity under ordl-
nary circumstances that the white cor
puscles are soon gorged and can eat no
more. Then the germs, being compare
lively free to do as they please, generate
their poisons in immense quantities. These
poisons in their general effect are much
like the poisons of bees, snakes and spiders,
They course through the blood and they
cripple and injure every vital organ IN
less something is done to neutralize them
they finally put one or more organs out or
business altogether-and the patient dies.
Fortunately, the blood, even when the
white corpuscles unequal to the task
of swallowing all of the live germs present
in it, still has a capacity for producing a
sort of antidote for the germ poison. This
antidote is called an antitoxin. and its eff
feet is to make the germ poison innocuous
and non-poison-put So long as man
blood is able to produce enough antitoxin
to neutralize the toxin, poison. secreted
by the Influenza germs in his tissues and
veins, he is to get well.