Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-05-31

fact 1t is usually most prevalent in
winter, but 1t Is a disease Of all sea-
sons and all climates. Wherever there
are civilized human beings you will
fnd pneumonia It is at its worst, in
the United States, in January, and Is
least met with in July and August.
But a sudden chill in midsummer is
just as apt to end in pneumonia, as
sudden chill at Christmas
At the start the symptoms Of the
disease are much like those Of Sc
we're cold or Of influenza The patient
has sharp chill, which is commonly
followed by high fever. Then come
sharp pains in the chest, dry cough,
with blood stained sputum, and short
ness Of breath.
Pneumonia is selflimiting disease
and nothing can be done to make an
attack shorter. The patient should be
placed in a bright, airy room, with
plenty of ventilation, and should be
given plenty Of water and lemonade
and plenty Of easily digested food, such
as milk, eggs, rice and broth. Modern
physicians employ icepacks on the
chest and head to reduce the fever and
various devices for relieving pain and
making the cough less racking.
Against the pneumococcus itself ma
ture must still wage her war unaided,
but It Is often possible to lend help
ing hand to the overburdened and la
boring heart. Once upon a time whis-
ky was extensively used as stinu-
liant, but the most progressive physi-
clans now hold that its employment Is
dangerous, and various other things
are used in its place. Fresh air and
plenty Of 1t Is the thing most needed.
In certain New York hospitals pneu-
monia patients are housed In tents on
the roof and treated much as con-
sumptives are. now treated at scientific
sanitoria.
Pneumonia runs regular course,
and as has been stated nothing can be
done to hurry or hinder this progress.
In from three to seven days after the
beginning of an attack the lungs begin
to clear. This is called the stage Of
resolution. II it progresses without
mishap the patient is soon out Of dan
ger, though he may have a bad cough
and remain very weak for a good
while.
In the old days pneumonia patients
were imprisoned in hot close rooms,
and all sorts of powerful drugs were
employed against the disease. Today
good nursing is known to be Of more
value than drugs. The patient should
be kept bright, cheerful and clean.
His face and mouth should be washed
frequently and care should be taken
that the mucous he expectorates Is
burned, for pneumonia is decidedly
infectious malady, and 1t Is perfectly
possible for one patient to infect a
whole household.
Experiments are now being made
with a new pneumonia anti-toxin, but
It's value is still in doubt. There are,
indeed, vast technical difficulties in the
way Of producing an anti-toxin for the
disease as certain in its effects as that
now used so successfully against diph-
iberia.
The best way to protect oneself
against pneumonia is to avoid expo
sure and excesses and seek to maintain
the body in good condition by taking
regular and sufficient sleep and eating
wholesome food. The man who har-
dens himself by cold baths In the
morning and by wearing rational
clothes is far less apt to fall a victim
to pneumonia than the man who
bathes only in hot water and wears
absurdly heavy underclothes. Sailors,
who are accustomed to rough life,
seldom have pneumonia. Clerks, who
get very little fresh air, fall before 1t
often.
Furthermore, 1t is we'll to avoid en-
tering the sickrooms Of pneumonia pa
tients, and when an epidemic prevails
1t is the better part Of valor to eschew
alcoholic exhilaration. A man with
half pint of whisky in his stomach
feels snug and warm, but in reality his
bodily temperature is considerably be-
low normal and the killing cor
puscles in his blood are. weak and
stunned.
Whenever the temperature OF the
body declines, whether 1t be from sud-
den exposure to great cold or result
of alcoholic excesses, the national
powers Of resistance almost disappear.
The common barnyard fowl, for ex-
ample, is ordinarily not susceptible to
pneumonia, and a large number OF
pneumococci may be injected into
hens vein without damage. But II
this same hen is forced to stand in cold
water for half an hour and then inocu-
lated she will develop all the custom
ary symptoms Of the disease.-Ellery
M. Sedgewick in st. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat.