Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-09-10

over one OF DOCn apaCleS OI the lungs
has temperature from SO up, some
cough, possibly some slight pain, per-
haps some loss Of flesh, has frequent
pulse, may or may not have some pal
pitation of the heart, may have a
| little shortness of breath, but always
has bad color.
"The skiagraph has been taken and
| the above condition has been confirm
| ed What shall we do for him?
Disappraves Western Chimes.
First. see that his digestion and
assimilation are being carried on as
well as it is possible for them to be;
that his bowels are acting properly,
that he has the proper amount and
kind of food that he has a liberal
amount of good fresh air day and
night. and that he has as much sun
! shine as is possible. Keep him still.
Rest is one of our greatest aids and
must be well looked after. Keep him
| in as pleasant surroundings as possible
Cententment is almost necessary.
Many consumptives sent away from
/ home and friends to Colorado, New
Mexico or other places die of sheer
Inconsistencies
These arrangements being made,
| what medicine shall be used? None.
| Positively none Of you can avoid it.
| No medicine has any effect on the
| course or duration of the disease.
| There are indications in all Of the adj
| vnnced cases that must be met as they
| come UP. Of course. Some need a little
| tor ic, others need little cough medi-
cine or what not.
Heretofore the best treatment at
Gu command has been food and air.
| These are both good and necessary to
| the proper treatment Of tubercular
patients.
I'VE have relied wholly upon nature
| 20 effect a cure. That we have often
failed goes without saying. The time
has now come when l think we may
| truly say we will destroy the germ in
the lungs by the proper application Of
| the x-ray coil, and thus relieve nature
| CT a great deal it has had to do, there
by giving our patients much larger
opportunity for recovery.
X-Ray Coil Beneficial.
THAT the tubercular bacilli can be
| destroyed in the living lung there is no
| longer doubt You all know the germs
of luas, sychosis tubercular, lymphang-
| tits and in many cases tubercular
arthritis yield to the scientific applica-
! ton of the X-ray coil. You are familiar
with the fact that persons working
much around a coil and not being
properly protected. become absolutely
sterile. If the vitality of the sperm
anc ovum can be destroyed and tuber-
cular glands made to disappear, why
can we not destroy the germ In the
lungs If we make proper applica-
ton of the x-ray?. We can destroy II
and We do get these results.
Its application should never be
undertaken by an inexperienced person
if sood results are to be obtained. II
is delicate matter to determine the
proper vacuum of the tube to be USED
in individual cases, and to make the
proper exposure. A great many have
tried but few have succeeded. The
lack of success 1 think is due to i'm
perfect technique and failure tc
| recognize the reaction which takes
place If there Is a large amount OF
| invasion. In these severe cases the
treatment must be heavy If mixed In
lection Is present and ti-streptolitit
serum is almost a necessity.
Improvement usually begins within
a short time and is often very marked
by the end of the second or third week
every bad symptom becoming ameli
GRATED. Temperature drops, exhaus
ton is less marked. appetite better ant
weight increases, and O feeling of re
lief Is experienced. TIL color whicl
is always bad in these cases begins t.
clear up and the general symptom
are much improved. This change doe
tiot always take place quickly, DuC l
sometimes delayed from four to 81:
weeks. If the invasion is small tn
reaction is usually less. The treatmen
required is correspondingly less, tn
lung beginning to clear up in yer
short time, from six to ten weeks Il
mild cases, puts the patient well o.
the road to recovery. In either sever
or mild forms the greatest care mus
be exercised in the general manage
| ment of the case If we would have tn
patient progress to a complete cure O
to a condition Of safety"