The Washington herald., 1908-03-08
PHTHISIS Is CURABLE
Victim of Disease Tells How
to Ward 1t Off.
OPEN AIR IS PROPER THING
SanatOria I'm Europe Better Than
Cottage Treatment I'm Vogue In the
United StateS-DiScnsses Treatment
i'm Hospitals Throughout America.
Rest Much Needed in All Attempts.


] i'm Hospitals Throughout America.
Rest Much Needed In All Attempts.
1t was not many years ago and still in
the memory OF many of US. when phthisis
was truly considered The White Mans
Burden, and he who was luckIess enough
to develop it-and at that time it was al
ways developed and never contracted
was looked upon as one condemned to
die, as surely as he stood convicted
murderer
There was no cure, and among that
small group of seemingly incurable mala-
dies, consumption had place of honor at
The top. and was one or the most dreaded
of human diseases. All one could expect
was short reprieve. and that a,nolnted
to literal roasting. for he fingered mis-
erably in a room always much overhead
ed, with little or no ventilation.
A few years have rolled by. and during
| that interval the wise men Of the East
and West. the North and South. have
toiled necessarily. While they have not
reached the completion Of their labors, a
specific. still they have dragged the in
vineible from his high and mighty pedes-
tai and placed him on the shelf with
other serious. but. il taken in time. not
dangerous diseases. Not only have seien-
lists humbIed the mighty. but they have
also revolutionized the treatment. Now,
Instead OF living in close, superheated
room. the patient spends his entire time
in the fresh air. night as we'll as day; be
1t cold or warm, wet or dry. one is al
ways in the open and breathing the
purest of pure air.
Germany Originates Treatment.
I To Germany belongs the honor of origi-
mating the open-air treatment, Drs. Breh-
mer and DettWeiler having first proposed
H. Like all new theories. radically diff
ferent from those existing. many physi-
clans scoffed at the idea. some going so
far as TO term 1t legal localization Of
suicide" while others asserted that il Was
inhuman, as IT caused the patient great
suffering without the slightest chance OF
/ benefit
/ The new theory was. reduced TO its
simplest form, a belief in the cUrability
Of phthisis. II not in too advanced a
stage. by stimulation of the lungs. the
stimulation consisting IN large quantities
OF pure. fresh air. Gradually the theory
became more accepted, year by year gain
ing thousands OF converts. until in the
twentieth century IL has been accepted as
matter OF course. Since Brehmers and
Det5weilers time the theory has been
expanded, the treatment enlarged, the
aew theory OF the "opscnins added. and
/ endless experiments made with tubercu-
lin.
Treatment Il the Same.
The treatment OF phthlsis. in general
way. is the same to-day the world over.
and whether one is sent TO high and
cold or comparatively low and warm
climate. is determined TO some extent by
the patients constitution, his general
health. and his preferences. In the diffr-
enr health resorts the treatment differs
slightly, altitude as a rule being respon-
sible, but although most doctors agree
with the recognized system. some do not
accept il in toto, but supplement II with
! pei scnal theories.
/ Broadly speaking. then. I may define
the treatment by the one word, system.
for nowhere in the practice OF medicine
Is one placed so much in his own care.
nor has he so much 20 do in aiding his
own recovery as in the modern treat
ment of phthisis. A page OF two OF
stereotyped instruction and personal ad-
vice from ones doctor form. If he does
not give a course in tuberculin with the
eating curing and exercise. all that
may be done is aiding the restoration 10
health. After weighing the various in
structions, il appears that the greatest
stress is placed upon the question Of eat
! ing. the idea being TO eat as much in
/ excess of the ordinary amount of food
/ as possible: and as Dr. Brown Of the
/ Trudeau Sanatorium at Saranac Lake.
I jOkingly said, when explaining the rea-
sons for ~stuffing 10 a new patient.
MIR. Blank, you must eat enough each
day for three men-0ne portion for she
| regular use of the body. one 10 make up
/ for the ravages of the disease and Z; third
/ for The unexpected calls upon the sys-
/ tenl."
Eat Many Times n Day.
The scientific explanation is that eating
large quantities of food the baciIu feed
/ upon il and not upol. the lung. and by
so doing make it more easy TO overcome
and cure the infected areas. In addition
to the large quantities Of food AZ meals,
/ one is induced TO eat from three TO four
extra meals daily Milk and a cracker
at O'Clock. again at Il with a raw egg
or two added; at tea. toast, &c, or milk
and egg (and the Continental people will
not do without their afternoon tea), and
at the glass of milk and the never
forgotten egg Many patients drink six
or eight glasses Of milk and eat half
dozen 10 a dozen raw eggs daily, and
at meals consume large quantities Of red
meats and fat-making vegetables and
/ desserts
or next Importance is the curing"
the term used for lying on a reclining
chair From the time one arises until
/ he goes to his bed he is told at what
hour he must be on his chair and how
many he must spend there.
/ Improves Circulation.
| 1t is easy for a logical person to un-
derstand its Importance, and the patients
are urged 20 regard their chairs with
much the same care as an engineer his
oil cups-not only on account of the good
derived from lying on ones back and
resting, instead of making demand upon
the nervous system. heart, and lungs.
but for the more important reason OF
circulation.
| Here it may be well briefly to con-
slider one or two places In Europe and
America where the differences appear
to marked degree. In the Southwest
We will take the Army Hospital at Fort
Bayard ~. Mex, maintained by the gov
ernment for the officers and men Of that
/ service.