The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1908-08-20
THE OPEN AIR CURE.
STATE sANAToRluM FOR TU6ER
cuLoSiS PATIENTS.
The New Institution at Iowa City is
Proving Too Small to Accom-
modate All Who Seek
Admission.

les MUlHeS, Aug 10. uS oldtS |
Sanatorium for the treatment Of in
cipient cases of tuberculosis has now
been in operation six months, havingI
been opened for the reception of pa
tients Feb. /, 1908. The rapidity with,
which the beds are being filed shows
clearly the need of just such an in.
stitution. More than this, the number
of applicants that have been refused
admittance as not coming under thel
classification "incipient" points to thel
vital Importance of establishing hos
pitfalls for the care of advanced cases.
Up to the first of July I05 patients
had been received for treatment, while
for the same period of time, over ZOO
were turned away.
The aim of the Sanatorium Is three.
fold: First, it takes the uninstructedI
| tuberculosis patent from amongst
friends, to whom he may be unwilling
ly be a menace, and places him in a
| group of people, afflicted in like man
ner, who are being disciplined and
taught the fundamental principles OF
the open air" treatment. Second, 1t
gives the poor tuberculosis patient
the opportunity OF receiving proper
care and treatment. Third, it aims to
cure the patient, thus giving back to
| the state a life restored to its work
| ing capacity.
| The person suffering from tubercu
losis, who is unaware that the disease
has fastened itself upon him, may be
! throwing from his lungs, quite unex-
pectingly, millions of death dealing"
| germs. If he is fortunate enough to
learn the nature of his malady before
| 1t has been advanced, he has the OPP
portunity of retiring to the Sanator
ium with reasonable hops of cure,
thus sparlng himself years of suffer.
ing and invalidism, and better still
| lessening the danger of infection TO
those about him.
In his sojourn at the Sanatorium he
learns facts concerning his disease
important to him as an individual and
as one of a community. Most deeply
and persistently impressed on his
mind are the new well-known truths
that tuberculosis is caused by spe
cific germ and that it is transmitted
by the dried sputum, carried about in
the dust, of those afflicted with the
disease. He learns that in such an
institution danger is reduced to
minimum by the burning OF sputun
in its moist and harmless state anl
sterilizing any or everything suspect
ed of containing tuberculosis matter
OF almost equal Importance with
knowledge of the disease is the per
sonal factor courage" in the strugg.e
to overcome the disease. The desire
for the comforts of life and all outside
interests must be secondary if he
would effect a cure. 1t requires 9
mind fixed on its set purpose" and
unfaltering zeal to live out of doors
night and day with the thermometer
lowering about zero, to take milk and
eggs in abundance, especially where
there is a natural antipathy to them
and to rest rest! rest! 1t would be
much easier, more peasant and con
venient to take medicine and let /,
do the work.
The germ thrives and multiplies in
damp vitiated air, hence the need
for a maximum of pure, dry air, next
the nourishlng food and the rest in
crease the resistance in the body to
the poisons thrown into the system
After six or eight months at the San
atorium, with disease apparently ar
rested, he returns home no longer a
menace, rather a missionary bearing
the gospel of sunlight, fresh all
and cleanliness and the blessed It'd
ings of hope to the consumptive.
With this institution now in opera
ton a chance of recovery is offered
to the poor consumtive. Formerly
even though the disease were discov
cred in its early stage. no alternative
was open to such an one. He worke,
until Death with bony finger beckon
ed him to repose. Where means are
lacking they are not required and he
is given every care and attention that
will help him on the road to recovery
The fact that this disease lays hold
on men and women in their prime
in great majority of cases, just when
the earning capacity is the greatest
means an immense financial loss &c
the state. So that, from material
point of view, the Sanatorium is an
investment whose dividend may be
] represented by men and women re
stored to wage-earning power.
In conclusion then the State Sana
toriums benefits the individual, the
4 public and the state itself, and time
only is necessary to demonstrate the
fact that it is an effective weapon in
the crusade against tuberculosis.
The Peach Crop.