Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-02-16
Four ENCOURAGING Facts.

(from bulletin OF State Board OF HEALTH
Four great facts should cheer every
worker in the crusade against tubercu-
losis; should cheer every person In
whose family there have been cases of
tuberculosis; and should cheer every
person whose physician tells him that he
has tuberculosis. These four facts form
a silver lining to the dark cloud which
has long overhuug US. The cloud itself
is this other fact, that 10000 persons
die from tuberculosis every year in our
United States, and that, of us who are
now living 5000, 900 must die of tubercu-
losis unless we lower the death rate from
that disease as We should and as we
may If We sarneatly try to do it. The
four facts which form the silver lining
are these:
/. tuberculosis is not hereditary.
That is proved. Ii Is merely communi-
cable from the sick or from rooms and
things that the sick have infected.
Children born Of tuberculous or con-
sumptive mothers do not have tubercu-
losis il they are Immediately removed
from their mothers and from tubercu-
lous homes. Again, in animal industry,
tuberculous cows may be used for raising
a herd of animals free from tuberculosis,
provided their calves are Immediately
removed from their mothers and fed
milk which does not come from tubercu-
lous animals. Again, persons whose
parents, or brothers or sisters have died
of consumption gain just as rapidly as
others when given sanatorium or other
suitable treatment, and their chances of
final recovery are just as good.
2. tuberculosis is an infectious
disease. That is very encouraging
fact because an infectious disease is a
preventable disease. There is, however,
practically no danger of catching the
disease from momentary or short periods
of exposure 10 the infection, as is true
of some other diseases. The careless
consumpuve patient is a serious source
of danger to all other persons in the
family or in the house with him. The
intelligent and careful patient who fol-
, lows faithfully the instructions which
are given to him by his physician is al
most absolutely free of danger. To il
lustrate, a person living in a properly
conducted sanatorium filled with tuber
culosis patients is in less danger of con-
tracing the disease there than he would
be under ordinary home and social con-
ditions.
3. tuberculosis is preventable. As
smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, diphthe-
ria, typhoid fever, and other infectious
diseases are preventable and are now
largely controlled and prevented, so is
tuberculosis preveutable. In our own
state the crusade against tuberculosis
was begun by the state board of health
in 1899. 1t has been kept up ever since,
and even with insufficient means to car
~ on the work half as vigorously and as
widely as it should have been carried on,
we are now having in this state about
500 fewer deaths from tuberculosis every
year than we should be having if the
death rate from this disease were as high
as it was in 1892, when our registration
of deaths from the whole state began.
In the state as a whole the death rate
from pulmonary tuberculosis (consump-
tom has been diminished more than
one-third, and in the state outside the
cities, more than forty per cent Isn't
that encouraging? But it isn't half as
well as We may do.
4. tuberculosis is durable. Among
log patients under treatment at The
Maine Sanatorium from June /, 1907, TO
June /, 1908, of those who remained as
long as five weeks the disease was arrest
ed apparently cured) in "A per cent, and
32 per cent more were much improved
when they left the institution. There
were only six patients really in the early
stage of the disease. The disease was
arrested apparently cured) in all of
these. of SO moderately advanced cases
who were under treatment five weeks or
more, 40 of them had the disease arrest
cd, and the other 10 were much improv-
ed when they left the sanatorium with
good prospect that many of those would
eventually fully regain their health if the
sanatorium treatment was carried out at
their homes. The average gain in
weight of these 50 patients was 20 lbs.
and 2 ozs. But it is another story with
the far advanced cases, only one of those
left with the disease arrested; but nine
more were much improved. This is
strong argument in finding out early
whether you have tuberculosis, and, If
you have, of putting yourself under
treatment early whether the treatment is
to be in a ssnatorium or under the super
vision of your family physician. While
better results for most patients may be
obtained in a sanatorium, IL sanstorium
treatment is available, there is no reason
for encouragement if you cannot go,
because good results may be obtained in
many cases under home treatment if the
patient religiously carries out every de-
tail of the sanatorium methods at his
own home.
Here and There