Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-06-17
THE TOY PISTOL.

The appearance OF the national In
dependence day, when hundreds OF
lives are sacrificed annually through
premature explosions, burns, the
wounds of toy pistols and other wea-
pons, and the dangerous explosives
that fall often into the hands Of chill
dren and others unfit to have them,
leads us to remind parents of the
dangers from the indiscriminate pos
session of fireworks. Especially is
the toy pistol dangerous, since
wounds from 1t frequently produce
tetanus, and among other things it
issue of the Technical World maya
kline is an article on the subject of
tetonus, and among other things it
Is said:
Did you know that since the intro
duction Of the toy pistol and giant
cracker the number of lives sacri-
Need yearly in the celebration of the
Fourth OF July has averaged about
four hundred, the greatest mortality
being from fireworks used on the
Fourth in 1903, when the number
tabulated by the Journal Of the
American Medical association was
four hundred and sixty-six, of which
three hundred and sixty-three were
from tetanus caused by toy pistols?
When lockjaw, or tetanus, is about
to- develop, the wound from which
the infection has come and which
has probably been healing gets irri-
table, red and tender, and pains
shoot up the nerves toward the spine.
The first evidence Of the seizure is
nearly always In the nerves which:
control the muscles III grinding food
and the jaws become rigidlyf. closed:
hence the name given to the dis
ease. The muscles of the throat be-
come so sensitive that they resist the
passage Of food, making 1t painful
and difficult to swallow. The muscles
Of the face take a fixed position,
with lips retracted exposing the
teeth; the brow is wrfnkled and the
eyes stare, giving the countenance
mixed expression Of anguish and
laughter, producing the ''sardonic"
expression peculiar to tetanus. The
Ifgfdity of the muscles next extends
to the body and its extremities and
the victim becomes helpless, stiffened.
Often the muscles of the back are
drawn SO tense that the body is bent
Hike a bow, resting on the head and
heels Less frequently it is bent for
ward to one side. In the beginning
of the attack the rigidity Is not con-
slant and does not affect all the
groups of muscles equally, and may
pass from one to another group with
intervals of complete relaxation.
But the spasms become more FREE
Quent and severe and are presently
e1cited by the slightest muscular ef-
fort. So exquisitely excitable are the
nerves, that mere touch, a current
of air, the reflection OF light from
any bright object, will bring on a
sudden spasm in all the muscles or
dfnarily controlled by the will; the
face is horribly distorted, the spine
bent, and the hands violently
clfnched and drawn up. So severe
Is the contraction that the muscles
IRE sometimes torn in two. During
the CONFUSION there is a severe pain
through the stomach and back. I'm
mediately following the maximum of
the paroxysm, the berathing becomes
easier and little fluid may be taken
through a tube. ..',..sg. :.
Unfortunately the mind of the suf-
ferer is clear and his senses acute
during the attacks. Profuse sWeats
occur, and the voice is dry, cultural
and, at times, unintelligible. Owing
to the severe activity of the muscles,
1oektaw causes the highest fever
ever seei, and the body temperature
sometimes rises for an hour or two
after death. Finally the boy, your
boy, sinks from exhaustion or . Sc
we're paroxsym arrests the breathing
and death terminates disease which
has the worst terrors Of menigitfs,
st1ychnine poisoning and hydropho-
1fss causing an agony hardly to be
SURPASSED by the tortures of martyr
dom, and a distress to the helpless
1ystander which Is unreasonable In
words. ..,-%, &=Sss : >
r. .S.sF 49,