The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-02-21
,3
CAN CONSUMPTION BE CURED?


t.NN ~ N,tititN NtllNtftN-
In view OF the constant agitation and
Misrepresentation with regard 10 the
treatment OF consumption. the National
Association for the Study and Prcven-
ton of tuberculosis has issued :; state
mcnt in which it states tina, the only
sure cure for this disease is fresh air,
rest and wholesome food
Hardly a week passes without some
quack doctor or eminent specialist
informing the public that he has at last
discovered the sure cure for tubcrcu
loss, After examining every one OF
these so-callcd cures. several hundred
IN number. the National Association
states that one and all, they are misrcp-
reservations or fakes
TWO CLASSES OF "CURES."
These so-callcd 'curc,' are divided
INTO two general classes. The first class
includes the quack remedies and nos
trtln> with which the public Is being
constantly deceived. These range III
Kind from good WhSkcy to- pig 5 blood
or ra-vi"leI rays Some few OF them,
Tor instance. are cod-llvcr oil. lime dust,
malt extract, goats meat. corn-oll, clab-
bcrcd milk, vegetable teas and numerous
lnllalatIons of supposed gcrmlcides, be
sides large number Of we'll known pat
ent and proprietary diSnfcctantS None
Of these are cures for consumption
They are rather for the most part OF a
dangerous character. and patients who
take them may be running serious
risk. Consumption is caused by Il germ
which destroys portions of the lungs or
other affected tissues No drugs medl-
cines. inhaled gas. or home made rene
dies can. by any means, kill the germ
or close up the cavity in the lungs, as is
50 often claimed for these specifics.
Neither is it possible to nhale suffi-
cfently strong germicide'to kill the con-
sumption germ Such an inhalation
would kill the patient before it would
kill the germ
Another class of cures for consump-
ton, by which many people are de
ceived. includes the secret remedies ad-
vertised by unscrupulous doctors" and
professors at the heads of so-called
institutes. These people advertise
that they can cure consumption at home
by means of remedies which are secret
and known only t. them. or sometimes
they advertise that they can cure con-
| sumption at the institutes through
some secret course of treatment For
instance, a professor out in Kansas
conducts All institute" where he claims
he has drug which will cure consump-
tion A doctor" in Minnesota says he
has new remedy which he himself will
exploit for the benefit of humanity A
Colorado specialist has advertised a new
method of curing the disease A st.
Louis druggists claims to have found
how to dynamite tuberculosis germs
An 'institutc" in western State has
been opened recently, which pretends to
\tiiN AcI'NtuIlIJt1OI Nttiotl iNSOIl ~ tilt
fresh air treatment. largely by means Of
massage. osteopathic manipulations and
some secret methods. Again. the Ma
! tiona Association asserts that the very
F., fact of secrecy in these cases tends to
| dlsCredit the so-called cure No respon-
| sible physician will find a cure for dis
ease and refuse to make it known be-
cause Of pecuniary motives.
| CURE POSSIBLE.
These two classes of cures are not
cures at all Consumption is a curabe
disease. however, and in some places
more than Is per cent of the patients
under treatment have been restored to
health. The essentials for the cure of
consumption are rest. fresh air and
wholesome food A large number of
physicians have been working for years
to perfect vaccine, or antltoxn for
tuberculosis, or to find some agent such
as tuberculin which will assist in the
cure of the disease Thus far, the cx-
perlments have not furnished d product
which will either absolutely cure or pre-
vent consumption, or render the patient
| immune against the disease Many of
these serums have proved effective III
increasing the resstanc OF the patient
and thus helping in the cure. but no
scientist of rcpute today claims to have
discovered a tuberculin which will pro-
ducc a cure without the combined aid
of fresh air, rtst and wholesome food.