Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-01-20

lectS relating to the health OF schools
and homes Dr. \. G.. Young has this
week issued to the superintendents of
schools the first of a series of leaflets
on the above subjects, the contents of
which is as follows:
Cold weather ses.-Pneumonia,
bronchitis, grip, and common colds, are
called cold weather diseases. In the
las ten wears, in Maine, these diseases
destroyed in the four months, January
to April. 1892 lives and IN IT," four
months of settled nlilder weather, from
June to September, only 1876. Aside
IRON these diseases there are other cold
weather troubles. Many people DO not
winter out well. In the spring they
lind themselves all run down, so they
say, and many children pale and puny
are sent from the city to the country
or to our health resorts in early sum-
mer, where they make wonderful re-
Coveries.
What does that mean?-DoeS it mean
that the climate OF our cold season is
of itself less heathful than that of our
warm season? Perhaps, bat let us see.
Explorers in the Polar regions have
found those parts remarkably free
from these diseases, and. returning,
suffer from attacks of grip. colds, or of
the other so-called cold weather dis
eases soon after coming back to civil
iZation An influential gentleman of
this state, after roughing it in our
Northern Maine woods, came down
promptly with a dangerous attack Of
pneumonia after he had been exposed
TO the Stuny air of an ;ll-vcntilated
MOTEL bed room. In the northern san
at"riums for consumptives. where pa
ticntS live in the open air ana sleep in
the open air through the inclement
winters properly protected by clothing,
of course. these cold weather diseases
are much less prevalent than in the
homes from which they come, and be-
sides they recover from their tubercu-
losis disease much more rapidly in
winter than in summer.
Then what is the cause Or, we
should ask. what are the causes, for
there appears to he, more than one
cause. We shall simplify matters if
we place them under two or three gen
eral classes:
LIST. Artificial conditions of our own
making. The most influential of these
is undoubtedly foul-air poisoning. We
fail to Ventilat" or air out" our living
rooms. sleeping rooms. school rooms.
churches. and places of business. The
air is robbed of its health-giving part
its oXygen--by the process of breath
ing. and also by the flames of gas or
oil lamps. still worse, respiration and
TOW.
which is actually poisonous and harm
full just in proportion to the absence of
ventilation and the stuffy condition of
the rooms. The again. our stoves and
furnaces give off dangerous gases be-
cause we do not manage them intelli
gently. Another fault is that we gen.
orally keen our roO:nS too warm. The
temperature of our living rooms and
school rooms should never go above
20 degrees F., and not much below 6S
degrees. But the English think that
60 degrees or s. degrees IS warm
enough for their school rooms. That
is because they do not coddle their
children in houses that are cverheated
as we do. And we certainly do over
heat our houses awfullv. Tenpera-
biliating, as cold air is Il tonic and such
overheated air is too dry for nealthful-
ness. Kitchen air is usually better
than living room air because the
steaminC teakettle adds moisture
Again. in close. unventilated rooms, the
infection OF the infectious diseases. if
any happen to be around becomes dan
gerously concentrated. And such in
fections are around much oftener than
most of us think For instance many
of US carry the germs of pneumonia or
of grip secretions of our mouth nose
or throat when we appear to be per-
fectly well. waiting to master us when
mprudently we reduce our natural
powers of resistance, or gathering in
force and thriving in the foul air of our
rooms until they overcome other per-
sons.
2nd. Infection.-The preceding para
graph is suggestive of this. These cold
weather diseases are infectious diseas-
es. The germ of grip QnfluenZa) and