Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-30
"cATcHING COLD" A MYTH.
Physicians Hampered by Nonexistent
Bogy, Says Physician.

Physicians Hampered by a Nonexisten'
Bosy, Says Physician.
DR.. William Brady of Elmira, N. Y.
declares, practically, that there is nc
such thing as catching cold" He
classes Catching cold" as one Of the
'phobias," and has gone so far as to
write an article with the title THE
Catching Cold Phobia."
He asserts that the catching cold
bogy proves a most deplorable obsta-
Gle to present methods Of palliating and
eradicating disease, and the RESPONSE
bility for the well-nigh universal wor-
ship of this false image rests largely
on our (the doctor'ss) own shoulders,
since the stupid habit Of speaking of
taking cold prevails quite as widely
among physicians as the laity."
The writer declares, moreover, that
Mrs. Eddy may very well have had
Catching cold" in mind when she
wrote: Disease arises from associa-
tion calling up the fear that creates the
image of disease and its consequent
manifestation in the body"
Here are some of DR.. Brady's views
on the subject:
"One can scarcely form an adequate
conception Of the abuse Of this nonen-
tity unless one makes an endeavor to
avoid reference to cold, in the COLO
quial sense, in conversation with pa
tients. In general practice 1t is really
a problem to elicit a history from a
patient Of even high intelligence with
out recourse to this vicious phrase;
fully nine tenths Of our patients be-
lieve, II they have not already been
told, that their ailments are caused or
aggravated by taking cold The very
exceptional case in which the history
does not gratuitously open with a cold
somewhere or other will promptly rise
to the bait Of a leading question, put
by the physician, bearing on the prob
able cause Of the illness. Therefore.
the adjective universal Is advisedly ap-
piled to this abuse in the preceding
paragraph.
Conscious Of this unfortunate state
of affairs, we should consider it our
duty to show our patients, at every OPP
portunity, the utter absurdity Of their
delusion. This Of course will prove q
gigantic task so long as medical men
persist in the use Of the catching cold
sophistry as a cloak for diagnostic ig-
norance-for such 1t Is, in all truth, at
all times. Many practitioners greedily
seize on this accommodating phrase as
useful scheme for hedging on the
diagnosis pending the period required
for the signs to disclose the true ma
ture Of the illness.
These magicians are always capa-
BILE Of turning a slight cold into mea-
sles, influenza, typhoid fever, tubercu-
losis or whatever the exigency may
demand. A very few Of the craft, for
tunately, become so expert at this trick
of the trade as to conceal the mark Of
unclean instruments or unwashed
hands, in certain cases Of septicemia,
under the familiar label she has taken
cold-a crime to which we, as pro-
fession, are accessory when we do not
try to discourage the widespread
catching of cold fallacy that permits 1t.
"A bulletin from the bedside Of q
certain politician recently stated that
the senator has contracted a very
heavy cold, which it is feared may set
tie on the lungs!' Finally there Is that
poy of the blunderbus therapenist, the
diffuse or general cold which settles all
over and Is consequently to be at
tackled by figuratively closing the eyes
and shooting at random a scattering
charge of some such junk as 'cold-im-
proved or 'eold-preferred tablets into
the victims body. 1t is surprising how
many survive such an attack, only to
pass the remainder Of their lives at the
popula- pastime of lodging draughts."
The writer then goes on to explain
that acute coryza, the so-called cold
in the head, 'is caused by germ, the
catarrhalis, and continues:
Now, If the proverbial cold in the
head be thus denied its mooted de-
pendence on cold, the venerable
catching cold chimera bids fair to van
ish utterly from the text books Of an
other generation. Therein will be sub
stituted, instead Of the hackneyed rep
etition Of lowered resistance from cold
and exposure an elucidation Of the in
huence on the opsonic index of dietetic
errors, unhygienic clothing and the
excessive heat and defective ventila-
tion of civilized buildings.
Accepting Websters definition Of
the word draught, there can be no ven-
tilation without draughts. 1t Is absurd
and futile to instruct family to secure
good ventilation, but avoid draughts."
More correctly we should say: BE sure
to have a good draught.' A draugh be-
comes harmful only when it carries
dust and bacteria to the patients nos
trils. A current of clear, moist. cold
air cannot injure the body, though 1t
may at times be uncomfortable.
There is no denying that a stream
of cold air playing on fractional por-
ton of the freely perspiring body after
violent exercise may be followed by To-
cal soreness and stiffness. This i'll
named muscular rheumatism how
ever, is only an indication Of dietettc