The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-02-21

a whole neighborhood, is stirring com
munities with a morbid fear, and the
poor consumptive is treated as I'M
| clean. subjected TO hardships and hu-
Mutations. At any hotel he can get
| accommodation if he does not label
| himself a consumptiye. though he be
lettering toward the grave. On the
other hand, if he he has
tuberculosis, though in the early stage.
when not communicable, he is told.
have no room in the inn" This
state Of unreasonable fear makes PEG
pie lose all sense Of propriety in their
absurd notions about its contaSiOn.
Formerly there stood out here and
there, in the history OF medicine. men
who held out hope for these poor suf-
ferers, but they were hunne by
their brethren, and finally ridiculed
into contempt. Today there are thou
sands of good men in the profession
who know and teach that tuberculosis
is both durable and p~reventable. In
spite Of this. many Of the medical pro
fession are yet in a state or skeptlclsm
and unbelief, and thousands upon
thousands of lives are sacrificed every
year because Of it. What, then. must
be done? What obligations fall upon
those of us who declare that this IS a
~preventable and durable disease? The
first thing is a campaign of thorough
education which will enlighten the
III Co ~ IA &AoS 49,
disease, it's prevention. its infection, its
management, and it's cure. How can
this education be brought about?
First. It should be taught that it is
a durable disease in the early and
moderately stages.
Second. That it is a preventable dis
ease. and how to prevent it. The pub
lie ought to know that If the con-
sum ptive is sanitary, and if all Of the
sputum is Immediately destroyed, that
there will be no further spread Of the
disease; that the patient should be
diagnosed early, told eyactly the ma
ture of his trouble, inc sen to a
place where he can be thoroughly in
in methods of cure, santa
ton and prevention. The curative
methods should start in the sanito-
rum. The sanitorium is the school
sary instruction n "a be taught
to get well. He cannot receive
this instruction by going out and lis
tening to a public address on the sub
ject The has to be put under the care
of skilled physicians and attendants.
ducive to health are shown him each
day, in order that ne may learn by
observation and practice, by slow de-
grees, that it is within him to get we'll
The modern treatment Of tuberculosis
could be summarized in one word
LIZ Ii pdAlCnA IAOS( 10
taught how to live. how to keep his
body clean. how to destroy his spu-
the necessity Of psychological
rest, eQuanimity Of body and mind.
the value OF proper diet, what proper
diet is: he should be taught that to
gorge himself on twenty raw eggs and
a gallon Of sweet milk per day IS as
harmful as any h kind OF fntem-
perance. and that the mere fact Of
fat alone is a delusion and a
snare. He must be taught the value
OF right thinking, Of sound morals, OF
conduct. and that the possess
sion Of substantial character gives the
only assurance Of permanent recovery
from this disease. Finally, he must
be taught that the cure is within him
Living out Of doors. where the air is
pure and sweet and clean, is neces-
sary, all OF these things can be car
ried out in a modern sanitorium.
1 suggest hat a curriculum con-
a regular graded course with
proper text books and daily teachings
mould be a part of the work Of the
modern sanitorium. This curriculum
snoulo be uniform in all State insti-
tut1ons. 1t should be easily and read
lily understandable by the plainest and
folk. and yet it should be SO
enofough that the patient will not be
alio"ed to go away from the institu-
tlon without having had every oppor-
UNITY Tor his cover that the Skill
or the medical profession Of the
twentieth century can give. In ad-
olt1on to this, there should be a de-
where a young man or a
woman who has fallen by the
Nayslde with tuberculosis before I'm
ishing MS education can be trained
or some occupation that will repair
nl1n Tor a successful career. Right
hefe 1 wish to say, that 1 cannot agree
with some OF the writer's on this sub
'ect who claim hat two or three
weeks is sufficient time to instruct
lnese patents how to get well. The
comes to you exhausted. He
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