El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-09
MENINGITIS IS
THREATEHINGSTAT
lcontlnued 10 - ~
cluded both the serum and services Of

included both the serum ana services OF
Cost Of the serum.
Sufficient serum for treatment is
sold at So From this the city obtains
a discount Of 80 per cent. The INDECENT
poor may secure treatment ana adnnn-
without charge, but physicians recon-
mend that all SUCH patients accept the
accommodation afforded by the city
hospital
The Sister Superior Of St. Pauls
sanitarium and the Red Cross officers
declare that, If necessary, nurses VIII
volunteer. They agree. however, that
If meningitis patients are concentrated
and that under the direction Of expert
enced physicians the work may be done
aueh better at the city hospital
Can Be Checked
DR. Sophian, Of the Rockefeller in
stitute advises that the disease can DC
checked and is cooperating with local
physicians. He said:
'StrIct quarantine is needed. A quar-
antine should not be lifted until the
fluid from the patient is free from the
organisms
tanning who are carriers, it would be
well to treat every person as a possible
carrier First, give the medicinal
treatment keeping free from organ
tsms, spraying the nose and throat
= d
sprays.
Suggests decentralization.
The ideal method is to produce i'm
munes The old menace to armies was
typhoid fever. By immuntt lZauOn this
danger has been eliminated 1t can De
done with meningitis A relatively
small dose. by incubation, viii prevent
the development of a large case later
There viii be slight temporary dis
comfort, maybe temporary dlsaDlllly;
Inn ma treated
be made immune.
IN time Of epidemic as in Dallas.
the chances are 80 to 100 that the or
ganisIn is that Of meningOcOccus rather
than the tubercular or other germ.
decentralization should come from two
or three Injections, some ~ days apart
Passive immuniti that ton may be secured
from immediate administering or an
inOculating agent. One small dose OF
serum viii immunitize for a few days
Treatment should Be Immediate.
Treatment OF the sick should begin
with immediate diagnosis. It all de-
ponds on that Among the Characters
tics Of the disease will be the mental
condition of the patient, the extreme
irT1tability constant complaining eN-
IRENE Representatives. disturbed
censoriuu There will be notable the
cerebral condition. the pain from any
movement Of the neck, the kOenig con-
ditiOn, making any move Of the leg
painful. the pulse, the dilatiOn OF the
diagnosis"
He explained the lumbar puncture,
its simplicity and lack of danger in
any case If proper care is taken BE
said that the puncture viii. in case OF
meningitis, yield graytsh flatulent
fluid If first test is not satisfactory.
If for few days the fluid IS clear (this
may be due to septicaemia), take other
drawings of the fluid.
Advises Against Anesthesia.
In lumbar puncture, he advised against
the use Of anesthesia by local appliCa-
ti0n, saying that anything lowering the
vitality is dangerous to the patient. In
eases where the eXudation is thick or
VIII not flow at all, he advised use OF
the syringe instead OF the gravity
method Artificial respiration is some
times necessary to restore from the
shock in such operation He mentioned
one on a child IN which Il required sew
ers1 injections and artificial respiration
treatments before there was response
TO the treatment
Even pOsteri0r basic meningitis, he
said, is not always hopeless. Trouble
is In the Tentricles. In a child, tapping
there is sufficient generally, to draw
off the fluid. For an adult 1t is neces-
sary, probably, to trephine- Recovery
in ali cases where the serum is used,
he said means complete recovery. not
being left as deaf. blind. idiOtic para
lived or afflicted. Where the old
treatments have showed IS to so per
cent fatalities. the serum treatment has
reduced it to 10 or u percent
serum's Efficiency Certain.
DR.. SOphian declared that the eff
cacy Of the serum was a certain mat
ter 1t had been used in thousands OF
cases, and II the case was diagnosed
early and the serum properly admins
tered, its results were almost certain
TO bs beneficial He said that lots Of
harz2 could be done by improper ad-
Of the serum.
He suggested urOtropin as one Of the
to- a--a 4
said G took from 45 to so grains daily
The period of incubation he said, was
an unknown quantity, very variable
He told OF one doctor who contracted
mening gifts 36 hours after exposure to a
case, but said a carrier might carry the
germs for very long time and then
contract the disease, or give it to 9TH
ers He said man WAS almost the only
carrier Of the germs Fresh air and
sunshine destroyed them quickly.
Caution After Recovery.
It is very unusual for a person to
contract meningitis again after recoT-
erIng from one attack, he said. His
advice was for physicians to guard
against patients getting up too early
after such sickness, even although they
were much better, apparently
Atmospheric conditions seem to be
the largest factor in meningitis cpl
denies, he said, in answer to a cues
ton. He advised people to keep well
clothed and avoid as much as possible
sudden changes
Dr.. Sophian said no harm was done
by administering serum to a 5erson
who old not have meningitis