Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-12-15
"Thick Blood and peliriun.

Mental disease, it is declared, occurs
In almost every case of other disease,
though the intellectual and emotional
disturbances are in most cases of phys
ical disease negligible so far as requir-
ing any special treatment directed at
the effects they produce on the physi-
cal body. In severe forms of delirium
however, the mental disease which sud-
denly springs out of the physical may
form the most important feature of
the case.
1t would be amusing, if it were not
so serious a matter, to find that the old
notion Of a mans suffering because his
blood was too thick finds justification
in later scientific work Within the past
two or three years a good deal has been
written. and much of it believed by sci
entiffc men, about a condition of ex-
cessive viscosity, or syrupy condition
of the blood, which results in defective
circulation, and which can be RENE
died by the administration of citric
acid, in the form of lemon juice, which
will, in the common phrase, "cut" the
over-stiff blood and allow it to flow
freely.
In relation Of delirium the work Of
Or. Adler at the Psychopathic seems
to give new meaning to the old
phrase Very many insane patients
show more or less cyanosis-"blueness
most often in the extremities and in
the face. It has been noted that when
excited patients, delirious, were given
prolonged bath treatment their excite
ment was greatly lessened and that
the cyanosis decreased or wholly disap-
peared at the same time. The disap-
pearance of the cyanosis has been at
tributed to an improvement in the
circulation, due to the baths. DR.. Adler
counted the red cells in the blood of a
number of such patients just before
the bath and after the bath, when the
delirium had subsided and the cyanosis
had been lessened or had gone. He
found the red cells abnormally high
before the bath, and decrease OF as
much as 100000 red cells per cubic
millimetre of blood after day in the
bath.
In the case Of one patient who had
attacks of maniacal excitement follow
ing periods of almost normal conduct 1t
was found possible to forecast by from
two to twelve hours the occurrence or
delirium, the sign of approaching ex-
citement being the appearance of cy-
anosis in her lips and hands. In these
cases the blood had too small pro-
portion of mere water; it is accurate,
though untechnical, to say that the
blood of these patients was too thick at
the times when they showed unusual
mental excitement.
Grave Heat Loss In Delirium.
The danger to the patients life In any
case of delirium lies in the great loss OF
body heat which accompanies delirium.
Much Of this loss is due to the excessive
sweating that marks dellrium, the
palms Of the hands and the face fairly
drippine with water taken from the
blood because Of disturbance of the
surface circulation and the nerve CEN
tres controlling the sweat glands. To
a patient already suffering from the
toxin or poison of parasite, as in ty-
nhoid this loss of heat is often fatal
Cvanosis results-"the blood is too
thick"-just as cyanosis occurs IN per
sons in whom the rapid ascent OF a
lofty mountain by train produces ex-
cessive perspiration, /. e., loss or water
from the blood
The best treatment is the immersion
of the patient in water bath at the
temperature of the body AS In the case
of the insane person who breaks out In
delirium, the bath prevents the loss OF
body heat by preventing the evapora-
ton Of perspiration; the bath may pos
sibly replace by absorption some OF
the water taken from the blood by the
perspiration.
Radical improvements Needed.
The demonstration that narcotics and
restraint are needlessly dangerous to
the life Of a delirious patient, whatever