Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-09-09
copyright. 1914. by A. S. Cray
ANEMiA.


Life ana health are among our most
familiar words and in their ordinary
meaning probably no words are more
widely understood, and yet in specific
application no terms are more difficult
to axpress and comprehend. 1t is
generally understood that life consists
in an ability to change and to adapt
to environment, and probably 1t will
be generally agreed that health Is an
individual condition OF sound mind,
normal body, absence OF disease and
a normal blood supply.
Few of US ever get very far along
LIES highway without departing in
some degree from this ideal condi-
ton, and few ever fully recover 1t
once it is lost, largely because we do
not understand what we have lost,
where we lost it, why we lost it, how
we lost it or how it may be regained.
The chief characteristic of disease
is loss of physical strength and of
color, and few convalescents from
even comparatively slight illness fail
to show these two symptoms In
marked degree. We cover the condi-
ton, quite satisfactorily to most of
us, by saying, 1--WE are little ane-
because it is known that iron has a
strong affinity for oxygen and we
know that our body cells must have
oxygen to breathe in order to restore
the rudy glow of health to the cheek,
the rhythmic and vigorous swing to
the walk, the sparkle Of vim and en-
ergy to the eye.
Anemia as generally understood is
condition marked by pallor of the skin
and mucous membranes and by palpi-
tation and debility, due to deficiency
in the blood or its constituents.
To be able to sense the character of
any physical body we must be able to
see and to comprehend its three d.
mansions OF length, breadth and thick
ness and personally to test its density
and hardness; and in like manner to
win and maintain health we must see
and comprehend its limits.
The blood contains iron and the
iron In the blood corpuscle is mostly
in combination known as "hemoglo-
| bin" which has a peculiarly loose af-
| finity for oxygen and carries that ele-
ment to the individual cells through
out the body, enabling them to
| breathe"
We have already noted in previous
1 ~ k1o% Ky Oh
three minutes without air. and we
shall see as we pursue this inquiry
how quickly and intelligently nature
adjusts and compensates for material
changes in environment, If only we
have sufficient intelligence not to IN
| terfere with her system.
1t is on this complicated cycle of
changes that our health, happiness
and sanity depends, and the slightest
visible evidence of anemia may he
taken to mean a grave distur bance of
the balance between these changes and
consequently of every vital function
of the body Hence the word anemia
has come to be used as a generic term
| for various forms of disease charac-
terized by a defective constitution of
the blood, occurring as symptom or
as a result of many disorders or az a
| disease of obscure origin. 1t is a term
carelessly used and grossly abused.
For sound health normal digestion
is a necessity; for sound thought, nor
| NAL digestion is likewise necessity.
| The nervous system, controlling phys
| biological processes, is dependent for
it's health and ability to function on
the nutrition derived from the blood;
and it is owing to deficient nutrition
derived from the blood in anemia that
/ the tissues of the secreting glands and
/ the glands themselves, the secreting
| cells, the secretions and the muscular
and all other tissues of the digestive
system. are in a defective condition,
in consequence of which they are in
capable of fulfilling their functions.
Obviously we have here a vicious
| cycle in which it is difficult to distin-
! guish and separate cause from effect
and which until checked tends perpet-
ually to expand and become more and
more vicious until it will threaten the
integrity or the race.
Children of anemic parents have Ill
developed bloodforming organs at
birth and consequently are unable to
manufacture red corpuscles in suf1ci-
ent quantity or of normal quality.
These congenital anemics, unless
given extraordinary care, are unable
to develop normally and go to form
our arrested development types. Ane-
mia, like lightning, may strike any
home, and in anemia or starvation
(for it is only the lack of balance
between the body income and expendi-
ture of energy) we have the key to
our BLACK sheep" boy bandits and
other antisocial freaks.
| Fortunately, the matter of sound
blood need not be a matter of per-
sonal opinion. as there are scientific