Denver labor bulletin., 1915-06-19

Editors Note.-This article has been
prepared for The Denver Labor Bulletin
by the National Association for the
Study and Prevention OF Tuberculosis.)
Every once in while people will ask:
DO you really think consumption can
be cured.'' and then when they are told
that thousands OF cases all over the
world bear witness to the fact of the
durability of this disease, they wonder
why their several friends and relatives
who died with tuberculosis were not
cured.
Tuberculosis is durable, but not every
one is cured, and not everyone can be
cured. The chief reason why more con-
sumptives are not cured is because they
have waited too long before they needed
the warning danger signals of the dis
ease. or because some doctor to whom
they went did not recognize this deadly
plague. In its early stages, consumption
can be cured. and the patient can gem
orally resume his normal life within
period ranging from six months to two
years, depending on circumstances. As
high a percentage OF actual recoveries
from tuberculosis NAV be found in really
early cases who follow the right course
of treatment in almost any other in
fectious disease.
Right Course of Treatment
What then. is the right course of
treatment This article cannot prescribe
|-for individual cases, but it can and will
tell what are the essentials in taking
the cure for tuberculosis.
First Of all, there i a good doctor in
whom you can rely and whose advice
aud inspiration is most valuable to you.
He Will not give you much medicine, be
cause there isn't any drug or cure" that
he can prescribe that will do more than
relieve some immediate symptom. such
as constipation, cough. headache. etc II
your doctor begins TO talk OF a mar
vclous remedy which viii cure YOU. it
j. time you looked for another physician.
That man is more than likely a quack
and is simply after your money. There
is no sure or quick cure or remedy for
tuberculosis that you can buy at drug
store or that doctor can give you.
Fresh Air Is Essential.
The second essential in the cure of
tuberculosis is fresh air To the healthy
person the best tonic is fresh air at
work, at play, and during sleep. To the
eonsumptive. however. air is medicine
lie must take il in as large doses as he
can, the more the better. II may not be
easy for one who has been accustomed
to indoor work TO sleep and live out
doors. but since fresh air Is vital. he
must aecustom himself to being outside
all he can. At sanatoria for the treat
mcni OF tuberculosis. patients are out of
doors on porehes OF elsewhere almost all
the time. II one is at home, he can with
little ingenuity arrange devices for
outdoor sleeping and sitting. The Ma
,ional tuberculosis Association. los East
Twenty street. New York. will
send free of charge 10 anyone a booklet
entitled Directions for Living and Sleep
ing in the Open Air"
The next essential in the cure of tuber-
culosis il rest. Like fresh air. rest
must be taken as medicine by the
consumptive. The reason for rest is
evident, when you stop to think the way
the germs of tuberculosis work. As they
destroy the tissues of the lungs or other
parts OF the body, they make a wound or
cavity. This wound. like a cut on your
finger. will not heal il it is being opened
all the time. To keep the lungs as quiet
as possible. rest in bed or in a reclining
chair is absolutely necessary. The dose
OF rest you must take will depend on
your doctors advice. He will tell Won
when You can get out of bed and when
YOU can exercise and how much. But
first and foremost YOU must learn to
rest. in order to give the lungs chance
to heal.
Food of Right Kind.
Besides good doctor. fresh air and
rest, the cure for tuberculosis requires
good, wholesome food. In normal health.
food of the right kind is very necessary,
but in tuberculosis ii is doubly import
ant. Food is the fuel which heats the
body and gives il its energy or You
might almost say steam" In tubercu-
losis one must pay special attention to
food, because he has to provide fuel not
only for the ordinary functions OF the
body, but he must provide an additional
supply to meet the waste and damage
done by the germs of the disease This
doesn't mean that you must be continu-
ally stuffing yourself. for il you do that
You will upset your stomach. bowels.
and liver, and You will counteraet all
the good the food might do. Neither
does it mean that You must cat lust
one or two kinds of food. such as milk
and eggs, which some people think are a |
cure for tuberculosis. They are excel |
lent foods for people who can eat and
digest them readily. and every consump-
frx~