Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-04-28
IMPORTANT SUBJECT. DISCUSSED
Nose and Mouth Lessons as Sources
OF Disease Discussed by the
County Medical Society
Friday.

Dr.. J. ]. DAILY, secretary Of the
Winneshiek County Medical Society,
which met at the court house in De-
corah Friday, gives the following ar
ticle on the nose and mouth as sour
ces of disease, which subject was
discussed at the meeting:
Il venture to prophesy that five
years from now a child with disease
OF the gums and teeth will not be
admitted to the public schools. So
spoke a dentist at the meeting of the
county medical society here last
Friday The data which warrant sc
radical statement are scattered
over many years, but the essential
considerations have been emphasiZ-
ed only recently. Most of the facts
are meteorological, not all of them,
Two hundred and fifty years ago
Hollander discovered germs in the
mouth, but the germ theory of di-
sease was first stated only fifty-sev-
en- years ago. Bacteriology was not
among the lessons taught a genera
| ton ago. Plants were listed in
| books on botany and animals in ZOO
| logy but bacilli, cocci and amelia
were not listed at all until 1881.
$50 Kinds OF germ life living, NOV
| ing and having their being in the
mouth alone were described in 1892.
That many of these were serious
menaces to health was not known
until three years ago. Now it is be-
] hat
of the effects of germs which enter
| the body through nose or mouth.
| We hear Ii tie now of the germ
theory. but rather of the facts OF
the science OF bacteriology. The bot
AIMING of high school students in
cludes rambles in the microscopic
field and the facts picked up there
have direct application to the mat
ter of health which is an advantage
the children have that parents did
not have in their work in science.
The gatewCy for most of these
germs is the nose or the mouth,
which serve also as incubators for
germ growth The attempt to dis
pose of the local troubles by trim
ming out distractions in the nose,
clipping the tonsils or adenoids and
ipulling spoiled teeth when they
might not be repaired often prov
ed OF great benefit to the general
health The continuance Of milder
symptoms of rheumatism after clip
ping the tonsls suggested that en-
tire removal of infection at those
points would give still greater relief.
This was done Better results follow
ed and then the search became keen
for all possible points of infection.
Physicians had long depended on
the dentists to look after the mouth.
The latter gave most OF their atten-
ton to repair work. OF late the
word Prevention is the wall motto
in many of their Offices. The worst en-
envy they had in making repair work
permanent was disease of the gums
which likewise was the first cause
of much too h disease. This pyor-
rhea attacks every mouth sooner or
later and causes the loss OF teeth. IL
has been a hard thing to cure. Two
months ago two doctors in New Or
leans told how to cure it easily. Just
get your physician to give you a
course of ipecac for a few days, then
90 to the dentist and have him clean
off the tartar and make repairs as
needed, pulling out old soggy roots
and teeth you have no use for.
This easy cure is due to the fact
that gum disease is not due to or
binary bacteria at first but to amelia
which are animal germs. These were
found in the mouth 66 years ago
but were not suspected OF being
harmful until last summer. The harm
they do is no. all in the mouth as
three fouTths of gum disease cases
have also diseases in other parts OF
the body, generally in the joints. The
same germs which are active in the
gums or tonsils are carried to other
PARTS by the blood and developing
new characteristics cause particular
diseases according to the site at
which they lodge.
A year ago, Simon FleXner OF the
Rockefeller Institute, said that chill
dren would not catch infectious di-
seases unless they had LESSONS of the
nose or throat Or. Mayo said it this
way-Mothers used to expose their
children to humps, whooping cough,
etc. Now they %now that to do so
is to endanger the vitality OF the
child. Much may be done by school
inspection. The present generation
of children will understand and de-
mand protection for their children
in time. Though we have leaders
among physicians and dentists, the
big stick which gets us ahead is in
the hands of the educated public,
who demand more of their doctors
and dentists and of the state in pro-
tecting them from preventable di-
seases
-O-
CLEANUP NOTICE.