Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1916-08-14
AVIATION ILLNESS.
Peculiar Distress That Comes 10
Many Aerial Navlgators.
FLIERs SHOULD BE ROBUST.

Systems Perfectly Sound.
Those who are up into the air In 6ya
Ing machines as we'll as those who 90
down 10 the sen In ships are troubled
by peculiar aud unpleasant pbysiolog-
icnl disturbances which may at times
bc of grave moment This IL especial.
~ true OF aeropiane pilots or passen.
gers aud 10 less degree OF those who
ascend IN balloons or dligiblcs The
tremendous importance " aviation In
war lends this subject peculiar inter
eft, and i.arogsse Nensuei G'arlsl de.
votes n special article 10 tho topic, The
author. Dr l.nnmonier. states thgt the
symptoms vary according 10 the period
OF ascent. 0f descent and Of landing.
In ascending nn acceleration Of the
respiration nnd pulse are frequently
noted ut from LOO to 1900 meters al
titude. Accompanied by n slight head
ache located Ia forehead aud temples
and by indeliuahlc discomfort without
vomiting or nausea. At 1,S00 meters
there Is dnnnuiion IA the kcenness
OF hearing at times there are hallucl-
nations aud Gndlly an ''asthcnic" con
ditlon which prevents the muscles from
obeying the VIII with adequate rapid
ity.
On despendng the paipitations oi
the heart beco,nc violent aud are acs
conlpanlel by a sensation Of anguish,
the headache Is intense. the aviator
has nm increasing sensation Of heat OF
the s&ln, especially Of the face. and o
desire 10 sleep which IL sometimes 20
strong THAI the eyes myoluntarily close
as he appNarhes the earth. In spite OF
imminent perl.
| Strange 10 say on landing these trou
bles are augmented Besides the head
ache and the somnolcnce. hypcremia OF
the conJnmctiyt tconrihctives) is OBJ
served, with cyanosls OF the extremi
ties acceleration OF the pulse and con
stant Increase OF arterial pressure. The
| aviator often falls asleep as soon as he
lands. and this sleep IS troubled and
nonrefreshIng, while the headache may
persist for many hours or even several
days.
The ascent symptoms recall those OF
''mountain sickness" but are produced
at less altitude. because Of the nery
Gus tension. the cold and above all the
relative rnmdity of ascension. But
what distinguishes aviaiors' sickness
from mountain sickness Is that the
symptoms persist during descent and
are aggravated after landing. There
are besides vnson0tor reactions With
hypertension which are peculiar 10
this malady und give Il. according IT,
Cruchet aud Moullnier. u sort OF noso.
graphic autonomy. However. these
troubles are not felt with the same iu
tensi,y by all nviators. Some ind they
diminish with experience. as In the
case Of seasickness II appears TO be
true that their intensity depends prln
cipally on the rapidlty OF the descent
The causes to which are ascribed
these symptoms include cold and phys.
zeal. nervous aud moral fatigue While
cold may provoke the imperious need
OF sleep. Il cannot be the sole cause,
since the somnolence increases on de
scending into warmer mir and after
landing. Analogous objections are
made to fatigue "a cause,
The most important Of the determin.
Ing causes, according 20 the authorities
quoted above. ia speed. not horizontal,
but vertical speed. which causes rapid
decomposition and recompression In
ascending and descending. At Pau
Legagneux ascended to $500 meters
In twenty.eight minutes. whereas II
would have taken an Alpinist eleven
hours 70 ascend the same distance on
foot At varenne.surAll vedrines
descended In three minutes from q
height Of 1900 meters. The difference
OF gaseous tension is too great for the
organism to. regain its equilibrium In
90 short time
Since these symptoms are not morbid
they disappear naturally In few hours
or at most a few days, their cessation
being favored by rest, sleep and moder
ate warmth. Nevertheless they are Of
grave Importance because Of the dan
gers to which they expose aviators.
Hence II ia highly advisable tina,
iiers should be young, robust, resoluts
and cool headed men, with sight, hear
ing, nervous and vascular systems per
fectly sound, And there should b.
rigorous elimination Of candidates who
have a tendency TO heart trouble, cpl
lepsy, tuberculosis, hardening Of ar
teries, nervous troubles, etc, They
should have methodical aud proeres
sive training, a diet nourishing, bu,
not bulky, and as little fetmentable as
possible. They must abstain from al
cohol md not abuse tea OF coffee.
The clothing must be very warm, bu'
not heavy enough TO restrict movement
The wearing Of goggles. putting cotton
In the nostrils and greasing face and
hands win be sufficient protection
against cold. Finally they are advised
TO mount as slowly as possible aud tc
n