Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1916-09-20
AVIATION ILLNESS.
Peculiar Distress That Comes to
Many Aerial Navigators.
FLIERs SHOULD BE ROBUST.
,h.v Should Also Be Young, Rssoluts
and Cool Headed, With Sight and
Hearing and Nervous and Vascular
svs.erns Perfectly Sound.

svs,enns Perfectly Sound.
Those who are up into the air in fly
ING machines as well as those who go
down to the sea in ships are troubled
nv peculiar and unpleasant physiolog-
tn, disturbances which may at times
hs OF grave moment This Is especial
~ true OF aeroplanc pilots or passen-
vers and to less degree Of those who
ascend In balloons or dirigibles. The
tremendous Importance OF aviation In
war lends this subject peculiar inter
est and Larousse Nensuel. Qaris) de
rotes n special article to the topic The
suthor. Or. Laumonier. states that the
svmptoms vary according to the period
AZ ascent. OF descent and OF landing.
In ascending an ncceleration Of the
respiration and pulse are frequently
acted nj from loo TO 1900 meters al
,,tude. accompanied by slight head.
ache located In forehead and temples
and BIZ indeiinable discomfort without
vomiting or nausea. At 1850 meters
there Il a diminution In the keenness
OF EtAfab%t 1T tAtt-tS Atttt tt't
nations and finally an ''asthenic" con
aItlon which prevents the muscles from
obevtng the Will with adequate rapid.
ity.
ON descending the palpitations of
the heart become violent and are ac-
compaalel By sensation Of anguish.
the headache Is intense. the aviator
~ .,t., - han ~
the skin. especially OF the face. and
desire 70 sleep. which Is sometimes SO
strong that the eyes inyoluntaTily close
az he approaches the earth. In spite OF
imminent peril.
Strange to say. ON landing these trou-
bIes are augmented Besides the head
ache and the somnolence. hyperemia Of
the eonjunctive (conjunctives) is OBJ
served. with cyanosis Of the eytrcui-
ties. acceieration OF the pulse and con
slant Increase OF ar'erial pressure. The
aviator often falls asleep as soon as he
lands. and this sleep Is troubled and
nonrefreshirg. 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 rerv-
Gus tension. the cold and ABOVE all the
relative rapidity OF ascension. But
what distinguishes aviators' sickness
from mountain sickness Is that the
symptoms persist during descent and
are aggravated after landing. There
are besides vasoIDotor rea tons with
Apprehension which are peculiar to
this maladv and give II. according TO
Cruehet and Moul!nier. a sort OF noso-
graphic autonomy. However. these
troubles are not felt with the same In
tensity by all aviators. Some find they
diminish With experience. as In the
case ~ sras.e.snesx- II apnears 20 BE-
true that their Intensity depends rstr,
cinallr on the rn,.tsitr OF the descent.
The causes to which are assriDed
these symptoms include cold and phys
ical nervous and moral fatigue. While
cold may provoke the imperious need
OF sleep. II cannot be the sole cause.
since the somnolence Increases on de-
scending into warmer air and after
landing Analogous objections are
made TO fatigue as cause.
The most important OF the determin-
Ing causes, according to the authorities
quoted above, Is speed. not horizontal
but vertical speed. which causes rapid
decomposition and decomposition In
ascending and descending. At Pau
Legagneux ascdnded TO $500 meters
In twenty eight minutes. whereas It
would have taken an Aipinist eleven
hours 10 ascend the same distance on
foot. At Narenne- sur-Allier Nedrines
descended In three minutes from
height Of 1000 meters. The difference
OF gaseous tension Is too great for the
organism to regain It's equilibrium In
50 short time.
Since these symptoms are not morbid
they disappear naturally In few hours
or at most few days. their cessation
being favored by rest. sleep and moder-
ate warmth. Nevertheless they are OF
grave Importance because OF the dan
gers 10 which they expose aviators.
Hence It Is highly advisable that
Hers should be young robust. resolute
and cool headed men. with sight, hear
Ing, nervous and vascular systems PER
fectly sound. And there should be
rigorous elimination OF candidates who
nave a tendency to heart trouble. cpl
iepsy. tuberculosis. hardening OF ar
teries, nervous troubles. etc. They
should have methodical and progress
ave training, a diet nourfshing. but
not bulky. and as little fermentable as
possible. They must abstain from al
cohol and not abuse tea or coffee.
The clothing must he very warm. but
not heavy enough to restrict movement
lie wearing Of goggles. putting cotton
IN the nostrils and greasing face and
nands win be sufficient protection
against cold. Finally they are advised
10 mount AS slowly as possible and to
sescend even more slowly.