Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-02-08
Common, Colds

| under one name and considered OF such minor
importance that vital statistics do not record the
enormous number Of persons who annually are
! subjected to suffering, inconvenience and eco
| nomic loss thereby Remarkable as 1t may seem,
the widespread familiarity with this condition has
bred a contempt which hides its seriousness. yet
when the sum total Of the ravages committed by
common colds is made, it becomes evident that
instead OF being group of trivial affections COM
| mon colds must be cassed as serious diseases
The phrase common colds" like charity,
covers multitude of sanitary sins, and curiously
enough, the name has been applied to group
| of affections which far from depending absolutely
on cold are frequently the direct result OF living
in close ovcr-heated surroundings having low
er relative humidity than the dryest desert known
| to man.
The word colds" means acute infection OF
the lining membranes of the nose, tonsils, throat
and larger bronchial tubes The process may be
even more extensive and amount to general in
lection of the entire body. All Of the breathing
| apparatus excepting the smaller terminal por-
| tions in the lungs may be involved, and as
matter of fact the disease may. and often does,
spread to these, thus producing pneumonia. In
| this connection it may be pointed out that pncu-
MONA kills more people in the United States
than any other disease excepting tuberculosis and
| heart disease. Many pneumonias begin as com
mon cold. Colds do not produce tuberculosis,
yet unfortunately what is considered as cold
may be in reality the first symptoms of the white
| plague
The causes of colds are muitiform and not
entirely understood In every case, however,
| they are dependent upon the growth and activity
| of living germs which are always received from
| other people 1t is true that almost everybody
harbors disease organisms in the mouth and
nose, and that these under favorable conditions
| will produce cold in their host. But these
| germs in every case were received from some
| other person. In other words, colds are infec-
tous. 1t used to be thought that sitting in
IA al
would produce cold. This is erroneous, but the
chilling of the body which the draft produces
| and the weakening of the vital forces caused by
! too long swim, lower the powers of resistance
| and permit germs which have hitherto been harm
| less to their host to produce disastrous effects
To prevent cold it is necessary first of all
to keep the body resistance at high point of
efficiency. This means that the body machinery
should be kept in good order at all times Good
wholesome food in proper amount, plenty OF sleep
the careful attendance to the voiding Of the body
wastes the taking of regular exercise in the open
air, keeping the body clean, keeping the mouth
and nose clean, the avoidance of hot, stufy, dusty
| rooms, the avoidance of exposure to sudden
changes of temperature, the prevention of the
| chilling of the body either by cold or wet, are
| all protective measures. 1t should be borne in
mind, however, that even robust persons may
contract colds from people who have them
The germs of colds leave the body in the Sc
cretions of the mouth and nose. They enter the
body through the same route. Thus careless
sneezer and the person who does not cover his
| mouth and nose when he coughs are breeders OF
these infections The little living bodies which
cause colds are so small that million could rest
on the head of pin. When person coughs or
sneezes fine spray carrying with it untold num-
bers of these germs spread into the surrounding
atmosphere to distance of several feet and may
easily be taken into the mouth and nose with the
respired air More direct contact, such as by kiss
ing, the common drinking cup, the common roller
/ towel by pipes, toys, pencils, fingers, food and
other things which have been contaminated by
the mouth and nose secretions of person having
a cold may also carry the disease
1t is an obligation on the part of persons hav-
ing colds to see to it that they do not spread
these colds to somebody else. The person who
neglects to cover his nose and mouth when he
sneezes and coughs the careless splitter, the per-
son who permits his germ-laden discharges to
contaminate things which are going to be ham
died by other people is menace to the COM
munity If such person uses public swimming
pools, il he is not amenable to reason and per-
ssts in distributing his infection, he should be
avoided as spreader of pestilence.
A good deal has been said about hardening
people so that they will not contract colds. There
is an element of danger in this since to expose
weak person to the rigors of cold baths and cold
drafts is apt to lower resistance, thus favoring
the very conditions which it is desired to avoid.
At the same time, it should not be forgotten that
the Arctic explorer does not ordinarily have colds
so long as he stays out in the open and that it is
not the engineers and hremen in the cold drafty
cab who have colds, but those who ride in the
close, dusty overheated coaches behind. When
all is said it must be said that dusty unventiiated
rooms, perhaps, play the greatest role in produc-
ing colds.
Since colds are a serious condition they should
be treated as such. A great many people think
they have an nfallible remedy for breaking up a
cold This may be harmless in itself but usually
it is not and consists Of combination Of harm
full drugs and alcohol, the latter usually prepon-
derating The sufferer takes these preparations
In large quantities and If he is strong enough he
: may survive them and eventually get the best OF
his cold Self medication or medication by I'm
trained persons is always dangerous. 1t is espe.
ciay dangerous to those having colds and should
always be scrupulousy avoided. As rule, much
time inconvenience and suffering will be obviated
, by consulting an intelligent physician promptly
, II this is not practicable brisk saline may be
taken and the patient put to bed. This gives his
body an opportunity to regain its vitality and al
the same time solates him from other people
The sick room should be well ventilated and the
= windows so opened as to keep the air moving
. freely. 1t is also wise to moisten the air a little
bit by putting pan of water on the radiator OF
over the register or on the stove. The handker-
c chiefs and bedding used by the patient should be
sterlized by boiling. Kissing and the use OF drink
ing cups etc, in common with other members OIL
the household should be forbidden, it being borne
in mind constantly that colds are infectious ant
S readily spread from one person to another.