The Washington times., 1917-01-31
POPULAR MEDICINE
BY DR.. HIRSHBERG
Intelligent Observation of Rules
of Hygiene viii De.
crease Illness.
BY DIR. LEONARD n. HIRSHBERG.

BY DR. LEONARD h. HlRSHBERG.
The average man, who boasts that
he does things" without regard TO
theory. and who strongly maintains
that he is "a seIf-made man OF COM
mon sense and practical action" Is
accustomed to pooh-pooh the lsbora-
tory man Of science. He thinks that
the experimental usually fritters
away his time upon impracticable re-
searches.
Perhaps many will SO regard Dr.
Arthur D. Hirschfelder's. researches
upon the effects of muriatic, phos-
phoric, tartsric, hydrobromic- sui
phuric. and nitric acids on human
tissues, yet can see in them, despite
my disclaimer to the gift of proph-
ecy, certain explanations OF why
YOU and l are at times puffy under
the eyes.
Indeed. the actions OF acids and
salts upon the proteins OF flesh OF the
human fabric, IL thoroughly under
stood, may lead to an insight into
1.-The why's and wherefores" OF wrin-
kles, crowfeet. dimples, bleary eyes,
and many other oddities of the COM
pleNion.
Cause of Swelling Found.
The discovery that acids and aka
lies cause gelatin. TO tein and flesh
to swell was made by an Italian.
Prof. Spiro. DIR. Martin H. Fischer.
of Cincinnati, was the first to elab-
crate and introduce the knowledge
that "colloids," such as white of egg.
molasses, gelatin, and other non
CRYSTALS imbibe water and give rise
TO dropsy.
This daring and original explana-
ton of DR.. Fischer's has been sub
stantiated by many original researches
from purely scientific laboratories.
Prof. Fischer and DIR. Hirschfelder
are agreed that the salt OF sulphuric
acid, such as sulphate of magnesia or
EPSON salts, sulphate Of'soda or Glau-
ber's salts, sulphate OF potash, and
other. sulphates have a particular
value in their power to prevent, to
check. and to "inhibit' dropsy or
edema
The Inhibition" OF the dropsy or
swellings OF tissues depends upon the
nature of the salts of the particular
acids used Table salt, nitres, and
bromides have a tendency to increase
lne eOeInd OF uTOpsNs NHtg w hOL
check it. The sulphates, phosphates,
and grape salts and fruit salts gener-
ally seem to reduce dropsical condi-
tions.
A Simple Experiment.
Gelatin, egg white and blood clots
can be made to swell up experiment
ally in water il table salt is added.
The other salts, especially the sui
pilates, prevent this.
Phosphates and the fruit salts, such
as tartrates from grapes and citrates
from lemons, have purgative and kid
ney activities. They are also the
ones which keep the flesh and blood
corpuscles from swelling.
DIR. HirschfeIder found an excellent
fabric for the study of localized
small portion of the anatomy-to be
the eyes.
The eyes of rabbits were made puff
fy by the irritating vapors of mus
tard oil, just as our eyes are frequent
ly swollen from oils, dust, tobacco
and other irritants. They became
dropsical with the colorless water
which escaped from around the
whites of the eyes In this expert
ment it was found that dropsy Of
the eyeIids can he caused by many
different causes, but this time it was
strictly a local and not a blood or
internal cause.
May Produce DropEy.
Prof Fischer discovered that there
is an antagonism between salts and
acids in their power TO produce or
not to produce dropsy In different
proteins or tissues. This furnishes
a link to explain how water is alb
sorbed by gelatin and other "coIloids,"
which has led to the practical treat
ment OF dropsy by forbidding the use
of table salts or acid salts in any
form of food.
tCOpy't, 1917. by Newspaper Feature service.)