Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-12-13
cEREeRo.splNAL MENINGITIS.

n United States may reasonably
expect a great menace of cerebro-
SPINAL meningitis this winter and espe-
clally in the early spring of 1918. In
england cerebro-spinal meningitis was
reported i'm 1912. The number of cases
reported in 1913 was 279; in 1914, 315:
IN 1915 it jumped to 3,712, of which 1866
were i'm civilians and LAC in soldiers.
rms l,146 did not include soldiers and
sailors who contracted the disease over
seas. How many cases there We're in
ISI6 do not know. but in the spring of
1917 Surgeon Genera Rolleston, of the
navy, stated THAI the disease was under
control.
AS we are gathering together a mill
llon or more soldiers and sailors from
all parts of the country, and since the
ihfectlon is widely spread and we are
housing our soldiers and sailors in bar
racks with from so to 100 in a room. it
Is too much to hope for that we shall
escape the spread of this disease known
as barracks fever by some.
AS HI disease il spread by we'll
known carriers. it is reasonable to an
ticipate both that the civil population
VIII infect the soldiers and sailors M
that the soldiers and sailors will infect
ehe civilian population.
Meningitis Is caused by the meningo-
Soccus, a coccus very similar to the
pneumonia occus in many Of it's char
acteristics. This coccus enters the body
through the nose. 1t cannot live loGs.
outside OF the human body. 1t is not
suspected that any animal or any insect
transmits it. 1t is somewhat spread
through contact with cases. but far n
away the most important method of
spreading is through the infested nose
secretlons of persons who are without
any symptoms Of the disease-carriers.
An important factor in contracting
meningitis is the common cold. The dis
ease always is worst when colds are
worst. The colds season is the menin-
gifts season, II persons with colds are
most apt to contract the disease. There
fore the advice: IF you would avoid
meningitis avoid colds" TIC this end
bodily comfort, warm, dry clothing.
good dry shoes n socks, regular
bowel movements. avoidance of owe
ance of foul air and overheated places
generally are all conducive to safety as
regards that disease.
The authorities are agreed that h
cocci can be killed when in the nose by
nose washes. If the number of cocci in
the nose is mall an ordinary nose wash
such as either Of the following will suf-
flee, according to Colonel Copeman, of
the British army:
A solution CO.'S to 1 per cent? Of
chloramin in normal salt solution.
Chloramin is closely akin to the Dakin's
AAoAN OoCo do a WdoA All lllIcCleu
wounds. Or of 1 of 5000 permanganate
dissolved in normal salt. Badly infested
noses must be treated according to a
special spraying apparatus devised by
Gordon-Flack. Flexner Endorses a hypo-
chlorite oil devised by Durham and
Dakin.
The nose is cleaned with salt solution
or with 0.25 per cent watery solution
Of chloramin-T solution. The nose is
blown into handkerchief between
sprays or douches. The throat is
thoroughly gargled with the same So
luton. When the increased flow of
mucus stimulated by the spray has
subsidized an oil solution of dichlor-
amin-T is applied with an atomizer.
-Four thorough treatments with the oil
should be made in a day. The method
of making this oil is given in detail in
the British Medical Journal and in the
Journal Of the American Medical asso.
citation. Septembera1. 1917