Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1917-12-14
STATE HEALTH NOTES


tOlninlS 1OncrJ
Nrrs>it, for Physical Examinations.
one result OF the physical c%amin-
atiOns conducted all oyrr III" country
in connection with the scloctivc dr..ft
has been to cmpha -ize the need for
such examinations. not 6ioH" for IN u
under -. but for mon over that age
II had been expected that AT ucast 80
per cent of the mcn between the az :
OF II and - would be found physi
caiiy III for tn" army or navy. IN
very few districts whcr' The exam
nations were thurou.hiy conducted
ana tn + rc"n'aE" ran ~ high as
that figure. In many c;,-"s it was
iuNrd that 90 To - pr cat, slnr-
times 'yrn moro, Of the mon cEamin-
I'd w"r" NOT fit for service.
It i evident that il tn" p rc"ntar"
uf unfit during the ages when mon
are supposed To be in their physical
priH" Is 80 high. that 1t wul'd be-
even greater for Old mon Physical
examinations are needed not alun" 10
disclus" unsusp"Ct"d or unhc de 4
faults. but to disclose them In time
that they may be corrected. Malv
linen of middle az" are suffrrin 2
from incipicnt or latent defects which
can be cured ii taken in time, but
which if allowed to go unchcc'."d
may have serious Consequences
hsid" from minor physical faiiings.
II often happens that a man Is suf-
fering from some organic trouble of
which ne is not award. which IS not
brought to light by the ordinary ext
gencies of civil life. A thorough ply
steal examinations reveals such weak
nesses and permits of curing them
before it il too late.
Common Colds.
The most prevalent illness in the
United States is the common cold, q
disease group located under one
name and considered of such minor
Importance that morbidity statistics
do not record the enormous number
of persons who annually are subject
to suffering. inconvenience and eco
monte loss thereby. Remarkable as
! II may seem. the widespread famil-
iarity with this condition has bred a
heedlcssness which hides its serious
ness, yet when the sum total of the
ravages committed by common colds
Is made. IL becomes evident that in
stead of being Il group of trivial al
f"ctiOns. common colds must be cless
td as a serious disease.
The word cold" means an acute
infection of the lining membranes o,
tn" nose, tonsils, throat, and larger
bronchial tubes. The process ma,
u" even more extensive. and amount
TO Il general infection of the cntir,
BODY. All of the breathing appara
t'uS excepting the smaller tcrmin1
portions of the lungs may BE- involv
ed. and. as a matter of fact. tn. li
s"ase may. and sometimes doe.
spread to these. thus producing pneu
mOnia
Causes Of Colds.
me causes of colds ar. multi
I"rin and not entirely understand
III every case. however. they are de
pendent upon the growth and activ
itS OF living germs which are alway,
received from other people. IL I,
'rue that almost everybody harbor
uiSnase germs in the mouth and |,
the nose. and that these under f,v
"rnhlc conditions will produce
cold in their host. But ,hos. germ,
were received from some other ner
son. In other words. colds are in
iectious. II used to be- thought tbn
Si'''he IN draft, a prolonged sta,
III swimming pool. and other COX
ipoSur' would porduce a cold. Tbi
IL erroneous. but the chilling of m
po"y which the draft produces an,
IN" Weakening of the ci,al force.
,"used ny too long swim lowe
'he powers of resistance and pcrmi
germs which hitherto have brn,
harmless to their host to produc
"isastrons effects. To prevent
'"'u IL Is necessary first to keep tn,
"ou'iV resistance at a high poin, %
etlicl'nry. Ii should be- borne |,
'hiAd' however. that even robus
persons may contract colds fran
people who have th.m