The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1917-07-05
Disease That Is Dreaded, Is
Known BY Certain Symp-
toms Here Told
STOP COMMUNITY DISEASES
Publication Recently Issued by D-
vision of Extension, University Of
Tennessee, Tells About Typhoid and
How It May Be Prevented or Cured

When you have headache, and tired
aching muscles, and spots dancing be-
fore your eyes; when you feel stupid,
your back aches, and you are cOnsti,
pated; when your tongue is furred and
~thicluy coated, and there is some sore,
ness over your bowels-then, think OF
typhoid fever. You may be so tired
and tagged that you find it quite an
effort to move yourself Two or three
weeks of this condition and your fever
comes on. Then you have typhoid
fever.
This disease is caused by small or.
ganisms, so small that the microscope
is needed to see them. One of them
is known as a bacillus, but since they
are usually found in great numbers
the reader most frequently sees the
plural form of the word-bacilli.
Typhoid bacilli may live for long
time outside of the human body. They
will live in the soil. They do not hatch
until they are in just the right sur
roundings. The human body furnishes
this ideal condition and once they are
in they multiply very rapidly. In the
lower two feet of the small intestine
they develop most rapidly, forming in
the bowel wall thin fiat sheets or
patches.
To keep the bacilli out of the body is
the problem. Cleanliness, in all that
it means, will help much, for the bacill;
may be found on the fingers, are car.
ried by flies; and contaminated food
and water are frequent mediums thru
which the bacilli reach the human
body.
When the bacilli get into the body
and get their work started, then the
patient gets the fever.
The rise of temperature, at first, may
be noticed only in the afternoon. ItI
gradually rises until the patient is SO
miserable and weak that he is forced
to take his bed. The fever continuesI
and usually ranges from 102 degrees to
106 degrees. The fatulency and ten
derness In The bowels are now quite
evident, caused by the irritation and
infection of the bacilli in the lower
two feet of the small bowel These in.
fected patches, in the third week, be
come infiamed, swollen and begin tc
slough, leaving ulcers 1t is during the
slOUghing stage that hemorrhages
sometimes occur. Then, again, there
are times when the ulcers slough so
deeply that they perforate the bowel
and its contents escape into the alb |
dominal cavity, causing. of course. a |
most serious condition, from which
recovery is extremely rare.
Other symptoms are generally gov.
erned by the amount of infection the
body has absorbed. These are: stupor, |
delirium, picking at the bedding, hal. ,
lucinations bordering on insanity; in !
some cases, rose spots are found scat. ,
tered over the trunk of the body, espe.
cially on the abdomen; the brown
iurred tongue with the flaming red OF
strawberry edge; the excessive accu
mutation of coating on the gums and
teeth; and the foul, watery stools /
Let us bear in mind that many of the .
above symptoms, commonly known as
the typical typhoid symptoms are
often absent. Even in severe cases
there may be only one or two in eyi .
dence. !
(These statements about typhoid /
fever are a part of recent publica-
tiOn of Division of Extension, Uni
versity of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The publication was written by
Mrs. Lena A. Warner, health
specialiat,l