Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-06-28
SNEEZE FEVER
! CLAIMS MILLION
VICTIMS IN u. S.
Each Kerchoos on Average rs
Times a Day-Grand Total,
Three Billion.
SEASON SOON BEGINS
By FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

IORged IN close uLClnR gogSleS 10 pro-
tect their eyes, with cotton filters in their
noses, and with lips tightly closed
against invading irritants, the old guard
of the hay fever fraternity are already
preparing to do battle with the flowers
that bloom in midsummer and fall.
OF course they know that they will be
unsuccessful in their resolve not to
sneeze once this year.
They know that they will soon be say
ing, Ids a beaudiful bording" instead
of talking in their usual bell-like tones.
They even foresee that their eyes VIII
be puffed up like a frogs, and their
noses will be red. and their faces in
general will suggest traces of violent
emotion.
But they prepare to suffer with the
dignity betting one who is afflicted
with an aristocratic ailment.
For the high character Of hay fever is
now universally acknowledged.
Doctors who have studied the disease
most carefully testify that it attacks
only the super aesthetic.
1t is a malady of distinction. and one
which you can we'll afford to cultivate,
II you don't mind being thoroughly
miserable while displaying your supe-
riority.
When hav fever first became prevalent,
about the time Of the civil war sufferers
went about sneezing. and weeping and
weighted down with a sense of appearing
ridiculous.
Hay fever was then a joke and a mys-
terry.
Now that science takes IL seriously.
the million or more people who sneeze
at the mention Of weeds are coming to
81 In ha tkak Il
apart, endowed with representative noses
and perilously high-strung nervous sys-
TENS.
DOCTORS AGREE 1T rs
ARISTOCRATIC AILMENT.
Some of the II. F. VS. (which stands
for hay fever victims) claim to be so
delicately balanced that they lose their
equilibrium completely II a stalk of rag
weed sprouts within half a mile.
Others go them one better by In sisting
that they have had attacks of sneezlng
brought on by looking at an oil paint
ing Of goldenrod and daisies.
II is a well established fact that the
exciting cause ef hay fever is the pollen
Of any of hundred or more plants and
grasses carried about on the wind.
Because the wind cannot be depended
on to carry each grain OF pollen 20 the
great many extra grains are produced.
so that some will be sure TO fulfil their
purpose.
Thus, in the case OF ragweed. II Is es-
timated that several million grains Of
pollen are scattered on the wind for
every grain which lands on a ragweed
plant.
These strsying atoms Of pollen some1
times travel 1--WE or six miles on the wind.
They are in the air We breathe; ninety
nine people In a hundred have them in
their nasal paseages. and the membrane
Is efficiently proof against irritation. so
that no harm is done.
But in the hundredth nose the mucous
membrane is extra sensitive.
The poison enters the membrane and
starts an irritation.
MEANWHILE the possessor OF the hun
dredth nose is getting wireless messages
to his brain about a violent conflict in
his nasal passage
He sends pack an order not to sur
render, but by this time the attacking
enemy Is reinforced by some more pollen
grains and defeat is inevitable.
susceptibility to hay fever Is a mys-
terry; some people respond only 10 rag
weed; others to the pollen Of corn and
rye
A great many think that goldenrod is
their particular nemisis but science has
showed that goldenrod Is so heavy that
IL can not be blown any distance Blythe
wind, and that, therefore. goldenrod can
cause a hay fever spasm only when the
pollen is inhaled from the plant itself
AS few hay feverites ever allow them
selves to come within tots danger zone
Of goldenrod. the plants evil reputation
Is obviously undeserved.
WEEDS
TO BLAME.
Some people are victims OF hay fever
from childhood. Many, however, develop
the disease later, some as late as City
years OF age. One reason for this seems
TO be the fact, Just mentioned. that diff
ferent people are susceptible to different
plants
Whether every nose Ia vulnerable to
some pollen toxin is not yet known, but
Il is certain that a great many people
escape hay fever only because they never
happen TO get within range OF pollens
which would affect them.
Once the malady attacks you, the doc
tors say that you win most likely have
II every year 81 the same time for the
next decade or So or course you may
be able to avoid It by seeking out some
NEEDLESS place, or II you know what
plants are antagonistic to your eyes and
nose you have simply to spend your
summers where those particular plants
are unknown.
The majority of Fl. r. VS. respond
violently to numerous plants.
Some Of them seek refuge on the high
seas, or on the top of mountain peak.
In the heart of a city, or in the depths
of our few remaining virgin forests
few resorts, notably those at high
attitudes and on the sea coast, do seem
to be comparatively free from wind
borne pollen
Up in New England, the H. r. VS.
have a retreat which they claim is COM
pletely organized against the disease.
At the boarding house Of this village
the dining tables and parlors are bare
Of flowers.
Not even artificial flowers bloom here.
for the power Of suggestion is strong,
and, then, too, artificial flowers are
great collectors of dust
No dancing is allowed in the hotels
lest dust start some one sneezlng and
bring on an epidemic of kerchoos
The swiftest growing weeds scarcely
get their leaves above ground in the
neighborhood before they are destroyed
HOLD CONVENTION
IN, sNEEZELEsS CITY.
In this specially treated atmosphere
the convention of the hsy feverites meets
yearly.
There is a good deal Of fun, for the
delegates can see the humor of hay fe,
ver--as exemplined In their fellow dele
gates.
The main purpose Of the convention
is, however, serious. Talks on remedies