Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-06-22
THREE BILLION
SNEEZES
Bv Frederic J. HaSkin
WV ASHINGTON, D. c., June IS.
IA The time for the annual hay
w fever sneezefest Is approach
ing

|
logged in close-fitting goggles to
protect their eyes, with cotton filters
in their noses, and with lips tightly
closed against invading irritants,
the old guard of the hay fever fra
ternity are already preparing to do
battle with the flowers that bloom
| in the summer 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 saying, It's a
| beautiful bording," instead of talking
in their usual bell-like tones. They
even foresee that their eyes will be
| noses will be red. and their faces in
general will suggest traces of vio-
lent 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 acknowl-
edged. Doctors who have studied
| the disease most carefully testify
that it attacks only the super-aes-
| thetic. 1t is a malady of distinction,
and one which you can well afford to
cultivate, if you don't mind being
| thoroughly miserable while display
| ing your superiority.
When hay fever first became pre-
| Valent, 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 joke and mystery.
Now that science takes it seriously,
| the million or more people who
sneezes at the mention of weeds are
| they are souls apart. endowed with
| representative noses and perilously
| high-Strung nervous systems.
| Aristocratic Ailment
Some Of the H F. V. (Which stands
| for hay fever victims) claim to be SO
delicately balanced that they lose
their equilibrium completely If a stalk
of ragweed sprouts within half
mile: Others go them one better by
looking at an oil painting of golden
rod and daisies.
It is a we'll established fact that the
exciting cause of hay fever is the
pollen Of any of a hundred or more
plants and grasses carried about on
the wind. Because the wind cannot
of pollen to the right flower to pro-
| mote fertilization, great many ex-
ira grains are produced, so that some
will be sure to fulfill their purpose.
Thus, in the case Of ragweed, it is
estimated that several million grains
of pollen are scattered on the wind
| for every grain which lands on
ragweed plant.
These straying atoms of pollen
| sometime travel five Or six miles on
the wind. They are in the air we
breathe. Ninety-nine people in
passages, and the membrane is eff
GENTLY proof against irritation. so
that no harm Is done. But in the
hundredth nose the mucous men,
brane is extra-sensitive. The poison
enters the membrane and starts an
J {v1-i tot ho
of the hundredth nose is getting
wireless messages to his brain about
violent conflict in his nasal pas
sage. He sends back an order not
to surrender, but by this time the
attacking enemy is reinforced by
some more pollen grains and defeat
is inevitable.
Susceptibility to hay fever is a
mystery. Some people respond only
to ragweed; others to the pollen of
corn and rye. A great many think
that goldenrod. is their particular
nemesis, but science has showed that
the pollen is so heavy that it can
not be blown any distance by the
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 themselves to come with
in this danger zone of goldenrod, the
plants evil reputation is obviously
undeserved.
Weeds to Blame
Some people are victims of hay
fever from childhood. Many, how
ever, develop the disease later, some
as late as fifty years of age. One
just mentioned, that different people
are susceptible to different plants.
Thus, people whose noses would not
think of having Mysteries over field
grasses or honeysuckle, and who are
invulnerable to the deadly cookie
travel to different section of the
country where the air is loaded with
different pollen poisons.
Once the malady attacks you, the
doctors say that you will most likely
have it every year at the same time
for the next decade or so. Or course,
you may be able to avoid it by seek
ing out some NEEDLESS place, or If
you know what plants are antago-
nistic to your eyes and nose, you have
simply to spend your summers where
those particular plants are unknown
The majority of H. F. VS. respond
violently to numerous plants. Some
of them seek refuge on the high seas,
CT on the top of a mountain peak,
in the heart of city, or in the
forests.
A 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 F. VS. have a re-
treat which they claim is completely
organized against the disease. At
the boarding houses of this village
the dining tables and parlors are
bare of flowers. Not even artificial
of suggestion is strong, and, then
too, artificial flowers are great col
lectors of dust. No dancing is al
lowed in the hotels lest dust start
some one sneeZing and bring on an
epidemic of kerchoos. The swiftest
growing weeds scarcely get their
leaves above ground in the nelghbor
hood before they are destroyed.
A Sneezeless City
In this specially treated atmos-
phere the convention Of the hay
feverites meets yearly. There is a
good deal of fun, for the delegates
can see the humor of hay fever--as
exemplified in their fellow delegates.
The main purpose of the convention
dies are given, and experiences are
exchanged. Persons supposed to be |
cured testify for the benefit of the
rest, and others Immediately rise to
sg hat t aeS Fif s the fare thing
There are about eighty cures on
the market, ranging from the really |
beneficial to the dangerous. Some of
the, remedies with the best records |
for ~cures" contain enough cocaine
or morphine to make drug addicts Of |
the persons taking them. For this
reason the hay fever brotherhood al |
ways advises members to take moth
ing without first consulting a re-
liable physician. ~
The most important development
in treatment of hay fever in recent |
years is the pollen toxin. About fiji
teen years ago, German scientist |
named Dunbar inoculated horses
with the toxin from grass pollen, |
and from the counter poisons which |
developed he obtained a serum, which |
he found to be beneficial in prevent |
ing hay fever and in arresting irrita-
ton in persons already suffering |