Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-06-30
PERTH AMB0Y EVENING NEWS, THURSDAY, JUNE 30. 1921.

lockiaw deaths and children left without arms
ewes, or fingers, made a profound impression.
Rut except where special rulings obtain, peo-
Pile have gone on playing with explosives the
same as ever. In rural and suburban districts
records Of accidents on this particular DAY are
rarely kept. II figures were available, they would
doubtless be nearly as alarming as those ior IL
cities once were.
II ia true that in remote farming regions fire.
works are not especially popular. They are no'
always available. The danger zones are the VI.
lagos and countryside close to the clIles ~
families from town flock to spend the tourln On
a picnic and to let the children shoot on mr.
crackers according to the time-honored custom
Tetanus or lockjaw, seems too horrlple a us
ease to be a fitting aftermath of a day OF ceIe.
bration. But wherever people play with f1uatn
Of July noisemakers, cases of tetanus are 1919
noted. Occasionally. tetanus develops rom
son,e other kind of injury. A scratch, cut or
sore. made by any rusty or dirty implement
such as a nail or rake, is very apt 10 cause g.
anus unless prompt treatment Is given.
This disease is so deadly and the suliellII55
caused by it is so intense that everyone snout
be familiar with its prevention ana nrevention'
;ndeing by what wo know as the prime cause
of tetanus. should be Don't use a toy piS'oi =
'OO' Record of Accidents.
The American Medical Association began IN
1903 to collect statistics Of independence Day
casualties, and in the fourteen years tolo"i mSe II
60 per cent. of these deaths were attributed "
blank cartridge wounds. hora
Presenting a child does have a toy pistol Il a.
il what may happen. The trigger may be a NJ
tile stiff, and in discharging it the poy nav ~
skin rubbed off of a little place on ms MANI ~
tween the thumb and forefinger. Or, perHap9
the pistol will backfire and make a silgnC pid
sion on his hand. The injury may be slght, 50
slight that no notice is taken or II, or else Nv Srvo
remedies are applied-a salve. peroxide, a ory,
ing powder, witch hazelLanything tnat IL
handy. regardless of it's effect upon the lnJuTy,
There may be no complications. But IL -
injured place has in it enough of the Vlruieht
infanus germs and the wound is not treated 50
as to destroy thenb lockjaw will develop "i'n'"
Tetanus germs live mostly in the GROUND
,wav from the air. Oxygen is fatal to them
knowledge of this is the most impor' seem TO
thrive in certain sections, perhaps IN certa1n
kinds of soil. Tests show that the GROUND IN tne
vicinity of New YORK, Tor INSTANCE Il
" rich in tetanuS bacllll. rornoe
To contract the disease, enough OF the germs
rlust be transferred from the SOIL 10 an Ill.,
II seems as if this would be a rare occuLrenoS,
frequently heard of in connection with p udtsre
wounds, and accidents out OIL Tbis latter
dirt is likely to infect the injury, Inns i@''e-
class includes Fourth of July accldeh,s. oar
In the case of the toy pistol, the plank e Ihe
ridge is made of powder, earn :" nor need
to enter the blood to make lock1aW Possipie' "a
fact. a number of cartridge tests were IN ~ Con-
no signs of tetanus bacilli were founo. II
clusion was that the danger is really IN settIn5d
dirt from some outside source IN the eApos'u
flesh. r,ovino ont
doors and shooting frecrackers and toy plsIois
are necessarily dirty and a bit OF si1nS oneh
rubbed into a sore or scratch may nU of lock law
germs to start the disease. The germ OF iothJ""
"a one of the most powerful known: one tnoa.
sand tetanus bacilli are enough to XII, Wnehht
one doctor estimates that it taxes solietnthe
az a. y hilIion ordinary nus germs to cause death.
How to Treat Wounds.
II there is any possibility OF dirty ~ ah6nld
other CRIME having entered a wound IL 70
~ pe"e .rested 70 prevent any tetanus bacilli from
multiplying and spreading. the anu-teea an
serum should be administered ana II 50 as to
$50. - 1ant oman To caUtGrlZ6 l. 81 do "
scar the surface and imprison the germs Is ~
invite lockjaw. Any treatment that tehos ~ n0"
the place over quickly is dangerous.
A. 10 fatal to the germs, whereas If they are
shut off from the air they will quickly multlprs
and spread their poison throughout the sys.e-
T,etanus is one of the most insidious or maiaI
dies Onca the symptoms appear-the Wen
known stiffening of the jaws ana other nus of
the patient has comparatively nttle cnau the
recovery. The toxin has spread through Tx
nerves and the blood. ,ar,iris-
tered even then, If it has not peen nced cases.
The serum has saved some adVanceo ai
though it is largely effective as a 4hore
and the sooner it is used the more chahce efoia1s
is of heading off the disease. Health oi
Ireen on hand supplies of the serum ana use
that it be used by doctors as a preventive tieaa
ment in all injuries where there Il W. how
~ tetanus. There is no way or recording INV
many cases of lockjaw have been afres.eu ~
the serum, but that 1t has reduced the lataisS
of the disease to a great extent there 10 h'
doubt. .ho +erri-
BILE feature of it. The patient is generaiv ~ Tno
scious even in the most acute spasns: -
suffering is caused by contraction and stlifenlns
of the muscles. Doctors say that IN Some oas
the muscles of the back become so arcneo ' the
nnIy the head and feet of the patient touch ine
he'd. Cases that reach so acute a stage as tnis
seldom recover. , houn
The deadliness of lockjaw is strikingly SHOWN
nv the fact that some of the natives OF tn1
Congo rub their arrows for warfare IN specie
rlaces in the mud, where the germs apounu.
seldom does one of the arrows fail TO carry
enough tetanus germs to be deadly. WheI the
germ-laden dart sinks deep into the victim ems
later. This is the method of a savage trlpe de-
sirous of inflicting on its enemies the most Ter
rible. lingering death it can devise.