The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-04

| from the soil to an ;n,u
seems as II this wouJd ~ It
occurrence, and it is comnars,in are
rare. Locktaw is most fraonansi,y
/ heard of in connection with 10y
wounds, and accidents ont ~ 9Sl.tle
where dirt is likely to infect ~ aoGIS
jury. This latter class incI o u
Fourth of July accidents
In the case of the toy pisto1 =,
blank cartridge is made of no,2s sle
earth and clay. The earth IN .a
cartridge, however, does no, u 'ue
to enter the blood to mako Ioot 80
possible. In fact, nHmhae
cartridge tests were made ar3 VI
signs of tetanus bacili were to No
The conclusion was that the dane.
is really in getting dirt from som
outside source in the exposed fesb
A boys hands after he has ~
playing outdoors and shooting ar
crackers and toy pistols are 6ecss
sarily dirty and bit of grimv skin
rubbed into a sore OF scratch ma,
hold enough germs to start the dis
ease The germ of lockiaw il opa
of the most powerful known. O7s
Thousand tetanus baCilIi are eDonqb
to kill, whereas one doctor esti-
mates that it takes something IfEa
a billion ordinary pus germs tn
cause death.
How to Treat Wounds
II there is any possibility OF dirtv
clothing or other CRIME having en-
tered a wound it should be treated
to prevent any tetauus baciIH from
multiplying and spreading. ina
anti-tetanus serum should be al
ministered and the wound should
! be kept open. To cauterize it so ss
to scar the surface and imDrjs0n
the germs is to invite lockJaw. ANY
treatment that tends to heal the
place over quickly is dangerous.
Air is fatal to the germs. where
as if they are shut off from the air
they will quickly multiply and
spread their poison throughout the
system.
Tetanus is one of the most in
sidious of maladies. Once the sy1np-
toms appear-the well known stiff
fleming of the jaws and other mus
cles-the patient has comparatively
little chance of recover. The toxin
has spread through the nerves and
the blood.
The 4nti-tetanus serum should he
administered even then, if it has not
been given before. The serum has
saved some advanced cases, though
it is largely effective as a proven
tive, and the sooner il is used the
more chance there is Of heading of
the disease. Health officials keen
on hand supplies of the serum and
urge that it be used by doctors as
a preventive treatment in all in
juries where there is any danger Of
tetanus. There is no way of re-
cording how many cases Of IOcktaw
have been arrested by the serum,
but that it has reduced the fatality
of the desire to a great extent
there is no doubt.
The suffering caused by Iockjaw
is the terrible feature Of it. The
patient is generally conscious even
in the most acute spasms. The sui
fering is caused by contraction and
of the muscles. Doctors
say that in some cases the muscles
of the back become so arched
that only the head and feet Of the
patient touch the bed. Cases that
reach so acute a stage as this sell
dom recover.
The Geadliness of lockjaw is
shown by the fact that
some of the natives of the Congo
rub their arrows for warfare in spe-
cial places in the mud, where the
germs abound. The result is e
a dart as any known 70
savagery. Seldom does one of th \
fail to carry enough tetanw
germs to be deadly. When the
germ-laGen dart sinks deep into the
victim the result is invariably q
death of agony a few days later.
This is the method Of a savage
tribe DESTROYS of inficting on its
enemies the most terrible, lingering &
Ieath It can devise.