Evening star., 1923-08-19

til frost comes the sufferer must
endure the sneeze- provoking tickle in
his nose.
The public health service has joined
the fight on hay fever and in the
hands of DIR. W. T. Harrison of the
lIygienic Laboratory has much of
the research been placed. knowing
that the small raCweed was the
main foe. lis work has been largely
confined. to this type of plant.
Mai Paul \. Schulc of the Army
Medical school, who has been work
ing on hay fever for a much longer
i..T.uH. has dealt with many different
p"ilcnS. some few doZ"us of which
are more or loss common.
Only 20 Per Cent Fixtures.
Whar til" results of tests will he
Tor this year remain to be seen. but
experiments uf last year resulted in
hut 20 per cent of failures. OF the
'" per cent. absolute cures ranged
from = to 20 per cent. while the
balance of the cases showed improve
ment up to - per cent of former
severity.
DR.. Harrison. who has been treat
ing patients for experimental pur-
poses both at the laboratory and at
the Women's Welfare Association on
lth street. has given some practical
hintS for those who have not had
'nn"culationS. There are four main
precautions to take. he declared to a
n" recommends that subjects wear
amber glasses to prevent any irrita-
tlon of the eyes through bright light
and pollens. He urges that the sleep
ing rooms be kept tightly closed dur
ing the day. when the pollen is flvinc:
although after dark. when the air
becomes damper, the windows may be
opened. All violent exercise, such AS
would quicken the breathing, should
be avoided, and. if the subject is in
IN" habit of riding. a heavy veil
should he worn while on the road
SnIveS Nay Beneht.
He suggests that possibly certain
of the well-known salves might be
Of benefit ii applied to the nose before
the irritation begins.
Although the innoculations have
been taken one year without much
benefit. DIR. Harrison declares that il
should not be considered a cause for
despair. for repeating them for an
other season or two might result in
the absolute relief of the patient.
The Dolens that cause suffering are
without number apparently. Among the
more common are corn. spring grasses.
certain trees. roses, devils paint brush.
sage brush, golden rod and other rank
growths.
To eliminate the weeds and other
plants responsible is almost an i'm
possibility OF course some with baa,-y
ragWeed. for instance. will cause suf-
fcrtng ten miles or more away from
the plant from which the pollen oriei
mated.
New Methods Used.
New methods are being worked
out for extracting the pollens and
making them of greater potency.
These discoveries. as fast as they are
made at the public health stations
are Immediately made known to the
manufacturers and are put into use
al once.
DR.. Harrison declared that Ii was
matter of much encouragement to re-
Searchers to observe the enthusiastic
manner in which reputable American
manufacturers of medicines take up
proved discoveries and seek to bet
ter their product, with the welfare
of their customers at heart
IT is hoped that this year may see
much greater percentage of cures
The public has been somewhat indif-
ferent in its attitude toward the eff
forts of the doctors to relieve their
sufferings, and the laboratory has
been rather hard pressed in securing
volunteers to take the inoculations
However, in the neigh borhood OF a
hundred have been treated this year,
and it is hoped that they may give a
fairly accurate test of what the years
discoveries have amounted to and
give q basis for further research