The Colorado statesman., 1924-02-23
COMMON COLD IS
BEING STUDIED
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE TRY.
ING TO DETERMINE MEANS
CT OVERCOMING 1T.
BY EDWARD q. CLARK

disregardful of ailments from which
one-third of them, according to Wash
inglon statistics, continually are suffer-
ing.
The public health service is making
survey of what Is called the "henlth
habits" of 10000 persons living in
various parts of the United States.
The army and navy authorities and
the authorities of the various univer-
stiles throughout the country are
showing an interest In the subject and
are working with the officials of the
public health service in an effort to
find out why people contract diseases
when they might avoid them and why
"colds" are so frequent. OF course the
whole thing leads up to an attempt to
overcome colds"
The belief is in Washington that
the attempt to find out all about
"colds," their constant recurrence and
the reason therefor, Is. based on n
sort of resentment which has be-
come artlculate among the people of
the world in recent years because
while medical science seems to have
been able to overcome virtually every
other form of human ailment or TO
prevent 1t, the common cold" still
hangs on, progresses and seemingly de-
fies the attempt of science to give 1t
the Knockout blow.
Not long ago Washington man In
terested in this subject of colds ap-
preached his family physician on the
subject, asking this:
"Why Is 1t that you doctors who
can take n mans insides out, repair
them and put them back, who have
overcome smallpox, yellow fever, ty-
phold, typhus and have given tuber-
culosis hard run for its continued
existence, and who have done things
almost miraculous, never have been
able and seemingly never will be able
to cure n common cold?"
Doctors Blame the People.
The reply of the physician who thus
was attacked with the personal, per-
tlnent or perhaps impertinent question
was this:
1--WE can cure colds, or at least we
can help them, but we can't prevent
people from taking cold because they
against this pestilence, for that is
what 1t is that stalketh by day and by
night, by dawn and by twilight"
DR.. ]. G. Townsend of the public
health service is chief of its flu
section. He has charge of the work of
investigation. According to the Wash
ington Post, Doctor Townsend Is I'M
able to make as yet a comprehensive
survey of the results, but he points
out that about thirty-five per cent
of the persons enrolled in the study
have colds continually" The survey
further shows that the number of
colds mounted continually during oc-
tober and November and had slight
drop In December.
Doctor Townsend attributes the up
pcr trend in October and November to
football saying that many persons go
to football games in these months and
subject themselves to unfavorable eli
matte conditions. Naturally the lay
man does not know much about these
things and possibly 1t is unwise to
venture any kind of an opinion, but
service in France in the A. E. f. in
the year 1918, a part of the time at the
front and n part of the time at the
rear, proved to the satisfaction of the
writer that the men who were serving
in the open, or virtually In the open.
no matter how much exposed they
were to the elements, were not as much
afflicted with colds and Influenza as
were the men who were housed in
considerable numbers in barracks or in
blllets.
Cold Air Thought Curative.
The open air treatment for throat
and lung troubles was not thought of
at all until about fifty years ago when
Doctor Trudeau undertook the treat
ment of tubercular patients In the
brncing outdoor climate of the Adiron-
dacks. 1t was not long thereafter that
the medical profession recognized that
pure air, even If 1t was cold, was
better than warm impure air.
Within the past fifty years patients
suffering from lung and throat troubles
have not been molly-coddled as they
were in other days. They have been
kept warm, of course, but the cold
mir which once was thought deadly to
them Is now thought to be curative
in its properties.
AS the matter is set forth in the
article from the paper above quoted,
II is said that the public health serv-
ice already has established communlca-
ton with $4,000 individuals and with
600 families. and is receiving re-
ports every two weeks. The individuals
are chosen principally from colleges,
II being said that officials of the serv-
| Ice feel that 1t will be easier to make
comparisons between persons SINH
larly situated" and in addition, that
the college students are in position
to give Intelligent reports upon their
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