174 ^^^ POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



his bare head and naked body with indifference, almost pleasure, that 

 would rapidly prostrate a European. But when the temperature rises 

 above a certain standard all succumb^ and natives of India suffer and 

 die like others in numbers every year from loo mama (hot-wind 

 stroke). 



The extent and duration of the toleration of heat depend much on 

 the vigor of constitution and actual state of health. The refrigerat- 

 ing powers of the body, when in health, enable it to support a very 

 high temperature, considerably above that of the blood. Thus, in the 

 hot winds little inconvenience is felt so long as perspiration is free, 

 but, when that fails, suffering soon ensues, and the danger is great. 



In the fourteenth annual report of the Sanitary Commissioner with 

 the Government of India, 1877, it is stated that two hundred and 

 thirty-five cases of heat-apoplexy and sunstroke occurred in the army 

 in India, of which seventy were fatal. Of those who recover, or rather 

 do not die, many are permanently injured, and remain invalids for the 

 rest of life, which is frequently shortened by the changes induced. 



No remarkable morbid change is observed in cases where death 

 has occurred suddenly. The heart may be firmly contracted, and the 

 lungs and brain and its membranes .congested, but not invariably, for 

 sometimes the reverse conditions exist ; and the blood is dark and 

 clotted, its coagulability is impaired, and it is deficient in oxygen. In 

 death from ordinary cases of thermic fever or insolation, the pulmo- 

 nary system is often deeply congested ; the heart is firmly contracted 

 with coagulation of myosin ; the venous system is engorged ; the body 

 may be marked with livid patches ; the blood shows a tendency to a 

 separation of its fluid and solid constituents, and may be acid in reac- 

 tion ; and the body retains a high temperature for some time after 

 death. The brain and membranes may be congested, but the disease 

 is essentially asphyxia, not apoplexy. 



In cases of simple exhaustion, remove the person to a cooler place, 

 if possible. Give a douche, but not too prolonged, or it may over- 

 depress. A stimulant may be useful ; rouse, and gently stimulate ; 

 remove tight and oppressive clothing. Treat as in ordinary fainting 

 apply ammonia to nostrils, etc. Let the patient rest, and avoid expos- 

 ure to over-fatigue or to great heat. In the form of sunstroke where 

 the person is struck down suddenly by a hot sun, remove him into the 

 shade, and allow a douche of cold water to fall from a height on his 

 head and body. This should be freely resorted to, the object being 

 twofold to reduce the temperature of the over-heated centers, and to 

 rouse by reflex action. During the assault on the " White-House 

 picket," at the capture of Rangoon in 1853, numbers of men were 

 struck down by the fierce April sun. They were brought to me, and 

 laid out in rows, perfectly unconscious, in their red coats and black 

 leather stocks. They nearly all recovered for the time, at all events 

 under the influence of the douche, freely applied over the head and 



