71 



quinine, before recovery talies place. Self-diagnosed cases of "malaria," 

 that is "colds," usually get well in a short time, and without the use of 

 large doses of quinine. 



Popular medical terms are used in a very loose way and physicians 

 using them among each other are constantly compelled to define them or 

 explain just what is meant— and we all know of the proverbial doctors' 

 quarrel. 



Now, if a phj-sician speaking before a medical society or in writing 

 for a first-class medical journal used the term "a cold" and had to give a 

 definition he likely would find it a difficult task. Perhaps on examining 

 the underlying facts we may arrive at some definite conclusions and per- 

 haps be able to make a definition. It would likely be something after 

 this fashion: A cold is the reaction of the body toward some irritant or 

 infective matter, the amount of reaction depending on the amount of this 

 matter and its localization in the body; the reaction may be general or 

 local; it differs from the specific fevers by its history. 



During a cold some iiTitant substance is in the body. This irritant 

 may differ in different forms of cold. The inhalation of certain gases or 

 chemicals or vegetable substances may be followed by a transient cold. 

 Some forms are regarded as due to the inhalation of pollen, as rose cold 

 and hay fever; other forms occur in diseases like measles, scarlet fever 

 and the lilve. A common cold differs from these special forms by its 

 history. 



As to causes: "Getting chilled" or "overheated," or "getting the feet 

 wet" are not real causes of common colds — they are regarded as simply 

 exciting causes or of opening up the avenues for the real cause. They 

 stand in about the same relation as the plowing of the field does to the 

 sowing of the seed— you can plow and harrow and prepare the ground as 

 much as j-ou please, but no crop will follow unless you seed the prepared 

 gi'ound. A "cold" will not follow an exposure to cold in the physical 

 sense unless the seeds are present — and this is why arctic explorers are 

 free from colds. Moreover, we know from experience that we can catch 

 a cold in the hot summer days as well as in the winter time. 



This brings up the question: Where do we get the seed of a cold? 

 As elsewhere, we get the seed from a previous crop. We get our colds 

 from persons who have colds especially that aggravating form of cold 

 known as catarrh. 



