Pneumonia, Influenza, and Colds 121 



had them and all know how unpleasant they 

 are, and how apt we are sooner or later to 

 recover from them. What we do not so 

 commonly realize is that if they are neg- 

 lected they greatly predispose the body to 

 much more serious infective maladies. 



Common colds are incited by a variety 

 of micro-organisms among the more common 

 of which are the pneumococcus and strep- 

 tococcus, and bacilli which closely resemble, 

 if they are not identical with, a mild type of 

 the influenza germ. Probably several other 

 species are also guilty, but conviction waits 

 upon further evidence. Some forms of colds 

 are distinctly communicable, and run through 

 families or groups of closely associated persons. 



The popular impression, crystallized in the 

 name, that they are primarily due to ex- 

 posure to cold weather, to drafts, to fog and 

 wet, is largely false. All these things, as 

 well as indigestion, overexertion, or anything 

 else which lowers the body's vigor and re- 

 sistance, may be and doubtless are con- 

 tributory factors, the spark which lights 

 the powder. But without the germs there 



