INFLUENZA. 561 



very vague and unsatisfactory one, with absolutely no arc^u- 

 ment to support it, and, therefore, is unworthy of notice 

 and needs no refutation. 



It has also been supposed to arise from an excess of ozone 

 in the air ; and while ozone will cause considerable irrita- 

 tion to the Schneiderian and other mucous membranes 

 which are more directly exposed to the action of the air, 

 still, common-sense teaches us that it could not set up 

 the great constitutional disturbance by which ijifluenza is 

 characterized. 



Some say that it is nothing more than a common cold, 

 beginning as colds ordinarily do, and proceeding to that 

 high degree of catarrhal inflammation known as influenza. 

 That this is not true is shown by the fact that simple catarrh 

 can be cut short almost at will, while influenza persists in 

 running a definite course, in spite of every mode of treat- 

 ment that can be brought to bear, and any attempt to cut 

 it short is fraught with great danger to the life of the 

 patient. Still others, wishing to be more conservative, 

 have included all of the above theories, and taken the 

 broader stand that the disorder is primarily caused by 

 atmospheric influences. And remarkable atmospheric 

 changes and variations of temperature have been recorded 

 by various writers, during epidemics of influenza, w^ho 

 have thus endeavoured to account for the presence of the 

 disease. But while these conditions may, and very likely 

 do, bring about a predisposition to the malady, the stand 

 taken that they are the actual causes of influenza is not, to 

 my mind, a tenable one — for many outbreaks have occurred 

 without anything remarkable being observed, so far as 

 temperature and atmospheric changes were concerned. 

 Again, most extraordinary changes of weather and tem- 

 perature have frequently been observed without a solitary 

 case of influenza occurring as a consequence. 



36 



