August 22, 1890.J 



SCIENCE. 



107 



HEALTH MATTERS. 

 Sea Air for Phthisis. 



In reviewing a recent work by Dr. Remondino, president of the 

 Board of Health of San Diego, Cal., Ihe Lancet says: "Dr. Re- 

 mondino discusses at considerable length the influence of marine 

 climates upon phthisis, and sums up strongly in their favor. This 

 is a return to the views of Laennec and most of the older authorities — 

 a doctrine thrown somewhat undeservedly into the shade by the good 

 results obtained at some of the high altitude sanatoria. In form- 

 ing a rational creed upon this difficult question, we must beware 

 of the fallacy that lurks under most sweeping generalizations, 

 and we must never shut our eyes to any well-authenticated facts. 

 The good results obtained at Davos, Goi-bersdorf, Denver, Bogota, 

 and such like elevated sanatoria, must not make us rush to the 

 fallacious generalization that high altitudes are a specific for 

 phthisis, nor should such facts cause us to ignore for a moment 

 the excellent effects that often attend a sea voyage or a residence 

 at a marine sanatorium. We have to recognize that good results 

 may attend either method, that general rules lead only to confu- 

 sion, and that our business is not to exalt the high altitudes over 

 the sea voyage and the -marine resort, or vice versa, but to seek as 

 patiently as possible to determine the indications and the contra- 

 indications for and against each type of climatic treatment. Dr. 

 Hemondino is emphatic in his opinion that atmospheric moisture, 

 as compared with soil moisture, has no influence in generating 

 phthisis, a view in vvhich we quite concur. 



"As regards the results of the treatment of phthisis at San 

 Diego, Dr. Remondino speaks very confidently. He informs us 

 that the banks, stores, and business houses are largely manned by 

 ■cured consumptives; and that of the physicians, dentists, lawyers, 

 and clergjmen, it is safe to say that eight out of ten resorted to ■ 

 California for their health. Of 258 deaths registered from phthisis 

 ■during ten years at San Diego only nine cases were born in Cali- 

 fornia. In estimating the value of this fact we must remember 

 that we are dealing with a new counti-y, mainly peopled by im- 

 migrants. Dr. Remondino thinks cases of hemoptysis do very well 

 in California; he has also seen apparently wonderful results in 

 Jaryngeal phthisis, in which affection his experience would appear 

 unusually fortunate. 



' ' If past experience warns us that roseate accounts of new sana- 

 toria must be received with much reserve, there seems every rea- 

 son to admit that southern California is one of the most favored 

 regions of the world, that its climate possesses a conjunction of 

 advantages rarely to be found, and that the country presents 

 many attractions for the tourist, settler, or invalid." 



Death from Tight Lacing, 



Happily the practice of tight lacing, though still a fruitful 

 source of illness, does not now occupy a foremost place among the 

 recognized causes of death. The fact that it does occasionally 

 stand in this position, however, should be noted by those foolish 

 persons whose false taste and vanity have made them the suffer- 

 ing devotees of a custom so injurious. It should be remembered 

 also, that, whatever may be said of the more evident effects, the 

 indirect consequences of thus tightly girding the body can not be 

 exactly estimated. They can not be but hurtful. The veriest 

 novice in anatomy understands how by this process almost every 

 important organ is subjected to cramping pressure, its functions 

 interfered with, and its relations to other structures so altered as 

 to render it, even if it were itself competent, a positive source of 

 danger to them. Chief among the disorders thus induced are 

 those which concern the circulation, alid it is to the laboring in- 

 capacity of a heart thus imprisoned and impeded, both as regards 

 the outflow and return of blood, that such disastrous consequences 

 as occurred not long ago in a Berlin theatre must be attributed. 

 According to Hie Lancet, one of the actresses, who had taken part 

 in an evening performance, and then seemed to be perfectly well, 

 was found next morning dead in bed. Subsequent examination 

 of the body showed that death was due to syncope, and this was 

 attributed to tight lacing, which the deceased had practised in an 

 extreme degree. As regards the persons immediately affected, the 

 warning conveyed by this incident is obvious. 



Restriction and Prevention of Diphtheria. 



In a recent communication to the Health Officer of Detroit, 

 concerning disinfection by the fumes of burning sulphur, the sec- 

 retary of the Michigan State Board of Health calls attention 

 to some important facts bearing on the subject. Excluding De- 

 troit and Grand Rapids (the data from which cannot be profitably 

 included with the data from the smaller places), the official re- 

 ports prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that isolation and disin- 

 fection do restrict diphtheria. In those outbreaks in which iso- 

 lation and disinfection were neglected, there were on the average 

 over fovirteen cases, with nearly three deaths, to an outbreak; 

 while in those in which isolation and disinfection were enforced, 

 there was an average of only a little over two cases, with only 

 about six-tenths of one death, to each outbreak. It must be re- 

 membered that these figures relate to instances in which at least 

 one case of diphtheria had already occurred in the community, 

 and that occasionally several cases occur at once, on the start. 

 The method of disinfection referred to is that recommended by 

 the State Board; namely, burning three pounds of sulphur for 

 every thousand cubic feet of air space in a room, infected articles 

 being loosely spread out; and, because of movement of infected 

 articles from the sick-room and from one room to another, all 

 rooms in the house are disinfected, together with all contents. 

 Experiments by Pasteur and M. Roux, with the co-operation of 

 Dujardin-Beaumetz, prove two important points in this connec- 

 tion: (1) that the burning of two pounds of sulphur per thousand 

 cubic feet of air-space is not always certainly effective, and (2) 

 that three pounds is effective. This applies to a closed room; if 

 there are openings through which the fumes may pass, more sul- 

 phur is required. 



Disappearance of Small-pox in Germany. 



Under the law of Germany making vaccination compulsory and 

 providing for re-vaccination at stated periods of life, says the 

 Sanitary Inspector, small pox is almost completely disappearing 

 from the German Empire. A late official report states that in 

 1888 only 110 deaths from small-pox occured in the whole empire, 

 and that this number is 58 fewer than occurred in 1887, and 87 

 fewer than in 1886. Of the 110 deaths, 88, or about four fifths of 

 the whole number, occurred in those parts of the empire immedi- 

 ately bordering other countries not well protected by vaccination, 

 and in which there is constant intercourse between the vaccinated 

 and the un vaccinated sides of the boundary. More than one-third 

 of all the deaths occurred in the Prussian privince of Posen. 

 Comparing the small-pox death-rate of the large cities of other 

 countries with that of the larger cities of Germany, it was 136 

 times as great in the cities of Austria, 30 times as great in those 

 of Hungary, 16 times as great in those of England, 24 times as 

 great in those of Belgium, and twice as great in those of Switzer- 

 land, as in the German cities. 



Treatment of Snake-Bites. 

 In a pajjer in the Revue Scientifique describing his recent re- 

 searches and experiments regarding the bites of poisonous snakes, 

 Professor Kaufmann advises that in the treatment of a bite the 

 injured limb should be tightly bound above the bite as quickly as 

 possible, with a handkerchief or any other available constrictor, 

 and that then a l-to-2 solution of chromic acid should be injected 

 deep into the wound, making several similar injections in the 

 neighborhood of the wound. If these directions are carefully fol- 

 lowed, the poison will be destroyed before being absorbed. If 

 there is already much swelling of the wound, more injections 

 should be made in various parts of the swelling, which should 

 then be manipulated to bring the acid thoroughly into contact with 

 the poison. The swelling should then be freely lanced and as much 

 as possible of the fluid squeezed out. The skin should be washed 

 with the chromic acid solution, followed by the application of com- 

 presses saturated with the solution. If the swelling returns, these 

 procedures should be repeated. This local treatment should be 

 supplemented by the internal administration of alcoholic stimu- 

 lants and aqua ammonia. Professor Kaufmann, however, strongly 

 condemns the use of large quantities of alcohol, which, he thinks, 

 paralyze and depress the nervous system. 



