ON CATARRH. 347 



HYGIENE. 



ON CATARRH. 



BY DUDLEY S. REYNOLDS, M. D. 



Professor of Ophthalmology and Otology, in the Louisville Hospital College of Medicine, Senior Surgeon to 



Louisville Eye and Ear Infirmary. 



The term Catarrh is one that has been generally applied to all forms of 

 acute inflammation of the membranous lining of the air passages. Prof. G. 

 B. "Wood, in his "Practice of Medicine; devotes the last chapter of the first 

 volume to the consideration of the subject of Catarrh, and he defines it as 

 being "any acute inflammation of any of the mucous membranes of the body, 

 not due to traumatic causes." As we usually see Catarrh in practice, Catarrh 

 affecting the lining of the nose, the upper part of the throat, the Eustachain 

 tube, and the cavity of the tympanum, the cases in the earlier stages of the 

 disease rarely present themselves for treatment, except in that class of per- 

 sons who suffer from catarrhal inflammation invading the middle ear. 



It is a well known fact that the majority of persons who suffer with im- 

 pairment of the hearing are effected with Catarrh, afflicted with an inflam- 

 mation which is usually due to the inhalation of poisoned air. It was very 

 clearly, unmistakably and undoubtedly established by Schonbein, in 1851, 

 in his experiments with electricity, that powerful currents of electricity 

 passing through the air decompose the oxygen, and develop a substance 

 called ozone, which is said to be an allotropic form of oxygen. Ozone was 

 demonstrated by Schonbein to be possessed of power to irritate the air pas- 

 sages sufiiciently to develop the inflammatory processes of varying degrees 

 of intensity, in proportion to the amount of ozone in the air and the dura- 

 tion of time occupied in the inhalation. It was noted on divers occasions, 

 by astronomers, that whenever powerful currents of electricity occur, along 

 with sudden elevations of temperature, there is general complaint from eiA- 

 demic influenza, which is just another name for Catarrh. 



We all remember what was called the epizootic, which prevailed in the 

 winter of 1873 nnd 1874. The epizootic was a kind of Catarrh or influenza 

 which affected the inferior animals. It is precisely the same cause which 

 produces naso-pharyngeal Catarrh as we find it in our daily practice. The- 

 simplest form of Catarrh is that in which there is an afflux of all the circu- 

 lating fluids in the membranes, with augmented secretion. That gives rise, 

 of course, to considerable swelling and consequent obstruction to breathing, 

 and we find that, whereas the nasal passages were perfectly free .a few 

 moments ago, that we are obliged to open our mouths to breathe. If you 

 examine a case of that sort of Catarrh, you will find there is a very slight 

 increase in the general redness of the membrane, withj®'ut the destruction of 



