American Agriculturist, March 10,1923 
233 
Guard Against Pneumonia 
Dr» Charlotte C. West Warns Us of Disease 
P NEUMONIA, one of the most prev¬ 
alent diseases to-day,' ranks higher 
than tuberculosis in mortality. 
“It occurs everywhere, in all climates, 
at all times of the year, in both sexes, 
and at all ages, it is more frequent how¬ 
ever, during the cold months of the 
year. It is common in children under 
six years; between the sixth and fif¬ 
teenth year, the predisposition is less 
marked, but for each subsequent dec¬ 
ade it increases.” 
I have quoted from a famous author¬ 
ity. I want to impress my readers with 
the wide prevalence of the disease, and 
with the fact that little children and 
old people are most susceptible. March, 
also, is the month in which it is most 
prevalent. 
Pneumonia, contrary to popular be¬ 
lief, is an infectious, indeed a con¬ 
tagious disease. Because of ignorance, 
those who succumb to pneumonia are 
not isolated, as is the case with scarlet 
fever, smallpox and the like. The germ 
of pneumonia leaves the body mainly 
through discharges from the mouth 
and nose and enters the system through 
the same channels. The infection is 
spread directly and indirectly through 
cups, thermometers, handkerchiefs, and 
other objects contaminated with the 
discharges. This serious—often fatal 
—disease cannot exist unless the germ 
is present in your tissues; even then 
you will not succumb to it if you are 
in a state of health to resist. 
The danger at present for outbreaks 
of local epidemics lies in the fact that 
world conditions are affecting us. For 
instance: as to fuel, so that exposure 
to cold is great; as to food, so that a 
lowered vitality is greater; as to strain 
upon the nervous forces, so that the 
general morale is lowered. In addition 
to these agencies, is the weather. A 
low, but steady temperature brings less 
danger than do abrupt changes. 
Preventive Measures You Can Take 
Overfatigue from any cause must be 
avoided. The body chills more quickly 
when it is not'perfectly fed. A per¬ 
son whose enthusiasm leads him to work 
when he is tired and should rest, or 
leads him to forgo a meal when the 
body requires fuel, is inviting pneu¬ 
monia at the present time. So those 
who overwork and underfeed them-, 
selves run a great danger. 
A certain amount of fuel is indis- 
pensible to the body’s needs. But the 
nature of this fuel is vitally important. 
Starches and sugars will not take the 
place of fat when supplying the body 
with heat-producing, energizing fuel. 
The resistance of the body to pneumonia 
and similar diseases is weakened when 
the proper amount of fat in the diet is 
decreased. We need more fat to keep 
us warm in cold weather. 
I have again and again called atten¬ 
tion to the importance of fresh-air 
breathing, of living as much as possible 
out of doors, of flooding the rooms with 
fresh air and sunshine. To prevent 
pneumonia it is essential to keep up the 
vitality of the body with an abundance 
of fresh air, proper food and, thirdly, 
rest. A proper amount of sleep in a 
well-aired room is therefore highly im¬ 
portant. 
Shun rigidly all those who cough, 
sneeze and spit. Do not use articles 
of any description used by another. 
This holds especially 
true of the handkerchief, 
the family towel, face 
cloth and drinking cups. 
In some families these 
articles are common 
property. Such practices 
are to be highly con- 
Charles Ralph Hud¬ 
son didn’t want his 
picture taken. But his 
cousin, Mrs. Harry Bitz, 
got this rear view, 
■which at least shows us 
that Charles Ralph is a 
pretty solid citizen. She 
also tells us that he has 
large blue eyes very 
rosy cheeks, a round 
■well-shaped head and is 
Very muscular and 
strong. He’s a bright 
demned and should be taboo if for no 
other reason than that of health. Every 
member of the family should have his 
own toilet articles, towels and so on, 
and use these only. 
Colds predispose to pneumonia, there¬ 
fore avoid draughts and sudden 
changes in temperature, as in going 
from a dry superheated air into cold 
damp air. Those who perspire freely 
should be extremely careful of ex¬ 
posure. 
Too much cannot be said on the sub¬ 
ject of overeating, especially habitual 
overeating. Those whose systems are 
clogged with waste materials become 
ready victims to this disease. Children 
should be especially guarded both as 
to diet, warmth and fresh air. 
Modern Treatment is Intelligent 
The protective serum against acute 
pneumonia is now an assured thing. 
Thanks to the splendid researches and 
achievements of the scientists connected 
with the Rockefeller Institute, it is out 
of the experimental stage and by its 
use not only the nature of the particu¬ 
lar variety of pneumonia from which 
the patient is suffering can be de¬ 
termined, but the disease can be aborted. 
Until quite recently the treatment of 
pneumonia consisted in shutting the 
patient up in a closed, almost sealed 
room, stifling him under quantities of 
bedding and hastening his end with 
drugs that had no effect on the disease. 
Some years ago a country doctor was 
almost flayed alive because he insisted 
upon treating a little pneumonia patient 
with fresh air, and this state of mind 
on the subject of fresh air is surpris¬ 
ingly widespread. 
In many sections of the country, 
physicians find great difficulty in per¬ 
suading the family of the rationale of 
this mode of procedure and frequently 
find that windows are immediately 
lowered the moment the doctor’s back 
is turned. The room must be freely 
ventilated even if a direct current of air 
is necessary for this; as long as the 
fever keeps up the patient cannot take 
cold. It is only necessary to see the 
effects to be convinced of the value of 
fresh air, in reducing many distressing 
symptoms, notably that of labored 
breathing. Attendants should of course 
be warmly clad. 
In the robust, typical cases of pneu¬ 
monia require little besides hygienic 
treatment, but since one can never tell 
when and what untoward symptoms 
may arise, a physician must be con¬ 
sulted the instant the first signs ap¬ 
pear. These are the initial chill, fever, 
cough and pain through the chest. All 
sputum (coughed up matter) should be 
burned. The germ or microbe giving 
rise to pneumonia swarms in great 
numbers in the sputum of all patients, 
so the importance of immediately burn¬ 
ing up all expectorated matter is clear. 
Pneumonia attacks particularly al¬ 
coholics. It is the height of folly for 
persons to drink this rank poison (much 
of which to-day is of particular deadly 
nature) and therefore lower the re¬ 
sistance of the body to disease germs. 
In many acute infectious diseases, a 
second attack rarely occurs. This is 
called immunity. Now pneumonia does 
not confer immunity to those who have 
had it. On the contrary the lungs have 
become so weakened that future attacks 
are more than liable to 
occur. 
There are several va¬ 
rieties of acute pneu¬ 
monia, which I will not 
enter into here, including 
double pneumonia, which 
is especially dangerous. 
youngster, and very ob¬ 
servant. His father, 
Arthur Hudson of Mem¬ 
phis, N. Y., is an Amer¬ 
ican Agriculturist sub¬ 
scriber and his young 
son, they say, is well 
disciplined and never 
doubts the authority of 
his parents. Evidently 
Charles believes that an 
American Agriculturist 
subscriber must be 
right about everything. 
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