Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1915 — BY NO MEANS NEW DISCOVERY [ARTICLE]

BY NO MEANS NEW DISCOVERY

Ancients Were Well Aware of th* Value of Perfumes In Treatment of Diseases. It was recently announced, as a discovery in medical science, that nausea, after a surgical operation under ether, could be prevented by patients inhaling a favorite perfume. This may be new as a post-operative treatment, but it is an old palliative for travelers afflicted with mal de mer on land or sea, for train sickness is almost as common as sear sickness. Numerous “headache colognes” as well as favorite perfumes have been found efficacious as a preventative of nausea at sea. Many travelers find that even the aroma of an orange or lemon helps them over a threatened attack of seasickness. One need not peel or eat the fruit. The desired result can be secured by merely scratching at the skin and thus liberating its aromatic essence. History states that perfumes were used by the ancients both as medicaments and as instruments of injury, so it would appear again that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Certain groups of colognes have peculiar effects; for instate, the fruit essences by blending produce the odor of any fruit. Their use is inhibited by the fact that they irritate the respiratory organs, producing coughing and headaches. Other perfumes hpve sedative effects, and their use is recommended for nervous people. The employment of perfume as a preventive of nausea would therefore seem to be merely a variation of the principle of using colors in the treatment of peculiar ailments, .with perfume the. appeal being made through the sense of smell. Kathleen Hills in Leslie’s Weekly.