Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 May 1885 — About Pneumonia. [ARTICLE]

About Pneumonia.

*’ Dr. Alexander B. Mott s&id at his residence, No, 62 Madison avenue, that pneumonia prevailed to a startling extent in New York, and that it comprised a large percentage of the total sickness in the city. < : > “How do you define pneumonia ?” he was asked. f 4 “Jt is nothing more than old-fash-ioned inflammation of the lungs,” said he. “Pneumonia is simply the technical te. m for inflammation of the Jungs, and the idea that it is anything more than that is a mistaken one. ” “How are the sufferers affected ?” “Differentlv. I*erßons in some instances do not know they have it until it is far advanced—until a great deal of congestion is produced. As a general rule it cqmes on with a chill. Then fever, of course, follows. When inflamed the air cells do not act and the lungs becoine useless. Pains in the chest, or they may be in the back or side, are often attributed to neuralgia or rheumatism when they turn out to proceed from pneumonia. ” “Are both lungs always affected ?” “No. The inflammation may bp in only one lung, or in one part—the upper, middle?* or lower lobe —of one lung.” “What are the best measures to adopt to avoid pneumonia ?” “The best precaution is to avoid sudden changes of temperature and to see that the body is properly clothed. A~ person should keep out of drafts and damp, cold places. Lamp ground should be avoided. »There is great danger in going to funerals and remaining on damp, newly thrown-up earth. Clear, cold weather, if the body is properly clad, will not bring on pneumonia, but sudden changes will.” “In case of pneumonia, what ought to be done ?”

“A good, old-fashioned practitioner should be sent for. No new-fangled notions should be tried. Treat the patient in the old way, and he will get well, in most eases, at least. The pldfashioned treatment is active treatment. The things to do are to stop the inflammation and relieve the fever and arrest the progress of the disease. There should be no delay. Not only is pneumonia prevalent in New York, but it is fatal to a great extent. Why that is so issomething of a mystery to me. I think the majority of the cases ought to recover. If a physician is called in the early stages there is every reason to believe that the inflammation can be arrested. If the case is alio wed to go on the lungs will get into a state of solidification —not total, but semi-solidifica-tion. Imperfect drainage has nothing to do with pneumonia. That is a popular delusion that prevails to some extent.”

“Are stout ptersons more subject to pneumonia than thin persons ?” “No. That is another popular delusion. It makes no difference whether a person is stout or thin. I presume it is a fact that' more stout persons have pneumonia than thin ones. Stout persons as a rule, do not feel the cold as much as thin ones, and they are more liable to expose themselves without sufficient protection. 3 That is the explanation. The thin man gets cold quickest, and goes for an extra coat. People should be careful* about drafts after getting into a perspiration.”— New York World.