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Show Disease From Sunlight. "While the rays of the sun possess a stimulating and beneficial effect in disease, dis-ease, and can be used with advantage as a therapeutic agent, they also may act injuriously and cause disease, says Harper's Weekly. That there is a difference, dif-ference, in the therapeutic value between be-tween tho actinic rays, or those located at the violet end of the spectrum, and tho red rays, was appreciated by Fin-sen, Fin-sen, and the former were used In the treatment of such akin diseases as lupus vulgaris, or tuberculosis of the skin, while the latter were found effective in cases of smallpox. Ono of the most recent researches In this department Is by Prof. Fermi, and Is given in a late number of the Archlv fuer Hygiene. In-these experiments a large number of human subjects wore exposed to direct sunlight for varying periods, and In a large percentage of cases It was found that there resulted tho following set of symptoms: Cephalgia Cepha-lgia (headache), dryness of the nasal mucosa, snuffling, coryza (cold In tho head), pharyngitis, weariness, slight conjunctivitis, dryness of the lips, fever pseudo-Inlluenza, constipation insomnia, insom-nia, epistaxis (nose bleed), and various pains. From this list of symptoms experienced ex-perienced by his patients, and from the observed coincidence of certain diseases dis-eases and meteorological conditions. Fermi concludes that exposure to the sun's rays is a predisposing factor In coryza, influenza, hay fever and epidemic epi-demic meningitis. Jt Is stated that notwithstanding not-withstanding the resulting 111 effects only a few more than half (5H per cent) of the subjects found the treatment disagreeable, dis-agreeable, the remainder distinctly enjoying en-joying it. While such experiments cannot can-not bo taken as conclusive that the sun acts as a cause of disease, nevertheless neverthe-less they seem to Indicate that there Is room for further investigation of the subject, and it may be that In the near future the range of phototherapy will' be broadened and that sickrooms will be arranged so as to supply light or darkness or rays of any desired color or wave length as may be required for the disease under treatment. |
