| Show preventive MEDICINE by dr 0 E continued from last week tuberculosis on is a germ d sease due to ane babillus ba sillus and is preventable malady it is call ed the great white plague because it is widely and causes more deaths than any other one disease it produces pio duces 1 8 of all the deaths from all causes in ti is country di koch d s covered this germ germ is found in the sputa of alose affected and if this sputa is immediately burned in all cases it would be only a fey years until the disease is wiped out ex tion upon the street should be aroh b ted b lav it is au a curable d sease if the nt is begun suf fai en lly early the pi me pal i idica t on being plenty of fresh air at all tim in th u disease as in typhoid teer the flies should be excluded from the food and the patient the hook worn disease in tl e predisposes I 1 the negro to tuber culo is also pred spokes to this disease pneumonia is the second arnot fatal i disease and this together with tl e grippe both germ dreads are d s I 1 natly on the they are both fresh air d st ruction of sputa and isolation of the patient arc among the measures of treatment and prevention D pathena it is perhaps in th s dis ease we have illustrated the largest amount of success in v even tive medi ne in ch bigo in the last ten years the death rate from diphtheria has fal len over 70 percent due to the free distribution of use of ant this as you all know both cures and prevents one injection prodoc ng immunity for about two weeks we have in scarlet fever another d sease which can be prevented and should be rapidly quarantined this disease is deiy catimon in th s country and is of a more seno is nature than is believed generally tl e most frequent and seno is complication of scarlet lever is nephritis or of kid and can laidely oe prevented by good caie of the patient and proper attention to the diet the cause of this disease is supposed to be a germ though this has not been definitely determined but by strict quarantine of all discharges disc haiges and fumi gation a greit deal can be done to el minate it schools should be inspected at stated intervals and this is done in a great many of our cities in this way diseases are often d sc preventing epi demies not only of scarlet fever but of diphtheria whoop ng cough measles chicken pox a d other diseases cerebra sp nal menina occurs in ep demies is due to a germ is prevent able and can be cured by an antitoxins is is d athe la in india the death rat from the bite of snakes has been largely prevented by tl e injection of serum introduced by calmetta i tetanus or lock jaw is ad sease often bellowing fel lowing wounds especially after a fourth of july celebration and may be prevented by the injection of anti teta i celium hi a a d sease pi educed by the bite of a rib r ib d dog or other animal can be pi even ed bv the treatment intro deuced by pasteur blood 0 son at the time of birth rare ly occurs today this is due to our studies along the lines of preventive medicine childless homes arcs on the increase there are 2 such homes in the U S today this a deplorable fact cancer is a d sease of wh ch little is known the germ theory is suspected ind studied and a great deal of money is bei g spent to determine its real cause at the present t me we know of only one cure and that a surgical operation which even then only pro duces good results when the diagnosis dio gnosis is made early and the relief a pi ed apoplexy is a disease or cond tion here there is a of a blood vessel in the bra n with a resulting hemorrhage hemor hage the loss of lives from th s d sease can be decreased dr cul ing and oti ers only recently have been operating the bra n tor this emor rage with excellent res ailts the heart has been operate 1 upon successfully thereby preventing death deafness ca i bt largely prevented most of our cases of deafness are caused by germs these germs pro duceman infection of the middle ear with pain fever and if ifft without treat men finally pus or a running ear th s act ng upon the hearing of the ear in tl 1 Bio duces deafness tris i condition is largely caused by diseases of the nose and throat such as enlarged and tons 1 and aden olds the latter being growal s in the back of the nose producing mouth breathers these conditions produce many other ills aside from deafness and can be prevented by on for the demov u of the offend ng growth ties as clubbed feet clubbed hinds deformed bones of the nose etc are alliona eions wh ch should be treat ed while the child is young so that disease may be prevented and the individual put i the best possible con d t on to make the most of th s life for in this age when commet tion is the keenest we need to be possessed of all of our faculties to meet it and be able to do the most good for ourselves and for our fellow raan the removal of the appendix of every child has been advocated as a tive measure but this I 1 believe is go ng one step too far were there no risk 1 sl heartily endorse it I 1 am glad for the work done in the juvenile courts by judge I 1 lindsey of denver and others in the leg for children in the medical in spec tion of schools these all play their part in preventive cine I 1 fear that this dry subject and these dry facts may fail to interest you yet hey should not I 1 have endeavored to ell you what vou desired to know and should know along th s line and with a proper understand ng and a proper ap of this knowledge w e can all ve better and happier lives this subject is so large and so imbor ant that I 1 find it hard to leave it and can not without a few more important houghes ts one of these is the fourth of july celebration with firo works toy pistols etc should and will be entirely abolished flunk of the needless suffering and deaths th of the thousands cappi ed for life and you will aree with me that stringent laws should be passed in every state as has been done in some orbi id ng the sale and the use of these instruments of making merry only ashear 1909 persons ft ere kill i ed maimed blinded and injured still another and very large chaos of diseases can be prevented I 1 refer to cestive troubles the chief cause r f these abnormal conditions can be laid to poor teeth poor because of lack of cleanliness poor because we fail to see the dentist as promptly as we should when a childs tooth decays it should be filled it u doubtful if 25 percent of the people of the U S a tooth brush it is doubtful if 10 per cent of our children take any care of the mouth whatever the mouth may become the gateway of evil thru his gateway germs may pass back and orth into th ah nientai canal v hen they can infect the body from 1500 to 14 pathogenic bacteria ed every hour bv the healthy person every time a diseased person breaths coughs hawks or spits he in motion every widening bibi athons ot disease infected air and in the school room it is alenous problem in ome of our larger cities and in the cities ot laroi e dental alir acs ics have ben esteb 1 bcd with a dentist to inspect the children a mouths decayed teeth are filed diseased gums are treated and all children are taught to use the tooth blush another means of prevention is animal experimentation ate operate 01 dogs and other animals before we do on persons A new medicine or a new serum is carefully experimented with on animals and in this way thousands ot aves have been saved lu a young doctor assistant to the world renowned surgeon dr W W keen professor of surgery in the jefferson medical college philadelphia was stricken with cerebra spinal and died in it ss than thirty six hours in 1909 charles hushes jr son of the governor gov error of new york was seized a lew weeks before his graduation from tn college with the ame dreadful disease his death would t ave been inevitable had not drs flexner and jobling in 1907 in the rockefeller institute discovered by experiments on animals alone a serum by which this disease could be curad chis discovery has reduced the death rate of cerebra spinal menina from 5 to 25 percent there is in creasing demand for further protection of the public health utah is doing a great deal towards preventive medicine we have oui state county city and town author ties who act in uman and under laws enacted by our legislators and a great deal of good is bein ac compi she to make th s work more efficient health officers should receive special training lad es and ge eitleman I 1 have touched this very large subject only superficially yet I 1 trust this may cause you to think moie about our condition and assist where you can I 1 have shown that a great many diseases can be pie fenced and a great many cured if treated sufficiently earla but is it not far better to spend mill ons of dollars in preventing d sease than to spend a larger amount m the cure besides the suffering and death from these causes the physician in a community should have his part in the general interests of the people this not only broadens h m but is a distinct advantage to both may we therefore not live for our selves alone but as the fountain give of our best to prevent suffering 1 and d sease PO that when our course is run we may go not like the quarry slave at night scourged to his dungeon but su tamed and soothed by an unfaltering trust approach our graves like one who wraps tho drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams |
