Show REGARDING rheumatism you will find rheumatic persons saying that they can tell when a storm or cold weather la Is coming comin g because they can feel fed it in their bones or in their joints and you will hear other persons pel sons laughing at the idea that weather can af hect rheumatism but the rheumatic matic persons are right weather does do es affect them students of preventive medicine are beginning to consider roan inan and his environment as one organic whole and are studying some of our diseases from this standpoint we hae almost exhausted the field of bacteriology trying to find germs as the cause of disease recent work tends to ro show that the skin Is tin an important factor in rheumatism the skin shin is not jut just a covering mantle or protective cloak of if the body it Is a vast organ couce concerned rued with the sense of feel and touch it secretes sweat and olly oily substances it also excretes certain things from the body we are finding that the protective action of the skin sidn can be extended to guarding us against invasion by germs around us the action of sunlight and ultraviolet ultra violet light on the sl skin jn is well known to the layman we know that the skin can be changed by the temperature of tile the air b by y t the he humidity of the air and also by changes in barometric pressure the skin can be thought of as a ba big receptor organ that receives from the outside world me messages of all kinds and transmits th taws ta 1 a to the internal organs through blood and nerve channels the capillary blood channels lu the sin ain ar are re thought by many authorities to bo be invoked in rheumatism it must not be forgotten timit at mans skin is an important organ la maintaining body temperature it can caa eliminate heat in the summer time which Is really a inari refrigeration iteration Ige ration function during the wirter our acts as a c covering layer to prevent tile the loss of heat in tile the summer there is at an increased flow of alood through the skin I 1 and in the v winter inter there is a decreased flow tho the patient suffer suffering og from rheumatism does not have a proper control of the blood supply of the skin and the secretion of sweat there Is a tendency toward spasmodic contraction of the capillaries capil laries and at times these capillaries capil laries become en engorged go aged with blood in other words there is an instability in the blood vessels controlling system we just mentioned that the skin Is tin nn important organ in controlling body temperature tile the rheumatic individual undergoes wide fluctuations in skin sk in temperature there is oftentimes a abnormal temperature of the skin tills ral s influences the metabolism of the body in a that we lose the heat regula tory function of the skin that Is so important for our well being when the temperature of the cells within the body changes there is a change in the chemical products of these cells and many authorities now think that this explains in part the development of pain in the muscles arad and joints this is a new conception of rheumatism and helps explain some phases of the disease better than alian the older bacteriological theory that was difficult to substantiate in many instances tile the abnormal sensitiveness to changes in weather that are ex experienced pc by all rheumatics Is due to the fact that these people do not have the proper skin function the circulation of the skin Is changed as a result of the alterations te in temperature humidity and barometric pressure in such a manner that internal disturbances take place leading to the development of pain in certain areas areas of the body it Is well known that rheumatic pains can develop as a result of hot temperature environments as well as cold overexertion overexert lon and fatigue followed by chilling of the body are also common factors the proper treatment for rheumatism la Is to aid the skin by artificial means to reestablish establish re a good circulatory system this is the reason that a hot water bottle placed on the skin close to the area of pain will often stop the discomfort the proper treatment is an organized medical plan of various types of physical therapy such as light treatment heat treatments massage baths all of which aid the skin to reestablish establish re its proper circulation we all live under tinder the same weather eif conditions due to a lack of oe control of his skin tile the rheumatic Q cannot annot adjust himself the rest of us adjust ourselves perfectly and are in no 1110 way incapacitated by such weather changes the rheumatic speaks very trul truly when lie he says lie he can feel weather el change 1 achen ages 0 western newspaper union |