OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
We do not dread chicken-pox so much as its elder sister, since it is not
so fatal, and does not cause disfigurement and the like. It is, however,
exactly the same as small-pox in other respects, and should therefore
be dealt with in the same way.
Bubonic Plague is a terrible disease, and has accounted for the death of
millions of our people since the year 1896, when it first made its real
entry into our land. The doctors, in spite of all their investigations,
have not yet been able to invent a sure remedy for it. Now-a-days the
practice of inoculation has come into vogue, and the belief has gained
ground that an attack of plague may be obviated by it. But inoculation
for plague is as bad and as sinful as vaccination for small-pox.
Although no sure remedy has been devised for this disease, we will
venture to suggest the following treatment to those who have full faith
in Providence, and who are not afraid of death.
(1) The "Wet-Sheet-Pack" should be applied as soon as the first symptoms
of fever appear.
(2) A thick mud-poultice should be applied to the bubo.
(3) The patient should be completely starved.
(4) If he feels thirsty, he should be given lime-juice in cold water.
(5) He should be made to lie in the open air.
(6) There should not be more than one attendant by the side of the
patient.
We can confidently assert that, if plague can be cured by any treatment
at all, it can be cured by this.
Though the exact origin and causes of plague are yet unknown, it is
undoubted that rats have something to do with its communication. We
should, therefore, take all precautions, in a plague-infected area, to
prevent the approach of rats in our dwellings; if we cannot get rid of
them, we should vacate the house.
The best remedy to prevent an attack of plague is, of course, to follow
strictly the laws of health,--to live in the open air, to eat plain
wholesome food and in moderation, to take good exercise, to keep the
house neat and clean, to avoid all evil habits, and, in short, lead a
life of utter simplicity and purity. Even in normal times our lives
should be such, but, in times of plague and other epidemics, we should
be doubly careful.
Pneumonic Plague is an even more dangerous form of this disease. Its
attack is sudden and almost invariably fatal. The patient has very high
fever, feels extreme difficulty in breathing, and in most cases, is
rendered unconscious. This form of plague broke out in Johannesburg in
1904, and as has been already said,[2] only one man escaped alive out of
the 23 who were attacked. The treatment for this disease is just the
same as that for Bubonic Plague, with this difference that the poultice
should be applied in this case to both sides of the chest. If there be
no time to try the "Wet-Sheet-Pack", a thin poultice of mud should be
applied to the head. Needless to say, here as in other cases, prevention
is better than cure.
[2] Part I, chap. V
We are terribly afraid of cholera, as of plague, but in fact, it is much
less fatal. Here the "Wet-Sheet-Pack", however, is of no effect, but the
mud-poultice should be applied to the stomach, and where there is a
tingling sensation, the affected part should be warmed with a bottle
filled with warm water. The feet should be rubbed with mustard-oil, and
the patient should be starved. Care should be taken to see that he does
not get alarmed. If the motions are too frequent, the patient should not
be repeatedly taken out of bed, but a flat shallow vessel should be
placed underneath to receive the stools. If these precautions are taken
in due time, there is little fear of danger. This disease generally
breaks out in the hot season, when we generally eat all sorts of unripe
and over-ripe fruits in immoderate quantities and in addition to our
ordinary food. The water also that we drink during this season is often
dirty, as the quantity of it in wells and tanks is small, and we take no
trouble to boil or filter it. Then again, the stools of the patients
being allowed to lie exposed, the germs of the disease are communicated
through the air. Indeed, when we consider how little heed we pay to
these most elementary facts and principles, we can only wonder that we
are not more often attacked by these terrible diseases.
During the prevalence of cholera, we should eat light food in
moderation. We should breathe plenty of fresh air; and the water that we
drink should always be thoroughly boiled, and filtered with a thick
clean piece of cloth. The stools of the patient should be covered up
with a thick layer of earth. Indeed, even in normal times, we should
invariably cover up the stools with ashes or loose earth. If we do so,
there would be much less danger of the spread of disease. Even the lower
animals like the cat take this precaution, but we are worse than they in
this respect.
It should also be thoroughly impressed on the minds of persons suffering
from contagious diseases, as well as those around them, that they
should, under no circumstances, give way to panic, for fear always
paralyses the nerves and increases the danger of fatality.