Look Out for the Grippe Germ
By Lora E. Clement
THE grippe has gripped the country. One hears sneezes to right and sneezes to left; there are coughs and snuffles and weeping eyes on every side. It is estimated that more than two hundred thousand persons living in New York City are suffering from the epidemic, and residents of other cities from east to west, and from north to south, are sneezing and coughing in due proportion. The grippe is contagious. Of this there can be no question. According to Dr. Charles F. Bolduan, of the New York Health Education Bureau, unsmothered sneezes and coughs are more dangerous carriers of grippe and cold germs than expectoration. Thousands of cards bearing the wise admonition, “Cover up each cough and sneeze; if14you don’t, you’ll spread disease,” and, “If you’d keep away disease, dodge the dangerous cough and sneeze,” are being distributed in large Eastern cities where the epidemic is rampant. This elusive disease is a puzzle to the doctors, for no one can tell just how it starts or what causes the epidemic to cease. One thing is certain, while it stays, its victims are its devoted slaves. Work and pleasure are alike swallowed up in valiant efforts to dislodge the uninvited destroyer of the peace. Grippe may be “caught” in street cars, stores, or any crowded place. It may be carried into homes and there distributed. It is particularly easy to “take,” since the germs attack the membranes of the nose and throat, and every inhalation may bring into these passages microbes which will lodge and multiply. “Fresh air will not cause the grippe, even if it is cold air. Indeed, fresh air is the grippe germ’s worst enemy. If you catch cold in a draft and develop the grippe, it is because the germ had already found lodgment in the respiratory passages. Not every grippe germ develops. Sometimes the individual’s system is strong enough to destroy it. But with the digestion upset by indiscreet eating, with the general tone of the system lowered by fatigue, the soil for the grippe germ to propagate in is excellent, and trouble follows. “To keep well means to keep the lungs supplied with fresh air and to keep the stomach in proper order. The grippe germ may get you with all your precautions, but it has much less chance if you will follow these two general rules, and keep yourself in the best possible shape to resist it.” Numerous cures have been suggested for the grippe. One physician recommends that the victim take vigorous treatment, including a sweat, go to bed and stay there until he is well. But if the grippe “grips” you, and your work will not wait until you take this rest cure, you can at least indulge in copious drafts of good fresh air and “cover up each cough and sneeze,” remembering that “if you don’t, you’ll spread disease.”