ALCOHOL IN DISEASE

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 22, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 38.

ALCOHOL IN DISEASE.

A REPORT on some special hospital and training-school work done by a Society of Red Cross Sisters constitutes a strong argument in favor of the disuse of alcohol in the treatment of disease. President Wardwell, in this report, refers to the objection which has been held in his hospital from its foundation, to the administration of alcohol in either surgical cases or cases of disease. He states positively that the medical and surgical staff have confined themselves to an absolutely non-alcoholic treatment. The results have been most gratifying, and have amply confirmed the wisdom of the restriction. It is admitted that alcohol in small quantities, by exciting the energies of the body, may increase its capabilities during the short period which is sometimes required in disease, but this point is always gained at the expense of some vitality and a later relaxation. Even in cases when inflammations are relieved the advantage is offset by the fact that while producing this effect, it has a deleterious influence on the other tissues. Alcohol is one of the worst things to imbibe where it is necessary for the body to withstand great cold or fatigue. An eminent physician in giving advice to a party of young men who were setting out for the Klondike, said, “If you want to get the most out of yourselves in the land of the Yukon, let whisky severely alone.” The Arctic explorer Nansen showed that those who drank alcohol could not bear the northern cold, and no one of his staff was allowed to partake of it. Another illustration of the undesirability of using alcohol in trying latitudes is given by Dr. Lesser, who notes that as an experiment a number of regiments in the English army while in the Soudan received certain quantities of alcohol, while other regiments went without. The result showed that the latter could bear the strain of long marches far better and were better preserved than those to whom spirits were given. Dr. Lesser also remarks that he has found alcohol injurious to digestion and deleterious in septic conditions. The results of the investigations and observations at the Red Cross hospitals are striking and suggestive, and are receiving the careful consideration of the medical profession.—Los Angeles Times.