CONSUMPTION, OR TUBERCULOSIS.
It is said that there are every year in this country more than 100,000 deaths from tuberculosis alone. The disease is taken into the system principally in three ways: through the stomach, the lungs, and through an open wound. "It is taken through the stomach," says a tract issued by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, "when people eat imperfectly cooked tubercular meat, drink milk from badly diseased tubercular cows, eat food out of the same dishes or with the same eating utensils as consumptives, eat food with unwashed hands after having been in contact with tubercular patients, eat food that has been handled by persons suffering from tuberculosis, put coins, articles of toilet, or other small objects that have been handled by persons suffering from tuberculosis, into the mouth, use musical instruments or implements which when in use are placed to the lips or in the mouth, and which have been used by consumptives, kiss upon the lips persons suffering from consumption, swallow tubercular pus in the form of dust which has accumulated in the throat or fauces during the act of respiration." "It is taken into the system through the lungs when people inhale dried-up tubercular pus in the form of dust." "It is taken into the system through wounds when people get tubercular pus into an open cut, or an abrasion of the skin." To prevent consumption, J. H. Porteous, M.D., of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., distributes the following card among his patients:— Remember that it is an infectious disease, communicated principally by the matter coughed up and spit out. The patient should spit in a cup or wide-mouthed bottle, containing a little carbolic acid and water, and frequently washed with hot water. Use carbolic acid and water in commode. Never spit on the street, or floor of house or cars. Sleep alone, and, if possible, in an airy and sunny room. Have separate bed and table linen; these should be boiled before washing. Use individual table utensils, washed separately. Wash the mouth twice, daily, with soda and water. Do not kiss anyone. Those who are well should remember that it is an infectious disease, communicated principally by swallowing the germs, by inhaling them, or having them introduced through a wound. Therefore, do not buy or use food that has been handled by a consumptive. Do not share the food or drink of a consumptive. Do not sleep with a consumptive. Do not put coins or small articles in your mouth that may have been handled by a consumptive. Do not kiss anyone on the lips if they have a cough. Do not take food without first washing your hands. To which we may add that the sputa, or expectorations, of consumptive patients should be burned, and these patients, many of whom are not feeble, should be interested in carrying out these instructions for others' sake. Another point of overwhelming importance in the prevention and cure of consumption is to keep the system well nourished. It is almost impossible for a well-nourished individual to succumb to the dread disease. The success of consumption lies in attacking individuals in a "run-down" condition.