How to Escape Influenza by A. B. Olsen

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 22, 1914

How to Escape Influenza

By A. B. Olsen

A. B. OLSEN, M. D., D. P. H.

THERE are three facts of vital importance with regard to influenza which very few recognize.

The first fact of supreme importance is that influenza is a very serious disorder; and if we take into consideration, as we ought, the disastrous after results that frequently follow, we must look upon influenza as a comparatively fatal disease.

The second vital fact is that influenza is a typical germ disease, and that it is both contagious and infectious, and therefore readily spreads from man to man.

The third and perhaps most important fact of all is that fresh air and the outdoor life are the best preventives and antidotes for influenza.

A Serious Disease

Not until people begin to recognize the serious and even grave character of influenza shall we be able to accomplish much in diminishing its mortality. There is every reason to believe that influenza is quite as "catching" as smallpox or scarlet fever, and infinitely more so than typhoid. Nevertheless, practically no effort is ever made to isolate the patient, as would be done in a smallpox case, and thus protect the family, the relatives, the friends, and the public generally from the contagion.

Influenza is at the present time one of the most prevalent, if not the most prevalent, of winter epidemics, and the toll of deaths which can be traced directly or indirectly to influenza is a very large one, much larger than is ever appreciated by the public. According to Dr. M. K. Robinson, M. O. H., the deaths in Dover, England, from influenza for the first quarter of 1913 amounted to just over eleven per cent of the total mortality, or more than one in ten.

Bacillus of Influenza

Influenza is an acute infection caused by a specific microbe called the bacillus of influenza, which chiefly attacks the respiratory passages, causing the well-known local symptoms of a very hard cold. But there are also numerous constitutional symptoms which are due to the distribution by the blood of the poisons generated by the germs. It is this grave poisoning which accounts for the extreme prostration and the severe aches and pains from which the patient suffers.

Isolation

All persons coming in contact with a patient suffering from influenza are extremely liable to catch the disease; and the spread of influenza through the household, through the school, or through the office or workshop, or in other places where people gather daily, is a common occurrence. The only efficient method of controlling the epidemics of influenza is to isolate the patient from the earliest stage of the attack. Just as soon as the head becomes congested and there is sneezing and a general feeling of languor or malaise, or other symptoms of the disorder develop, the patient should promptly return home, go to his bedroom, get into bed, and remain in the room for a period of ten or twelve days, or until the symptoms of the infection have passed. Such treatment is not only wise for the sake of the family and the community, but equally advantageous to the patient, who has a far better chance for a complete recovery than if he attempts to drag around a day or two and tries to keep at work. Complete rest in a well-ventilated room with an abundance of fresh air, plain feeding, and good nursing, affords the best chance of escaping from the grave disorders which are prone to follow an attack of influenza.

The Treatment

Little more needs to be done for the patient than providing the necessary quiet and rest and nursing. A cleansing enema should be given before the patient is put to bed, and repeated daily as long as is necessary. The bed should be warm, and a hot bottle provided if the feet are cold. Daily tepid or warm baths are soothing, and assist in alleviating pain. Hot fomentations and hot packs bring the greatest relief from the intense aching, and may be given as often as necessary. The patient should also be encouraged to drink water freely. Sponging with tepid water or equal parts of alcohol and water serves to refresh the patient and ameliorate the fever.

The diet should be light, and should consist largely of fruit juices, baked apples, stewed fruits, and also fresh fruit, especially oranges, grapes, and mellow pears and apples. Cereal gruels and other preparations may be taken, as well as stale bread, zwieback, and plain biscuits. Albumen water, Metchnikoff soured milk, and plain eggnogs are nutritious and easily digested.

The Best Antidote

We cannot sufficiently emphasize the importance of providing an abundance of fresh air. Those who would escape influenza must cultivate the fresh-air life, and live in the fresh air constantly whether outdoors or not. This means the freest ventilation possible, and the everopen

window. There is little danger of taking influenza when out for a tramp in the country or for a row on the sea or the lake, for in the fresh air the microbes are readily dispersed. Fresh air is also of the greatest importance in the sick room, and whether a fire is required or not, the windows must be kept wide open. This does not mean placing the patient in a draft, or in some other way causing a chill, which might bring on bronchitis, pneumonia, or other mischief.

Hotbeds of Infection

But the foul air of close-ventilated or ill-ventilated rooms should be avoided as you would the plague. All overcrowded living rooms, offices, and workshops are simply hotbeds of infection, not only for influenza, but for the common cold, consumption, and many other contagious diseases. The germ-laden, musty, and dusty atmosphere of the average church, chapel, hall, theater, variety house, and cinematograph show, and similar public places of congregation, is always a serious menace to health, and thousands have caught colds, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, consumption, or some other infection from visiting these places. If the public would protest against the foul, vitiated air of so many of these public meeting places by remaining away, the authorities concerned would soon provide the necessary ventilation, and would also take care to see that the hall or church or chapel was thoroughly renovated with fresh air before every gathering.

Bracing Effects of Cold Air

Winter is the bracing season of the year, and the majority of people ought to experience an increase of health and strength in the cold weather. If the proper precautions were taken with regard to equable clothing, protection from the damp and wet, and the provision of an abundance of fresh air, we should find winter the healthiest season of the year, and the cold would become a real tonic which would serve to brace us up and invigorate us for the rest of the year. The cold, fresh air is nature's greatest and best tonic, and those who would increase their vitality and fortify themselves against disease should take deep drafts of the cold fresh air daily, and many times a day.