AERIAL SANATORIA

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 81, 31 December 1919, Page 7

AERIAL SANATORIA

NEW USE FOR CAPTIVE

BALLOONS

POSSIBILITIES IN CURE OF DISEASES

We were passing over Pittsburgh) 3000 feet aloft, and below ,J iis tho town lay liko a smudged picture, all because tho belching furnaces of stool mills filled tho neighbouring air 'with great clouds of soot. Where wo wero, however, tho atmosphere'wus clear and sunlit, and,'so far as our lungs wero concerned, wo might iust as well havo been a thousand miles away from the Smoky City." This experiment of tho aviator has> more than a Dossing value; it points tho way to a probable solution of one of our most vexed public health problems—tho''lreatment of early cases of tuberculosis and the amelioration of many diseases that can best bo battled with by means of plenty of fresh ail - and sunshine (writes Robert G. Skerrett in tlio New York "Evening Post").

Something over half a century ago, Louis Pasteur, in his laboratory in Paris, determined tho fact thnt germs aro cadried hither and thither upon particles of dust, thus spreading through the atmosphere tho promoting agencies' of various forms of dis.ease. Sinco then the civilised world at largo has been slowly awakening to a realisation that dust of anv sort is moro or less of a menace to. health. Fairly rocsntly the .United States Public ■ Health Service dwelt ttnon tho influence of dust in cases of tuberculosis; and the revelation makes it strikingly evident just why ho should guard against any avoidablo propagation of this canso of physical impairment. According to the Government service: "The influence of dust on tho prevalence of the disease is Strikingly shown by tho fact that tho tuberculosis rate among 472.000 males in the United States, exposed in fifteen occunations to the inhalation of organic dust, was 2.29 :per 1000. against n rate of 1.55 for all occupied males: and also' by the fact, that 42.05 per cent, of the deaths of printers, lithographers, and 'pressmen who died at ages between twenty-five and .forty-four vears. wero from consumption, as compared with 2'.BB'per cent. for farmers, planters, and overseers." The working out in the. open, where fresh air was to be had, and that generally fairly free from dust..lived, longer, or fewer of them were'attacked pv tuberculosis. . Again, wo have, evidence of what the ont-of-dnor ntinospheV" means to the pith■lie health of large cities. In London, for irstnnce, where the parks and unoccupied area of the municipality furnish breath'Pg spaces amounting to 11 per cent., tho tuberculosis <l»ath rate is but 1.9: per cent.; and in 'Paris, with only 4.3 per cent, of open spaces, the mortality from consumption before the war amounted to quite 5.1 per cent, Get Away from the Dust, No wonder, then, that the tubercular arc ursed to get out into the country, away from the dust and confinement of the citv. and, if possible, to go to higher altitudes where the atmosnhere is still more unPkely to be polluted, and, therefore. that much less ant to• irritate the sensitive membranes of fjie throat and lungs. Altitude has played a prime part in eradicating the.earlier manifestations of tuberculosis, and there the beneficial, results are due in a measure to a mechanical factor. That is to sny, the h-'gher up we go the smaller the percentage of the vitally neeejisary oxygen, in each available cubic foot of tlje atmosphere, and the lungs aeeordinply are called upon to work more actively in order to breathe a sufficiency of,oxygen in a given intervnl. This functioning works wonders in tho- way of clearing out our pulmonary att'e. so to sneak, wbTe disease-laden dust find? all too often dangerously long lodgin"m»nt. But it. is not practicable for many persons suffering from incipient iuherculosif* to get awnv to tho mountains. These' elevated places may be too remote, and other circumstanees may deny 'these cunvtivc havens to those in npou of a radical change of air. Therefore, (suggestions by. .Captains n Brown and'lT. W, Bernard, Mb of the Royal Army Medical Cor.os of Great Britain, are of' extremely suggestive interest.. Thes.e medical men urge the substitution of captive balloons or stippially outfitted dirigibles for Ivgh altitude I e.matoria where, for one reason or another, the health resorts on terra firma are not available or readily 'ccespible to the patients. As Captain Brown points out. a -perm-free atmosphere of a superior. character can be readied easily in any low-h'ing locality simply by mounting ckvward in an aircraft >0111 ,WA to 500!) feet. Accordingly these experts advocate the institution of aerial sanatoria. A Novel Proposal. Offhand, this proposal suggests tlie fanciful simply because of its, novel character; but Captain Bernarjl has ..gone to eome pains to work out m detail just how existing captive balloons could bo adapted to this unique therapeutic service. New Yorkers are iamiliar with the floating hospitals that have done so much to save the lives of suffering children by taking them away from the heat and dust of the city to the refreshing briny breezes of the lower. bay. 'Similarly, Captains Brown and Bernard' would carry their patient? aloft, where atmospheric conditions would lie akin to those peculiar to some of the' world's most famous mountain sanatoria. It calls for 110 stretch of the imagination to see how this could be done in view of what has already been achieved in developing the transatlantic dirigible. In lieu of the weight of the engines, fuel, food, water,, etc., amounting to many' tons needed for' long-distance flights, could be carried just so many health-seeking passengers. Their time aloft would probably be limited to the period of daylight; and at nightfall the airship would return to earth. For propulsive purpose, the dirigible would require only sufficient-engine power to hold her head up to the wind and to keep her stationary against the sweep of the aerial currents. This control could be simplified by mooring the craft to the ground by a cable; and in favourable weather she could be kept at the desired height and made substantially immobile through the propulsive effort of "possibly a single engine. In short, her state would be closely analogous to an anchored vessel whose propeller is turning just fast enough to point her bow against t!]e tide and to prevent tugging on her chain cable. Fascinating Outlook. Captain Brown, in ' a recent • issue of the "National Review," thus deals with one pliaso of this fascinating outlook: "On a considerable number of days throughout the year it is possible for a. giant airship to'remain up even in cur (English) uncertain, climate, and the number will increase, as will the siro and carrying capacity of airships. Nor will the landing difficulty long remain the obstacle it has proved in the past. Landing and ascending will be accomplished, not by half -a battalion of men, but by machinery. "Is it, therefore, purely a dream to imagine a day, not so far distant, perhaps, when over our cities, gliding gracefully through the air, we may see aerial hospitals for early eases of consumption, gigantic airships of a-carrying capacity ond a navigating power far beyond those of to-day, 011 which the patients, breathing in the perfectly pure air of an altitude of 5000 feet, shall lie trained to expand their lungs, so that the dead or stagnant air, that lurks in the remoter recesses of the lungs in cities and is onu of tho mailt hindrances to a cure, shall be got rid of?'' In ordinary breathing' wo fill only about one-tenth of tho available air Gpaco of the lungs at each full inspiration. After every exhala't'ou a quantity'of niv is left in the lungs. This residual air amounts to about 100 cubic inches. Many of us arc menacingly lazy about the way we work our lungs—wo do little; better than nibble at the physically desirable measure of this sustaining element. We seldom make an effort to fill our lungs to the utmost with each intake, and as a result the amount of residual air remains disproportionately large. It is in the unventilatcd parts of the lungs, so to speak, 4hat the bacilli of tuberculosis aro thus helped to multiply and to incrca.se their destructive activities. Few of us realise

it, but the weight of air inhaled by a normal adult in tho course of a day is seven or eight times that of the it>od eaten.

' Manifestly, it is important that this air should 'bo clean, and particularly is this so where swns of tuberculosis have already appeared. Therefore, Captains Brown and Bernard recommend that tho atfected dwellers of cities shall get the relief they need by going straight up lit the air above their own ihonies. The famous Swiss mountain resort at. Dayosl'latz has an altitude of about 5000 feet, alHl yet Captain Brown declares that the. air at the same height directly above any lowland town is distinctly richer in curative properties because it is not in immediate contact with the earth. A Warning. But Captain Brown sounds a word of warning lest tho layman hastily conclude that all that is necessary 19 to mount aloft and expect t'ho air to operate helpfully in the eradication of disease. He says: "There is a considerable difference in pressure between the air at terra firma and tho atmosphere ;!l)00 to "50UU feet up. It i 3 ihere that arises—namely,' tho possibility of haemorrhage. , With a diminished atmospheric pressure, the pressure of the blood within tlio circulatory system-'naturally increases—and means a greater risk of haemorrhage, a condition of affairs that renders some cases of early phthisis unsuitable for ail Alpine resort. Such cases would have to be excluded iron, aerial treatment. Fortunately, wo have now tho means of accurately testing the blood- pressure, and whore that is i. ready liigih a lofty altitude would either be inadvisable or should be tried with greater caution. For-the majority, however, I do not think the danger- or, rather, the possiblo increase of'danger —exists." Further, Captain Brown believes that there tire several otilier possibilities 111 aerial treatment. ' Among these aro relief in cases of 'anaemia and glandular enlargement of the neck, not tu mention suppurating wounds, some ulcers, etc. And 'lie lb of the opinion that the stimulated notion'ot the blood vessels, duo to decreased atriiosphei'ic pressure, may ije oi material aid .in overcoming the lack 0: muscular action in certain bodily functions, which is attributable to the slug- ! gishness incident to advanced years. Ho tells us: "Thero are maladies wiicre one of tho chief features is a low ■ blood prossure—tho ordinary disordered action of the heart. This, though not dangerous to life, is tedious to cure. Instead of taking digitalis, might not i> course of aerial treatment bo of value?" A.salt water bath at home has not the tonic effect of a dip in the sea, as many of us have found,out; and Captain Brown is convinced thnt the difference is in largo'part due to the motion of tho ocean. Upon the samo basis, 110 argues that tho air high abovb the ground has a peculiarly stimulating, therapeutic value because of its motion,' and the immensity of its volume—surging in every direction without hindrance. He mentions that a "dip" ill an airplane has been employed as a rapid anil powerful tonic, a "pick-me-up," where the pilots have felt jailed from- 0110 cause or another. As a matter of fact, it has been reported upon a number of occasions how "lungers," who have been denied admission to other branches of the fighting services, have managed to get into aviation and to recover completely from their pulmonary troubles. , Cure for Neurasthenia, Finally, this British physician asks: "Again, is it possible that we, have here at our haiids, or rather over our heads, that speedy cure for neurasthenia that physicians have so long sought in vain ?" The rest induced by sleep is the great restorer and the mender of shattered nerves. The upper regions, becauso of: their calm, and the stimulated lung action, tend to promote somuolence; and Lieut.-Comiiinmlor Zachnry Lansdowne, U.S.N., who crossed tho Atlantic in the 1134 on. her maiden trip, reported that be found it often difficult to stave off sleep just when lie wished to remain wide awake. Surely the hospital airship for sufferers from insomnia and certain nervous disorders would be a veritable blessing. , Ijt'.l: don't let 11s forget that aerial sanatoria open other therapeutic services. By being ablo to mount high enough to get above low-lying banks of fog and strata of clouds, tho aircraft can lift its passengers into tho realm of abundant sunshine. Tho sun, as a physician and surgeon, lias wrought wonders both here and abroad, but especially so on the sloneti of tho Alps, where the solar rays 1 have combined with altitude to promote a. return to health Heliotherapy is an established department of medicine to•dav. Just, fancy the boon of navigable sun parlours mounting skyward from the midst of iinv of our populous cities, piercing the blanket of gloom, and emerging into a flood of curative sunlight! It. would not be necessary for lis to travel thousands of miles to reaeh tho elevated slopes of the Alps to hnva Na. ture's balm in its fullness applied with masrical effect to all forms of external tuberculosis, to the alleviation of acute rheumatism, and to the invigorating of the debilitated. This, prospect is certainly a heartening one, and it probably won't be long before more of 11s will bo no more timid about taking an aerial iournev than we are about venturing out upon the ocean. Similarly, we shall welcome an aerial bath just as we. do todav n dir> in the sea. And let us remind the doubting Thomases that it wasn't so very long ago, as time rnns, when salt wnt n r was regarded with suspicion. Not until Hie dose of the eighteenth century did anv rne in England (laro to bathe in the sea. \