THE SALT-CURE CRAZE.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 54, 5 March 1901, Page 3

THE SALT-CURE CRAZE.

America's latest discovery, that the longsought for Elixir of..life is simply a solution of common'salt, to be administered by injection, has naturally without difficulty crossed the Atlantic, and London is now in the throes of the salt-cure craze. Patients who have been quietly content to accept the British Pharmacopoeia as a sort of Divinely-inspired compendium of remedies for all the evils that fiesh is heir to, arc now asking for the wonderful salt-injections, which arc to ensure longevity, and work miracles move marvellous oven than those which follow tho triumphal progress of the patent medicine man. Harley street meanwhile stands by aghast with disapproval. “ Salt,” said a physician with an extensive practice, interviewed upon the subject, “ is a very good thing, in moderation. It is dangerous when taken in larger quantities than the natural taste demands. People who eat in a normal manner, get just as much salt as is good for them.” AVith regard to the injections of salt, the same authority says that it is a common practice to employ them in cases of collapse from cholera, or hcmreri-hage, and to stimulate patients ; but purely for the physical effect, and to encourage them to believe that something is being clone for them. “ But.,” ho adds, “ plain warm water will have the same effect, and I have often used it myself in the same way. Such an operation is in the nature of a ‘ faith cure.’ It produces in tho patient the feeling of tranquility and security which is often essential to a cure, and frequently results from the mere visit of a doctor.” But against the present popular fallacy a strong note of warning is sounded, more especially of the terrible danger of scurvy following the excessive use of salt. By taking salt in largo quantities, people simply. endanger their health, and produce all manner of unpleasant ills.