Catching a Cold

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 25, 22 June 1905, Page 30

Catching a Cold

Now that the season for ' colds,' coughs, and neuralgic pains is with us (says the New York ' Herald '), the careful man is on the look out for such preventive measiuiess as will guard him against the ' eager and nipping air ' that may prepare the way for a winter's'sickness. lit is the proper adaptation to "his environments that must settle the question of his immunity against the ever-threatening weather ailments. With the changeable climate of our northern latitudes the task is often a difficult one. Thus a sudden drop in temperature is often followed by a veritable epidemic of catarrhal troubles. The ordinary phenomenon of a ' cold ' is explained by a, rapifd cooling of' the surface wliereby the superficial circulation is temporarily arrested and internal congestions are produced. The primary effect is generally upon the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, and upper air passages.. In conse(q|uence of this revulsion chilliness, lassitude, headache, sneezing, and cough follow in turn, and the patient becomes generally miserable. Then, when it is too late, he doubts his resisting powers against draughts, cold rooms, undue exposure, and the like, and is ready to resign himself to the coddling process for the remainder of the winter. Strange as it may appear, it is this misguided carefulness that explains most of the chronic catarrhs of the season, ""* First on the List of such causative agencies are our over-heated and illventilated apartments. Eminent medical authorities maintain that the sudden change from an o\er warmed room to the cold air outside has more to do with the production of colds than all other supposed agencies combined. 'The air passages, after having been dried, and, so to sipeak. baked in our living rooms, are not only peculiarly sensitive to cold, but are in a condition least liable to resist the influences of the change. The same principle might apply to overheating the ibody by too much clothing and enfeebling the skin by confined perspiration. The exact contrary condition results from inurement to low temperature and the creation of a habit of natural resistance. The man who is accustomed to bare his throat to the blast never suffers from tonsilitis, and the one who is used to the cold morning plimge never knows a sihiver, even in zero weather. The real moral is to face the cold with a bold front, to conquer rather than to shrink from it and be overcome in the end The" hardened man 'makes b^js skin an e\er ready adjuster to all variations of temperature. The feebler one can approach such a state of protection and may in the end equal it. A like principle applies to exercise. With ordinary garments tihe indhidual who is in pood health nener

suffers from cold while in motion, but the one who sits or lies in a cold room or in a draught from open door or window is sure to become The Victim of His Indiscretion. v These are simple enough rules in themselves, butj few think of applying them to individual needs until re^ minded of their lost opportunities. The worst of all is that a ' cold ' taken in early winter is apt to linger and thus prepare the system for even more distressing ailments. The very lack oi vital resistance that invites the first attack of catarrh is apt to intensify the predisposition of sabselqtient colds. This in a great measure explains Vhe prevalence of pneumonia during the inclement season. The microbe never attacks a healthy memforanc, but lies in wait for the local debilitation which furnishes the soil for the seed. No more forcible argument could be used in favor of preventive measures against the slightest respiratory trouble that may show itself at any time. Nothing lowers the vital resistance against all winter diseases mare than the initiative and apparently insignificant ' cold.'