Consumption curable! / by Dr. Hall.

  • William Whitty Hall
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Consumption curable! / by Dr. Hall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    they otherwise would have received, and lean prove it: demonstrate it. Tubercles then, are produced in two ways, which act upon one another, whenever they are set agoing: by a deficiency of pure air for a length of time; or, by a sluggish circulation of the blood. If then we live in an impure air long enough, tubercles are produced. Have you never read of persons having consumption, who lived in warm rooms, factories and the like? But let the air be ever so pure, if we do not get enough of it. tubercles are produced, we do not get enough of it, if we breathe too short, ortoo seldom. People who lace tight, breathe short. Do such persons ever die of consumption? What causes a persou to breathe seldom? for that also produces tubercles and death. Persons who sit too much, stooping, the back bent out, and the breast bent in: or such as lean their side habitually against a table, or the like—such persons breathe seldom; so much so, that they would soon die, but nature, like a watchful parent, tames us up, and we stretch, and take a full long breath; which sends a pleasant feeling all over us. Did von ever know ghoe-makera <ii<' of consumption? or poor but excellent voting women? who to make an honorable living) per- haps for a feeble helpless parent, tottering on the grave's brink—bend over the needle, nearly double sometimes, in their forgetfulness, and the clear sky, and the beautiful sun light, and all nature smiling and lad without, every body and every thing glad, but they are not! For they have not time to enjoy; hut sit and toil on; and drea- rv winter comes with its long, dark, cheerless nights; the sleet clicks upon the window; and the heavy wind moans mournfully in che streets, or whiirs through the cracks ol the old crazy building which fairly creaks again, but a mother is there, and they are work- ing for her; and work on, and disease approaches; and for a little while they suffer on. age and disease together! till at lasi and together, the parent and tin: child sink into the grave, side by side, ill the last, long sleep of death! The remedies proposed, forcibly prevent such an unfavorable position of the body; without bands, or cords of any kind; except one of nature's own make. And here, OS ill her other operations, she governs so gently, and her rule BO pleas- ant, that we love it, though we feel it not. But this sluggish motion of the blood in these small vessels, around the sides of the air cells, is brought on in another way. We breathe seldom, when we exercise but little) or became low spirited, from any cause whatever; from care, or losses, or disappointment in oar cal- culations, whether they have been reasonable or not; from the unkind. ness of kindred; the ingratitude of those whom we have benefited; or from the infidelity of those who used to love us, and we them; or the unavailing thoughts of past prosperity, with its Howers and its sun- shine—these are the things which produce the infrequent, long drawn breath, which brings with it the deep and heavy sigh, and sows the seed of certain death: are not these the people, who pass oft' with that slow and stealthy paced disease? It is the slow circulation which these feelings produce, that is the immediate cause of tubercles, and not the feelings themselves. For those who are blue to day, but the bri»hter for it to-morrow, do notdie of consumption. As they can »ive advice best, who are farthest from needing it, I will not offer violence to the already wounded heart, and bowed spirit, by saying
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