Naval hygiene / Henry G. Beyer.

  • Beyer, Henry G.
Date:
[1901]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Naval hygiene / Henry G. Beyer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    Naval Hygiene. REFERENCE HANDBOOK OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES. the effects produced by baths of different strengths and temperatures. The warmer, less strongly saline ones serve \p soothe and relieve the weak, irritable heart, whereasijtliose that are strong in mineral ingredients and charged Vvith CO2, and at the same time of low temper- atures (8'Q° to 83° F.), stimulate the organ to increased work. It i(S clear, therefore, that these last are permissible only after \compensation has been re-established, or in cases that have never displayed very obvious weakness. It is not claiWed that the balneological treatment of car- diac disease c'^n be given only in Bad-Nauheim, but that here the advantages for this foi-m of management are es- pecially good. This is particulai'ly true of the flowing effervescent bawi, which, it is said, can nowhere else be given; and as it\is powerfully stimulating, this kind of bath is highly beneficial in suitable cases. Very briefly stat,ed, the following is the method of or- dering the treatment. At first, baths are prescribed which are weak in salts (about one per cent, of sodium chloride and one-tenth per ceijt. of calcium chloride) at a temper- ature of 95° to 92° F.\ and for a duration of from five to eight minutes. Carbonic acid is not added in the begin- ning of treatment, or at most in a very weak percentage of CO2. As time proceeds and cardiac energy grows, the strength of the bath^. is increased until the salts men- tioned approximate three'^er cent, of the sodium and one per cent, of the calcium chloride. Carbonic acid is added in the course of time, as determined by the judgment of the physician, and pan phssti the temperature of the water is reduced and the length of each bath is increased, until at last the patient remalps in the tub about twenty minutes. \ In the fore part of the treatljient the baths are inter- rupted by an occasional day of rest (one out of every three or four), but toward the eh,d of the course such in- terruptions come at longer interVals. Patients are also required to lie down and rest aftei each treatment for an hour or so, in order that the eflefet of the bath may be retained and opportunity be given^for a nap if inclina- tion thereto be felt. \ In addition to balneology patients are usually in- structed to take exercise either in the form of massage, the so called resistance exercises, or, as the heart becomes equal to it, by walking on the level or '^ip the gentle in- clines prepared for the carrying out of'vOertel's terrain- kur. The diet and intake of fluids are ajjso supposed to be carefully regulated. As has been stated in numerous medical.journals, this balneological treatment can be very well gi,ven at home by means of artificial waters, and, as my experience has abundantly proved, with excellent results. It is not pos- sible, however, successfully to imitate the current bath, and in addition it is difficult to get patients to make treatment the sole aim of existence as at Bad-Nauheim. In concluding this brief sketch, which by reasop of the limitation of space allotted is necessarily cursory ^and in- complete, I desire to express my sincere thanks to Di'- H. N. Heineman and to Dr. Groedel for valuable assistance rendered by them. I am also indebted to numerous pa- pers by Dr. Schott and others. Robert H. Babcock. NAVAL HYGIENE.—Introduction.—Naval hygiene may be briefly defined as being that branch of hygiene which applies the principles of sanitation to the condi- tions peculiar to life at sea, and especially as existing in ships of war. Although, in actual practice, appearing more or less mcdifled to make them meet the peculiar conditions prevalent on board sea-going ships, the laws of general hygiene must remain essentially and funda- mentall.y the same. Adaptation may at times necessitate and require a modification in the practice, but can never be allowed to go so far as to alter the principles of what is known as good hygiene, and so recognized by the best sanitarians the world over. The importance of the study of hygiene to the naval surgeon cannot be exaggerated. Unless he possesses a profound theoretical as well as a practical knowledge of the essential and fundamental principles and purpo.ses of hj'giene, the naval surgeon of to-day can hardly be called up-to-date, for without that knowledge he is barely able to perform but half his duties as sanitary officer on board a war-vessel. Since these duties must be confined, in form at least, to recommendations, made to his com- manding officer, it is hardly to be expected that his recom- mendations will meet with the approval, required by reg- ulations, xmless the medical officer at the same time is able to prove to his captain that he possesses the necessary and requisite knowledge to entitle him and his recom- mendations to that attention and consideration which alone can make them effective. To the naval architect the careful and conscientious study of hygiene is likewise of very great importance. At least one of the essential conditions implied in the construction of a warship is that it shall be so designed as to afford a given number of men a wholesome shelter during the performance of tlieir duties; that the condi- tions on board be such as to preserve the life and health of the men, aiding them in, instead of interfering with, their most effective duties and excluding outside influ- ences that are detrimental to these ends. The naval con- structor owes it to himself, to the naval service, and to the people of his country that the best possible arrange- ments be made, that the best methods be adopted, and that the best work be done to advance the interests of hygienic living on board the ships which he designs and builds, as as far that may be within the range of his power. The ventilating system for a ship of modern construction, for instance, must be considered to be so essential that without it the ship would be of little value and its use limited. Since the type and details of a ventilating system must be adapted to the type of the ship, it should from the be- ginning form a part in the design and structure of the ship and not be left to an aftertliought. The construc- tor, realizing the difflciilties, may commit them to an expert; but even then it is necessary that he have enough knowledge of the subject and of the results to be aimed at that he can readily and conscientiously accede to the demands of the expert, instead of regarding them as un- reasonable ; he should, moreover, possess enough knowl- edge on the subject to enable him to pass a just and proper estimate upon the value of the services of the employed expert himself. Thus, in giving out con- tracts, he is usually besieged by competitors. Competi- tion leads to low bids and these lead to poor work and material. The result must be prejudicial to the interests of the naval service and to the constructor as well. Scientific facts are stubborn things: they will not and cannot remain long ignored; mere opinions, whether offi- cial or unofficial, cannot sidetrack them, and thus the inevitable conclusion remains that we must bravely face these facts. In so far as the life of the sailor is influ- enced by the training which he must and can receive only on board a warship in commission and at sea, it is perfectly evident that that life is either increased or im- paired in value to the service in direct proportion to the improvements in the hygiene of his immediate environ- ments. These are intimately connected with tlie im- provements in the construction of the ships on which he has his being. Fortunately, there is abundant proof of the fact that Avithin recent years, at least, a deeper recognition of the importance and of the profound significance of ships' hy- giene on the part of all the officers of the naval service has become manifest. It has become clearly recognized that the strength, the power, the health, and the endur- ance of a ship of war, in action or out of it, whether on a mission of peace or one of war, can be but tliose of all its inmates combined, and, consequently, every man indi- vidually either adds or detracts from the sum total of the ship's power and endurance in direct proportion to the standard of his physical health. But the highest aims and objects of hygiene are not merely to preserve, b\it to raise the average standard of the health of our men to its maximum capacity. All training is more or less useless unless done on that basis. Having once recognized these things, it becomes our