INFLUENZA AND ALCOHOL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 139, 9 December 1918, Page 8

INFLUENZA AND ALCOHOL

DOCTOR'S OPINION t TO THI EDIIOK. Sir.-It is high time that someons (should contradict the extraordinary nonsense that ia being talked in the public press concerning alcohol and tlie i-i----ilucnza epidemic. If there is one outstanding feature which hag chiefly impressed me, and many of my medical colleagues ac well, it has been the enormous value of alcohol in the treatment of both influenza and pneumonia Brandy ha« been giv<m with the be«t results by the month, by packs, and subcutaneously. Given by the mouth it does not upset the stomach, as stimulant drugs do; given in packs it makes the patient sweat; and subcutaneously it reduces the temperature. I can produce a. ' chart in an intractable: case of hyper-■' pyrexia with pneumonia where there is a definite drop of temperature aiter each injection; the value of gnch a fail, where the temperature is running up to 105 degrees, is incalculable. So niucti for its use as a drug during the disease. [The kind of man who, has gone under in this epidemic has not been the moderate drinker, as far as my experience goes. ' It has been the man of poor physique, • who <loe» not take exercise, drinks water, or, worse still, tea ad libitum; and, like many, teetotallers, ovor-oats himself—for ' far worse harm comes to those who so : indulge themselves than ever cdmes to '• the moderate drinker. I hcjd no brief for the excessive use of alcohol. In the end, though generally after a long time, alcohol will claim its own; but it is.a palpable absurdity to hold that the man . who takes a. whisky and soda with his meals, and an extra one when going/to ■ bed, sufiers in health. Whisky in small quantities is an excellent stimulant to the gastric mucous membrane, and it' acto as a sedative at night. Tt is, of course, useless to argue with fanatics; . but I am prepared to assert that as- a ; matter of experience in practice, the effect of moderate quantities of alcohol! are highly beneficial to the human body.; Aa a drug in certain diseases, such as we have lately been fighting, alcohol is . of prime importance; in fact, if I were asked what was the most essential factor in the treatment of pneumonia I would undoubtedly say alcohol. May not the lessons of this epidemic give even the Prohibitionist pause for' thought? I certainly lost one case, if not two, because I could not proome brandy for some hours. What is going to happen, when we have total Prohibi- . tion, in the case of illness? Many people seem to think that private persons will be allowed to keep alcohol in their own' houses. But this is absurd on the fane of it. When pnvate stocks are exhaust.,!' ed it will be impossible to repleniajj ;■' them, because no one can sell—even i|'f.' they have the commodity. The doctpf must first be called, a prescription written, and the alcohol procured from the , • chemist. If it happenß to be at night, ; the patient will probably have to wait until the next morning, owing to the supreme wisdom of those who make the laws of this country. It may bring the . question near to the heart even of a fanatic, where one near and dear to him dies in sudden collapse and no alcohol is \ available. That such cases will happen is beyond question. There is yet another point that the •public should remember: There are many of us who have reached a good age, , such as myself, who have been accustomeJ to take' a moderate amount of alcohol all their lives. If that is suddenly stopped I have no hesitation in saying that the mortality of middle and old age' will _ appreciably rise. The habits of a lifetime cannot be broken with impunity. Nature will assert herself and surely take her toll in such cases. "Si naturam expellas furca tamen ueqne recurrit,'- 1 which being interpreted ' means, that if all alcohol is cut off, so surely nature will take her revenge. Horace was a very; wise old gentleman, who knew what ho was talking about.

I believe that thi3 epidemic has opened the eyes of those amongst us who think and observe, as regards the uses of alcohol. Those who have nursed at Brooklyn or St. Patrick's College will know of desperate cases saved from tba jawa of death by alcohol, and alcohol alone. , One grain of experience is worth many ounces of so-called "science." And if this epidemic only establishes the fact that alcohol does more than make "man of a cheerful countenance," that it is a valuable food and a most valuable drug, thie visitation will not have been in vain. '

On the general question of Prohibition I could say much more, but I must not encroach on your space. I only wish the general public would bear in mind the answer of that great prelate, the late Archbishop Magee, who, when asked what his views as regards Prohibition in England were replied, 'T had rather see Eng>nd free than England sober.". Drunkenness, thank Gpdy. is not the vice of New Zealand. Anyone who has had to do with our troops knows that. Prohibition is not needed / in New Zealand. I personally believe in ' the common sense of the nation, andi I cannot see them sacrificing their freedom for a phantom.—l am, etc., W. KINGTON FYFFE, M;D.