THE OPEN-AIR TREATMENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIX, Issue 13122, 9 May 1903, Page 9

THE OPEN-AIR TREATMENT.

(By ONE WHO HAS GREATLY BENE FIXED.)

The Almighty Being who is behind the mystery of the beginning of things, and who drew the plans of this 'beautiful ur.iverse before time was, knew it would take millions of years to complete the building of a wbrld suitable to tie requirements of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. There was to be no hurry in the construction' of this great work, and, therefore were there no mistakes when cosmos emerged out of chaos. The great Architect intended from the first that this world should, when evolution had done its work, be a perfect home for every Jiving thing. Wo need not, however, try to prove that this world has been a perfect home to the great mass of the human, race, for the millions of poor, sick and wretched inhabitants of the present-day world toil a different tale. If we can possibly imagine for a moment that man, from the far-off time when he first received the gift of reason, ' could have understood himself and bis relation to the laws of Nature and of God, as he - is now beginning to do, wo surely have a right-to suppose that the state of humanity to-day would have been of a kind so infinitely removed from what we know it to be, that our conception, of it would be as of a man born. with, all his faculties in a state of development when the sun was setting,.and who saw not the brightness of the light which had passed away. But though we may in. this way put our imagination to the test, this form of amusement will not in the slightest degree change the existing state cf tilings, and so we find around us on every side health and happiness, sickness and sorrow. Before we can realise how beautiful this world really Is there must be more of health and happiness, and much less of sickness and sorrow in it ; yet is it not through suffering that the world will be made whole? . Tire diseases .which cause so much havoc to the human race are well-known to us all, and need not be enumerated hex’e, but there is one more than all others which, if not held in check, will strike a more severe blow at the strength of tire British people than the deadliest blow that any one firstrate. Power could inflict; and that disease is consumption. It is, we believe, no exaggeration to sny that 60,CC0 victims arc annually claimed by this fell, disease in the. British Isles; while here, in this bright colony of New .Zealand this same reaper swings his twoedged scythe from east to west, from Auckland to the Bluff, reaping a. harvest proportionate to the 60,000 souls which he claims at Homo. The note we have struck ha:s been so far a sombre one, but there is a note which has a joyful ring about it, heralding the coming of a new order of things, and. tho rapid departure of the_ old. We kncJw now , that there is a cure”for consumption, if the disease is'grappled with before it takes / too firm a hold on its victim, and even f where.-a complete cure is impostible, the patient’s life may be for many years prolonged. The open-air and rest treatment has long passed its experimental stage, and is now recognised by tho leading medical authorities in England, on the Continent (chiefly in Switzerland), and in America ns tho best possible cure for the accursed lung trouble. In the above-named countries, the openair system hay been practised for some • years with the most amazingly successful results, and patients from all parts are flocking into uie various sanaturia. NeW Zealand docs not mean to bo left behind in this respecri for a sanatarium has been in existence for some time, near Dunedin, and I am told the results are most excellent. While, to come nearer home, we have the' Mount Avon Pino Sanatorium, near Christchurch, situated iu the most pleasant Borroundings, and sheltered from all the cold winds by. a thick belt of beautiful pines. The site is on a part of Professor Bickerton’s very charming estate, and there ia every reason to suppose that the Professor will, in course of time, give the eame picturesque appearance to the hospital grounds as he has given in an unmistakable manner to Iris own beautiful gardens. Improvements are now going on ■ every day, and those who intend taking advantage of the treatment will find themBelves amid surroundings most conducive to recovery. Tire sanatorium ia under the entire charge of Dr Greenwood, who has given much time and thought to the study of long affections, and has had considerable experience of the beneficial effects of the open-air cure* long- before ho decided to open a hospital on his own account. Those who have troubled to follow me so far will now be anxious'to know what the hospital is like. To put it shortly, it is a most ar-tistically-arranged collection of tents, someof which are of the ordinary canvas kind, while others are a combination of paper, Band and tar, fixed to a light framework of wood, and called carbo tents. Each patient has a tent for himself, which is furnished quite in .a princely fashion, while the mere fact of being monarch of all he surveys, although the territory is but small, gives him that satisfactory feeling of ownership which, must be helpful in making his lot happy and contented. The whole front of the tent remains open both day and night, so that the patient is continually breathing pure air, and the action of pure air upon tho internal surface of tho lungs is, we are told by the inventor of the open-air system, just what heals the cavities and ulcers which are the results of the microbe’s persistent labours. When a new patient arrives, he is overhauled by the doctor and sent to bed for a few days till he is well enough to get about. Tins - going to bed is usually much objected to, but tho patient must simply make ap his mind to obey the doctor in every little detail, however absurd it may seem to hihf. Between 7 and 7.30 o’clock in the morning, one of the attentive nurses brings to his tent a pint of warm milk, every drop of which he must drink. It is surprising how wonderfully easy it becomes to , take large quantities of milk, no matter how distasteful it may have been to the patient before entering the sanatorium. Hera I would say that Dr Greenwood is much impressed with tha efficacy of milk as

a diet during early treatment, owing to its being easily assimilated by most patients, and for its beneficial effect upon the whole digestive tract, and, consequently, upon the lungs themselves. The doctor, therefore, in most cases advises that for a time the patients’ diet shall bo milk alone. Strange though it may seem, patients put on weight slowjly but surely, which is more to bs desired than tho putting on of flesh rapidly, and, therefore, overtaxing the whole system. At eight o’clock the patient may rise, after which he has more milk and ihen goes for a short slow walk. On returning, after performing this task, his pulse and temperature arc taken, so that in a. very few days the patient’s exact measure of strength is ascertained. Above all things must the patient be careful not to tire himself; this, indeed, is one of the most important rules which he must observe. The chief of all rules, however, ia that, relating to the act of expectorating. All the sputum is collected and burnt, the patient being allowed only to expectorate into vessels provided for the purpose. A patient, therefore, who is determined to get better, must be prepared to drink for all he is worth, to rest almost to the extent of becoming tired, and to pump into his lungs all the pure air he possibly can. When the patient has improved sufficiently to- satisfy the doctor, he is allowed to go in for a little mild Sandowism, which he of course relishes' immensely. He is, from the first, given permission to read. One would be inclined to f..nk that under so gentle a treatment the days would -drag along very slowly, but the ' very opposite is the case. During the day a certain amount of food must be consumed, and the fear in one’s mind therefore, is to be beaten by time ; and one is, s>o to speak, continually stopping the clock in order to squeeze in the necessary nourishment. Some idea has now been given of tho life a patient at a. sanatarium must lead if he hojics for any material benefit from the treatment, and the writer would bs dolight'ed to think that the putting' together of these few words, plus the great good he himself haa received, will encourage some to give the open-air treatment a trial.

One more word and lam dons. The advantage gained by undergoing the treatment in a sanatarium is not all that the patient gains, for he has> tho added and more valuable advantage of being—when he again rubs shoulders with his fellows—a kind of oanatary radiator, a person, who possibly may be considered a nuisance as well as a crank, but whoso experience should be valued by all those men and women who have the welfare of any community at heart.