General Science - Bertha May Clark (children's books read aloud TXT) 📗

there is abundant opportunity for preservatives; badly or partially decayed fruits are sometimes disinfected and used as the basis of foods sold by so-called good dealers. Benzoate of soda, and salicylic acid are the chemicals most widely employed for this purpose, with coal-tar dyes to simulate the natural color of the fruit.

Many of the cheap candies sold by street venders are not fit for consumption, since they are not only made of bad material, but are frequently in addition given a light dipping in varnish as a protection against the decaying influences of the atmosphere.

The only wise preservatives are those long known and employed by our ancestors; salt, vinegar, and spices are all food preservatives, but they are at the same time substances which in small amounts are not injurious to the body. Smoked herring and salted mackerel are chemically preserved foods, but they are none the less safe and digestible.

235. The Preservation of Wood and Metal. The decaying of wood and the rusting of metal are due to the action of air and moisture. When wood and metal are surrounded with a covering which neither air nor moisture can penetrate, decay and rust are prevented. Paint affords such a protective covering. The main constituent of paint is a compound of white lead or other metallic substance; this is mixed with linseed oil or its equivalent in order that it may be spread over wood and metal in a thin, even coating. After the mixture has been applied, it hardens and forms a tough skin fairly impervious to weathering. For the sake of ornamentation, various colored pigments are added to the paint and give variety of effect.

Railroad ties and street paving blocks are ordinarily protected by oil rather than paint. Wood is soaked in creosote oil until it becomes thoroughly saturated with the oily substance. The pores of the wood are thus closed to the entrance of air and moisture, and decay is avoided. Wood treated in this way is very durable. Creosote is poisonous to insects and many small animals, and thus acts as a preservation not only against the elements but against animal life as well.

CHAPTER XXV

DRUGS AND PATENT MEDICINES

236. Stimulants and Narcotics. Man has learned not only the action of substances upon each other, such as bleaching solution upon coloring matter, washing soda upon grease, acids upon bases, but also the effect which certain chemicals have upon the human body.

Drugs and their varying effects upon the human system have been known to mankind from remote ages; in the early days, familiar leaves, roots, and twigs were steeped in water to form medicines which served for the treatment of all ailments. In more recent times, however, these simple herb teas have been supplanted by complex drugs, and now medicines are compounded not only from innumerable plant products, but from animal and mineral matter as well. Quinine, rhubarb, and arnica are examples of purely vegetable products; iron, mercury, and arsenic are equally well known as distinctly mineral products, while cod-liver oil is the most familiar illustration of an animal remedy. Ordinarily a combination of products best serves the ends of the physician.

Substances which, like cod-liver oil, serve as food to a worn-out body, or, like iron, tend to enrich the blood, or, like quinine, aid in bringing an abnormal system to a healthy condition, are valuable servants and cannot be entirely dispensed with so long as man is subject to disease.

But substances which, like opium, laudanum, and alcohol, are not required by the body as food, or as a systematic, intelligent aid to recovery, but are taken solely for the stimulus aroused or for the insensibility induced, are harmful to man, and cannot be indulged in by him without ultimate mental, moral, and physical loss. Substances of the latter class are known as narcotics and stimulants.

237. The Cost of Health. In the physical as in the financial world, nothing is to be had without a price. Vigor, endurance, and mental alertness are bought by hygienic living; that is, by proper food, fresh air, exercise, cleanliness, and reasonable hours. Some people wish vigor, endurance, etc., but are unwilling to live the life which will develop these qualities. Plenty of sleep, exercise, and simple food all tend to lay the foundations of health. Many, however, are not willing to take the care necessary for healthful living, because it would force them to sacrifice some of the hours of pleasure. Sooner or later, these pleasure-seekers begin to feel tired and worn, and some of them turn to drugs and narcotics for artificial strength. At first the drugs seem to restore the lost energy, and without harm; however, the cost soon proves to be one of the highest Nature ever demands.

238. The Uncounted Cost. The first and most obvious effect of opium, for example, is to deaden pain and to arouse pleasure; but while the drug is producing these soothing sensations, it interferes with bodily functions. Secretion, digestion, absorption of food, and the removal of waste matters are hindered. Continued use of the drug leads to headache, exhaustion, nervous depression, and heart weakness. There is thus a heavy toll reckoned against the user, and the creditor is relentless in demanding payment.

Moreover, the respite allowed by a narcotic is exceedingly brief, and a depression which is long and deep inevitably follows. In order to overcome this depression, recourse is usually had to a further dose, and as time goes on, the intervals of depression become more frequent and lasting, and the necessity to overcome them increases. Thus without intention one finds one's self bound to the drug, its fast victim. The sanatoria of our country are crowded with people who are trying to free themselves of a drug habit into which they have drifted unintentionally if not altogether unknowingly. What is true of opium is equally applicable to other narcotics.

239. The Right Use of Narcotics. In the hands of the physician, narcotics are a great blessing. In some cases, by relieving pain, they give the system the rest necessary for overcoming the cause of the pain. Only those who know of the suffering endured in former times can fully appreciate the decrease in pain brought about by the proper use of narcotics.

240. Patent Medicines, Cough Sirups. A reputable physician is solicitous regarding the permanent welfare of his patient and administers carefully chosen and harmless drugs. Mere medicine venders, however, ignore the good of mankind, and flood the market with cheap patent preparations which delude and injure those who purchase, but bring millions of dollars to those who manufacture.

Practically all of these patent, or proprietary, preparations contain a large proportion of narcotics or stimulants, and hence the benefit which they seem to afford the user is by no means genuine; examination shows that the relief brought by them is due either to a temporary deadening of sensibilities by narcotics or to a fleeting stimulation by alcohol and kindred substances.

Among the most common ailments of both young and old are coughs and colds; hence many patent cough mixtures have been manufactured and placed on the market for the consumption of a credulous public. Such "quick cures" almost invariably contain one or more narcotic drugs, and not only do not relieve the cold permanently, but occasion subsequent disorders. Even lozenges and pastilles are not free from fraud, but have a goodly proportion of narcotics, containing in some cases chloroform, morphine, and ether.

The widespread use of patent cough medicines is due largely to the fact that many persons avoid consulting a physician about so trivial an ailment as an ordinary cold, or are reluctant to pay a medical fee for what seems a slight indisposition and hence attempt to doctor themselves.

Catarrh is a very prevalent disease in America, and consequently numerous catarrh remedies have been devised, most of which contain in a disguised form the pernicious drug, cocaine. Laws have been enacted which require on the labels a declaration of the contents of the preparation, both as to the kind of drug used and the amount, and the choice of accepting or refusing such mixtures is left to the individual. But the great mass of people are ignorant of the harmful nature of drugs in general, and hence do not even read the self-accusing label, or if they do glance at it, fail to comprehend the dangerous nature of the drugs specified there. In order to safeguard the uninformed purchaser and to restrict the manufacture of harmful patent remedies, some states limit the sale of all preparations containing narcotics and thus give free rein to neither consumer nor producer.

241. Soothing Sirups; Soft Drinks. The development of a race is limited by the mental and physical growth of its children, and yet thousands of its children are annually stunted and weakened by drugs, because most colic cures, teething concoctions, and soothing syrups are merely agreeably flavored drug mixtures. Those who have used such preparations freely, know that a child usually becomes fretful and irritable between doses, and can be quieted only by larger and more frequent supplies. A habit formed in this way is difficult to overcome, and many a child when scarcely over its babyhood had a craving which in later years may lead to systematic drug taking. And even though the pernicious drug craving is not created, considerable harm is done to the child, because its body is left weak and non-resistant to diseases of infancy and childhood.

Many of our soft drinks contain narcotics. The use of the coca leaf and the kola nut for such preparations has increased very greatly within the last few years, and doubtless legislation will soon be instituted against the indiscriminate sale of soft drinks.

242. Headache Powders. The stress and strain of modern life has opened wide the door to a multitude of bodily ills, among which may be mentioned headache. Work must be done and business attended to, and the average sufferer does not take time from his vocation to investigate the cause of the headache, but unthinkingly grasps at any remedy which will remove the immediate pain, and utterly disregards later injury. The relief afforded by most headache mixtures is due to the presence of antipyrin or acetanilid, and it has been shown conclusively that these drugs weaken heart action, diminish circulation, reduce the number of red corpuscles in the blood, and bring on a condition of chronic anemia. Pallid cheeks and blue lips are visible evidence of the too frequent use of headache powders.

The labels required by law are often deceptive and convey no adequate idea of the amount of drug consumed; for example, 240 grains of acetanilid to an ounce seems a small quantity of drug for a powder, but when one considers that there are only 480 grains in an ounce, it will be seen that each powder is one half acetanilid.

Powders taken in small quantities and at rare intervals are apparently harmless; but they never remove the cause of the trouble, and hence the discomfort soon returns with renewed force. Ordinarily, hygienic living will eliminate the source of the trouble, but if it does not, a physician should be consulted and medicine should be procured from him which will restore the deranged system to its normal healthy condition.

243. Other Deceptions. Nearly all patent medicines contain some alcohol, and in many, the quantity of alcohol is far in excess of that found in the strongest wines. Tonics and bitters advertised as a cure for spring fever and a worn-out system are scarcely more than cheap cocktails, as one writer has derisively called them, and the amount of alcohol in some widely advertised patent remedies is alarmingly large and almost equal to that of strong whisky.