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COVID-19
PANDEMIC

mortality following either the influenza per se, or some of its char- answer my purpose; the more drugs I use the more patients will die;
acteristic sequelae. the more I don’t use the more will live.”
There is no question in our mind that we must look forward to see-
Dr. Bailey, of Germantown, PA: “Unlike the former speaker,
ing a decided increase in kidney and heart lesions, a marked increase somehow or other I am still holding on to the drugs. We will have
in tuberculosis and other complications – and how to become pre- cases of grippe this year. I have found out that I could more or less
pared to meet a new epidemic is a question that looms up before our tell when my patients are going to have pneumonia. Watch the pulse
vision in an importance – how to prevent, as far as possible, a new diminishing, and as soon as it is found, I throw my nitroglycerin;
influenza outbreak and spread – how to obtain the largest percentage the next, I watch the result of my treatment. I have an idea that the
of recoveries, following attacks of the disease – these are all pressing liver plays a very important part and I believe that that is where we
problems of the moment, to engage the serious thought of the best get a great deal of our poisons manufactured. When it comes on to
members of the professions; and now is the time for this task to the point where you have been able to check your pneumonia con-
begin, so that its better solution may be reached and preparedness ditions, you have easy sailing. This thing about keeping the patient
against what may await us in the future be the more assured.
cold – when your are cold you are dead, and when you are hot your
are alive; when you throw the windows open the cold winter air
PAPER
comes in and the patient gets cold. Put a thermometer in the room
Discussion opened by Dr. G.W. Bowles, of York, PA, as follows: and fresh air, but keep the temperature about 60 degrees.”
“There are one or two classes of influenza; one is gastro-intestinal
type. I am of the opinion that the influenza epidemic we have ex- D.A. Bethea, MD, of Terre Haute, Ind.: “I like the thoughts
perienced recently is only a certain intensified form of the regular brought out that all of us have brought out along these lines of
influenza. The best way that I could state for a patient’s treatment treatment. There is a doctor in my state who has as large a practice
is to treat the complications before they occur. Upon the first symp- as anybody in the state. He said that one reason why no more col-
tom, jump right on him as though he has pneumonia. After that the ored people die from this disease is becase they get plenty of air,
nervous type almost invariably recovers. During the whole epidemic because of the construction of their nose which enables them to
I only lost two patients. The most serious and the most fatal type is breathe more air than any other people. That might seem a little
the pulmonary type. After all, the secret of your success is, holding simple, but I have been thinking about it and I am inclined to believe
on to the patient until the ninth day.” there is something in it. The next point along the line of treatment.
My treatment is different from others, but I have gotten results. I
E.A. Carter, MD, of Buxton, Iowa: “First I wish to compliment don’t like the idea of quinine doses. Sometimes a blister does good.
the writer on the paper for the scope in writing and reading. I want No matter how old fashioned a remedy may be, get results.”
to take some issue with some of the things in the discussion. It was
my privilege to use vaccine both as a prophylactic agent and as a Dr. Bowser, of Richmond, VA: “I listened to the papers with a
curative; yet I believe one of the potent factors is absolute rest in great deal of pleasure. Have had cases of this kind last winter. This
bed. I could not agree with blistering the patient; for the cure would pneumonia-grippe was not characteristic of lobar pneumonia, it is
be almost as bad as the pain itself.” septicemia pneumonia. I don’t see that we have anything to blister
for. In Richmond, too, we had grippe last year; and in my work I
Dr. Boyle, of Maryland: “It was not the influenza that we con-
had some 600 cases; I had a charge of one of the pneumonia wards
tended with in the times past. I do not believe that it is the concensus – had a very good success with patients. In none of my wards was
of opinion that it was. As for digitalis, it would do the heart no good
the blister used. I was hoping that the writer would bring out the
at all. This blistering, of course, we could get rid of by using codeine idea of the septicemia grippe.”
sulphate; but if we make trouble ourselves we will kill out patient.”
Dr. Johnson, of South Carolina: “I wish to emphasize the vaccine
Dr. C.W. Childs, of Washington, DC: “I have been practicing med- part of it. In treating this disease many of the patients get sick from
icine about twenty-five years; I believe that influenza is an intensified pure nervousness. At the time I think you can do a good thing by
form of the old time grip, given the name of Spanish Influenza for using a little phophylactic vaccine.”
the purpose of making money. I had a large number of patients, and
not one of mine died, not because I was a mighty powerful doctor, Dr. Bracken closed the discussion as follows: “You can use a drug
but because my patients were too tough to die. You keep on treating for one patient, and use the same drug for another, and it just the
them; you can’t cure them, but nature will take care of the matter. same as if you have not given any medicine. Some times I use ice
Codeine is a powerful drug and seems to make you unconscious of pack, but not very often. If I had a very big strapping fellow I used
the pain. I believe my patients got well because I knew how to ‘don’t’. ice, because I thought he was big enough to stand it. Concerning
Don’t give the patient digitalis until you find out that the heart is flag- the septic variety of pneumonia which we find – some said we had
ging, and the patient will do well. Ice will do a world of good and a catarrhal form and some of the gastric form, but I used the symp-
keep that temperature down; keep the patients quiet; don’t give too tomatical treatment. I had 1,500 cases and lost 9.”
many drugs. I have tried them all, and about a dozen of them will

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