How did Emporia respond to the flu epidemic of 1918?
Jan Huston, Special to The Gazette
Saturday, October 31, 2009
By Jan Huston
Special to The Gazette
1918 influenza
precautions
• Keep in mind that, like most contagious diseases, influenza is spread by contact.
• Avoid crowds as much as possible.
• When sneezing or coughing, place your handkerchief before your nose and mouth.
• Make sure you are properly clothed, in accordance with the varying changes in temperature, prevalent at this time of year.
• Fresh air is always good, and secure as much sleep as possible.
• Keep the digestive organs in good condition.
• Drink water freely.
• Avoid common drinking cups, common towels, and similar utensils.
• Wash your hands freely.
• Use a mild antiseptic, as a nose spray or as a mouth gargle.
• Consult family physician at first onset of symptoms of influenza.
When Emporia newspapers first began covering the Spanish influenza story on Oct. 10, 1918, county officials were ready with instructions such as these printed above. They are not materially different with instructions we receive today for fighting the flu.
Certainly handkerchiefs are no longer popular, and children today are taught to cough or sneeze into the elbow of their sleeves, not their hands or handkerchiefs. Today hand-washing is listed first, and immunizations are highly recommended.
Good advice in 1918 was to avoid fear and crowds. Do not become panic-stricken, the Emporia Times advised in November 1918. Instead, practice the three Cs — clean mouth, clean skin, and clean bowels.
The first two of the three Cs seem reasonable. In that time period it was also believed that the body needed to carry off poisons that accumulate within the body to ward off the influenza bacillus. A good liver regulator would help the victim to move the bowels, preferably one made of May-apple, leaves of aloe, root of jalap and easily purchased at any drug store called “Pleasant Purgative Pellets.” Doctors also recommended “Anuric Tablets” to flush the kidneys and control the aches and pains of flu. Large drinks of lemonade should accompany the anuric tablets, they recommended in 1918.
Simple foods such as broths, milk, buttermilk and ice cream were urged to keep up the patient’s strength and vitality. Broths are still a staple advice of doctors, but milk products are generally not prescribed.
After the attack of the flu had passed, generally in three to seven days, the system should be built up with iron tablets to help replenish the blood and an herbal tonic, Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery, people of 1918 were advised. We smile today, wondering what Dr. Pierce’s herbal tonic might have contained, but this concoction made from roots and barks of forest trees might be similar to some of the herbal remedies found in health food stores in our time.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, 1918, all schools, churches, movie theatres and public gatherings were closed to prohibit the spread of the flu. The Kansas State Board of Health had advised the closings because of reports of between 500 and 600 new cases of the flu each day.
Emporia Mayor H.B. Morse and city physician Dr. John Parrington, along with a committee made up of William Allen White, Chief Ricker, Rev. Aue, W.C. Harris, and Charles McCarthy, issued closing orders for all public buildings on Nov. 28 as the epidemic raged on.
They projected that all buildings would remain closed until Jan. 1. Nearly every part of the country was affected, and the epidemic, probably spread through the movement of soldiers for World War I, was worldwide.
Parrington was notified that Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, in command at Camp Funston at Fort Riley, would grant no furloughs to soldiers wishing to visit home. All cases of influenza were isolated, and anyone exposed was restricted from attending public places for at least five days.
Public burials where death occurred from communicable diseases were prohibited, although this regulation was waived in cases where the body had been sent to the state from out of state, unaccompanied by relatives or friends. The casket was not to be opened.
Parrington received a bulletin on Spanish influenza that stated that the disease resembled a “cold” accompanied by fever, pains in the head, eyes, ears, back or other parts of the body, along with severe sickness. Symptoms generally disappeared after three to five days with the patient rapidly recovering.
Some patients, however, did develop pneumonia, inflammation of the ear or meningitis, any of which could be fatal. Patients generally felt sick quite suddenly, complaining of dizziness and fever rising to between 100 and 104 degrees. Deaths, however, generally arose from other complications
In Emporia, the Country Club was available for anyone suffering from the disease. Sister Louise of St. Mary’s Hospital was in charge of the patients, and the Red Cross furnished her with assistants. People who did not want their homes quarantined could be treated at the Country Club.
Those who roomed in the homes of others and did not want to inconvenience their landlords were assured that they would receive the best of care and were welcomed at the emergency hospital. Men were being cared for on the lower floor and women upstairs. Otherwise, homes where the flu was reported were quarantined and those living there were not allowed to leave.
Every store was policed to keep down customers. Regular store closings of 9 p.m. on Saturday nights were changed to 6 p.m. while the influenza ban was in effect. Only the state Normal School (now Emporia State University) was not closed as Dr. Crumbine of the state board of health did not consider the situation serious enough to warrant closing. In most instances, the influenza was a light form, but it was increasing all over the state.
The Emporia Times reported on Oct. 21, 1918, that demand for Vick’s Vaporub had wiped out the stocks in stores all over the country. Druggists were asked to order small quantities of not more than three dozen jars. Because so many of the salesmen were serving in the armed forces, the rush on the product had overwhelmed the company.
As an aid to their customers, though, druggists could receive booklets on Spanish influenza giving the latest information about the disease: history, symptoms, treatment, and particularly the use of Vick’s Vaporub as an external application. Customers reported applying the rub to the throat and chest and covering it with hot flannel cloths. They also melted a little in a spoon and inhaled the vapors. Sometimes patients melted it in a tea-kettle, slowly boiling and inhaling the steam.
The Public Health Service had recommended that the nose and throat be kept coated with some oily substance; hence, Vick’s Vaporub was excellent. Just a little could be put up the nostrils from time to time and snuffed well back into the air passages.
A second temporary hospital was established on the second floor of the Masonic Temple by the Emporia Red Cross on Nov. 25. Two women, Mrs. C.A. Ballweg and Miss Ruth Wooster, were put in charge of finding help for the kitchen, and women were urged to volunteer if even for only two or three hours a day. In this building, the library in the southwest corner of the second floor was used as a women’s ward, and men were cared for in the dining room.
Patients were encouraged to use the West Fifth Street entrance to the building that was located at 424 Merchant St., just as it is today. This building was equipped to care for 25 patients with Mrs. Rose Wright, public school nurse, in charge with several nurses assisting her. The total number of cases quarantined during the week ending Nov. 28 was 409. Thirty-one new cases were reported the next day.
By Dec. 5, 1918, quarantine regulations were standardized by the State Board of Health. Parrington, county health officer, stated that the state regulations were essentially the same as those being enforced in Emporia. All cases must be reported within 24 hours, the house must be placarded, and all members of the residence must remain on the premises. Wage-earners could be exempted if the patient was isolated in a room by himself, the wage-earner remained out of the sick room and had written permission from the doctor to leave the premises. Patients were to be strictly isolated, seeing no one except the necessary nurse or attendant. No one else was permitted to enter the residence.
Nurses or nursing attendants were given instructions provided by the Red Cross and had to be given permission to enter by the physician. The quarantine lasted five days after the patient’s temperature had returned to normal 98.6 degrees. The house should then be thoroughly sunned and aired. Fumigation was not considered to be helpful.
The emergency flu hospital at the Masonic Temple was to be closed Dec. 19, the Emporia Times stated. Incidences of flu cases were declining so that other area hospitals could take care of patients.
Dr. Frank Foncannon had received vaccine from the Mayo Clinic to vaccinate residents against both influenza and pneumonia, and the Red Cross administered the vaccine free of cost. Although it was not guaranteed to secure immunity from this strain of the disease, it was used as an experiment and would do persons no harm. Those taking the vaccine were to report their condition and whether or not they contracted the flu.
Seventy-six influenza patients, including 25 men and 51 women and children, were cared for in the Red Cross emergency hospital in the Masonic building. Opened Nov. 25 and closed Dec. 19, this number compared to 112 patients cared for in the first emergency hospital at the Country Club that had been open from Oct. 7 to Nov. 14.
The emergency hospital and all bedding were fumigated and returned to owners. A resolution was passed commending the Nursing Service Committee for its efficient work, and thanks were extended to the many volunteers who had worked during the epidemic. Wright, the nursing supervisor at the emergency hospital as well as the school nurse, continued to offer vaccinations from her office in the high school.
The influenza ban was lifted and school resumed Jan. 2, 1919, after being closed for approximately eight weeks. High school students made up some work by correspondence (mailing in assignments), but grade school students were very far behind in their work. Schools would not end at the same time for the school year.
Wright looked over all pupils as they entered school Monday morning, and those who had flu symptoms were immediately sent home. All classrooms had been thoroughly ventilated and the buildings sanitized.
Because Newman Regional Health had not yet been built in 1918, the community took care of its epidemic in the most efficient way it could, taking care not to compromise with contagion the only hospital in town at the time, St. Mary’s Hospital, located near Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Epidemics of this disease have occurred in the United States since 1647.
This year we see that most of the advice given today is not very different from that given in 1918 — go home and stay home if you are sick. Immunize yourself before the season starts. Wash hands frequently!
create (anonymous) says...
I wonder what it would take to make people understand the best advice of all -- STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK.
I have been to several places in the past week where people were coughing, and NOT into their sleeve either. The coughs sounded pretty bad to me.
Here's another thing I've seen time and time again, most often during the flu and colds season. Spit!
Why do people spit on sidewalks? Disgusting!!! If you don't see it in time, you step in it and take that bacteria to your car and eventually to your house. Damn!
Quit spitting on the sidewalks!!!
October 31, 2009 at 9:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
4thgenEmporian (anonymous) says...
The difference is "advise" versus "quarantine." It appears that, on may topics, people acted more intelligently in 1918 than today.
October 31, 2009 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
It is hard to know whether the cough you're hearing is symptomatic of illness or allergy this time of year and that unknown makes it scary. In my church's nursery, we have several children who have had chronically runny noses and wet coughs for several weeks. We do check with the parents (who are good at letting us know anyway) as to how long this has been, what other symptoms have been checked for, if they've seen a doctor and what treatment, if any. They are usually very observant of these symptoms for three or four days prior to attending on Sundays and have checked for other symptoms, finding none. We remain vigilant with tissues and hand sanitizer (on the workers only, wash child's hands with soap and water if necessary) in between nose blows and regular hand washing. We deal with this every year as allergy season and flu season overlap. This year, the overlap is by a much larger margin, but we know what to do.
I myself cough non-stop every morning from August to March with the cough usually lessening in the afternoons. Every time I get sick, the cough is magnified for many weeks before it calms back down, but the illness can be gone for six to eight weeks before my lungs recover. I hope the people you're around, create, have paid attention and made no assumptions about a new cough or ignoring new symptoms and are being hygienic in their covering practices.
October 31, 2009 at noon ( permalink | suggest removal )
marymoran (anonymous) says...
My child came home from school saying that they learned to cough and sneeze into their elbow with Germy Wormie, and I was totally taken aback. I always covered with my hands. But I went to the website and now I get it, hands touch, elbows don't!! Kids can touch 300 surfaces in 1/2 hour and they hate to wash their hands. There is also a DVD that teaches them in a fun way the elbow cough, as well as other necessary hygiene habits.
November 1, 2009 at 1:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I don't remember all the details.....and didn't bother to look it up.....But there is a widely-held theory that the 1918 pandemic originated right next door to us at Fort Riley,Kansas.....and was set loose by the burning of large quantities of horse manure from cavalry horses there at the time.
November 1, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
callalily (anonymous) says...
It's pretty impossible for school children to avoid crowds, so closing the schools & not allowing public gatherings are very important measures to consider.
The comment directing people to a website to educate kids about how to learn about how to cough into their elbow is SPAM--should be removed.
November 1, 2009 at 9:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
So if they aren't supposed to cough into their hands or elbows, where are they supposed to cough???
November 1, 2009 at 2:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )