The Spanish Influenza in Missouri :: Journalism St. Louis, Missouri Health Essays

The Spanish Influenza in Missouri Reports of the Spanish Influenza continue to bombard us from St. Louis, Missouri, as inhabitants of that fine city take many precautions to safeguard themselves and their families against this incendiary malady currently sweeping our great nation. At a time of war when our country needs our strength the most it is important that we fight this Influenza head on, taking whatever actions necessary to eradicate it from our fine shores. Let us take a page from St. Louis's book on how to prevent this illness from spreading. Culling through the pages of this fine publication you may notice many advertisements for products meant to maintain the health of your loved ones. Things to help them look and feel their best. Instructions and products for ridding oneself of dandruff or bleaching one's freckles with lemon juice abound--helping you, dear readers, to be your best! Most importantly [there are] prescriptions for how to keep your family healthy, and to avoid catching the Spanish Influenza that has the very city of St. Louis in its fiery grips! One of the most common preventatives are powders or liquids meant to cleanse the bowels of impurities which leave your body tired and open to infection by this dastardly plague. Also for your little ones who do not enjoy the tastes of medicines are Cascarets, delicious candy-like drops that cure children of biliousness and sour stomach. As we all know, purging one's system of impurities is a medical miracle that has been long-held and used to restore the healt h of many from early times in western Europe. However, there are drawbacks to using medicines as a preventative against the Influenza epidemic. Why, just yesterday the Water Commissioner answered complaints from the citizens of St. Louis who complained that "the water tastes like medicine." The water, he explained, is not being treated in any different fashion, but that "an unusually large number of people are taking medicine and its lingering taste might be attributed by some to the water." By October 3, earlier this year influenza had been reported in 43 states. It was at this time that St. Louis's Health Society Head, Dr. Evans, urged any members of the community with ailments as minor as the common cold to cover their mouths upon sneezing, and to please cover their faces with a hankie when in public. The Spanish Influenza in Missouri :: Journalism St. Louis, Missouri Health Essays The Spanish Influenza in Missouri Reports of the Spanish Influenza continue to bombard us from St. Louis, Missouri, as inhabitants of that fine city take many precautions to safeguard themselves and their families against this incendiary malady currently sweeping our great nation. At a time of war when our country needs our strength the most it is important that we fight this Influenza head on, taking whatever actions necessary to eradicate it from our fine shores. Let us take a page from St. Louis's book on how to prevent this illness from spreading. Culling through the pages of this fine publication you may notice many advertisements for products meant to maintain the health of your loved ones. Things to help them look and feel their best. Instructions and products for ridding oneself of dandruff or bleaching one's freckles with lemon juice abound--helping you, dear readers, to be your best! Most importantly [there are] prescriptions for how to keep your family healthy, and to avoid catching the Spanish Influenza that has the very city of St. Louis in its fiery grips! One of the most common preventatives are powders or liquids meant to cleanse the bowels of impurities which leave your body tired and open to infection by this dastardly plague. Also for your little ones who do not enjoy the tastes of medicines are Cascarets, delicious candy-like drops that cure children of biliousness and sour stomach. As we all know, purging one's system of impurities is a medical miracle that has been long-held and used to restore the healt h of many from early times in western Europe. However, there are drawbacks to using medicines as a preventative against the Influenza epidemic. Why, just yesterday the Water Commissioner answered complaints from the citizens of St. Louis who complained that "the water tastes like medicine." The water, he explained, is not being treated in any different fashion, but that "an unusually large number of people are taking medicine and its lingering taste might be attributed by some to the water." By October 3, earlier this year influenza had been reported in 43 states. It was at this time that St. Louis's Health Society Head, Dr. Evans, urged any members of the community with ailments as minor as the common cold to cover their mouths upon sneezing, and to please cover their faces with a hankie when in public.