It is said
that Alexander the Great narrowly escaped death from a
constrictive spasm, due to the fact that while in a copious sweat
he plunged into the river Cydnus. Tissot gives an instance of a
man dying at a fountain after a long draught on a hot day.
Hippocrates mentions a similar fact, and there are many modern
instances.
The ordinary effects of cold on the skin locally and the system
generally will not be mentioned here, except to add the remark of
Captain Wood that in Greenland, among his party, could be seen
ulcerations, blisters, and other painful lesions of the skin. In
Siberia the Russian soldiers cover their noses and ears with
greased paper to protect them against the cold. The Laplanders
and Samoiedes, to avoid the dermal lesions caused by cold
(possibly augmented by the friction of the wind and beating of
snow), anoint their skins with rancid fish oil, and are able to
endure temperatures as low as -40 degrees F. In the retreat of
the 10,000 Xenophon ordered all his soldiers to grease the parts
exposed to the air.
Effects of Working in Compressed Air.--According to a writer in
Cassier's Magazine, the highest working pressures recorded have
been close to 50 pounds per square inch, but with extreme care in
the selection of men, and corresponding care on the part of the
men, it is very probable that this limit may be considerably
exceeded.
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