[Newspaper]
Publication: The Los Angeles Herald
Los Angeles, CA, United States
vol. 25, no. 182, p. 5, col. 2
INSULATES HIS BED
How a Baltimore Man Gets the Better of His Rheumatism
A novel theory about the prevention of rheumatism and neuralgia has been practiced with success by Charles F. Hanna, auditor of the custom house. Mr. Hanna has long been Interested in writings on medical subjects, and through his brother-in-law, who is a well-known physician in another state, he has been enabled to keep pace with the advance of medical science as recorded in technical Journals.
About fifteen years ago Mr. Hanna was struck by the suggestion of Dr. Brown-Sequard of Paris that rheumatism, neuralgia and kindred complaints were caused by lack of electricity in the body. The physician argued that during sleep, when vitality is relaxed, electricity ordinarily in the body flows off through surrounding objects to the earth. When the sleeper wakes with twinges of pain in his joints and nerves he suffers until the natural supply of electricity is regained from the air.
The remedy suggested for this was to insulate the legs of the bed and thus retain In the sleeper's body all the electricity he had accumulated during the day.
To read was to act with Mr. Hanna, who had long been a sufferer from rheumatism and also from sleeplessness, as the slightest sound aroused him. He secured four glass cups, such as are used on the desks of money counters to hold sponges for moistening the fingers. A cup was placed under each leg of his bed, and that night Mr. Hanna slept soundly. Not only that, but he arose the next morning without a vestige of pain in his body. Never since has he been without the four little insulators, always taking them along when he has occasion to use a strange bed, first placing the bed out from the wall, so that It is not In contact with anything.
Many of Mr. Hanna's friends have tried his prescription with gratifying results, and the relief of painful symptoms from which they previously suffered.
A young man, athletic and full of life, who was visiting the family at one time, was put into one of the Insulated beds, with the result that he tossed and tumbled, but was unable to sleep soundly. The following night the insulators were removed and the young man slept soundly. The third night the insulators were put back, and again the young man could not sleep. After that Mr. Hanna concluded that perhaps too much electricity could be stored up in the body sometimes.—Baltimore Sun.
