Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-04-10
FOOD VS.. MEDICINE.
IMPORTANCE OF piETETlcS IN THE
TREATMENT OF DISEASE.

New Order Of Things Among Medical
fecsed without Dragging ard Dosing.
Ignorance Of the Peopls.
In the treatment OF many diseases drugs
are, Of course, Indispensable, but, as
rule, no less important, II not more inn
portant, are the hygienic and supporting
measures These relate to pure air, tenn
perature, diet, drinks, cleanliness, exer-
else, rest, sleep, etc. As their importance
have been better understood, the depend
enee upon drugs has lessened, and today
the intelligent physician may be known
by the small amount Of medicine which
he prescribes and by the large amount Of
instruction he gives relative TO the nature
OF the disease and the personal conduct Of
the patient. The people as a whole are
slow TO accept this new order Of things, so
different from that In the times Of their
fathers. Physicians are obstructed, and
their efforts are, too, sometimes defeated
by the ignorance Of those in whose behalf
they labor.
Only the most intelligent classes Of to-
day are even beginning to realize that too
much faith has been put in medicine. The
other classes still feel that the paramount
duty Of the physician is the selection and
administration Of drugs. Enlightenment
among them must necessarily be slow.
They must acquire better knowledge OF
disease in general, and appreciate the fact
that the intrinsic tendency Of many dis
eases is TO recovery, and that drueging Is
not always necessary even in those which
were formerly supposed TO tend to a fatal
result unless very active measures were
employed Undoubtedly honorable ply
sicians assist all they can In the general
education OF people on this vital subject
Yet they are so hampered by the general
confidence in effete theories and the
prevalence Of popular fallacies, which
threaten to exist until the end OF time,
they can do but little compared to what
they might do were the conditions favor
able-if the people did not resist enlighten-
ment. Let a physician be called to
patient suffering from an affection that is
sure to end in recovery II left alone. He
gives proper instructions as to ventilation,
temperature, diet, etc, and leaves the
cure % nature A very few people would
be content with such advice; more would
feel that the money paid for it had actually
been thrown away, and no inconsiderable
number would insist upon sending for
another physician, believing that in all
cases Of sickness medicine alone eau in
sure recovery.
Such notions do people entertain, and so
ignorant are they generally, doctors really
cannot afford to be perfectly candid, for
I'm many families honesty Is at a discount,
and there IS penalty fixed for the same.
It is true that II a physician, every time
he made Il call, were to remain with the
patient an hour or more and deliver
medical lecture, occasionally one would be
encountered who could appreciate such
an effort and understand the subject dis
cussed On the majority of patients,
however, it would fall fat. Again, there
is the mental influence to consider Pa
tents who have such steadfast faith in
medicine, as n rule really do better if some
simple, although absolutely inert mixture
il given them. SO it will be seen that as
public instructor, the physician who
ought and willingly would do much, can
can 40 but comparatively little, and his
sphere is almost limited 10 the most intel
ligeut clssses. As consequence Of this
condition Of things, he is, in certain fani-
lies, obliged to give something in the way
of medicine, even If he feels that the same
IS not absolutely needed.
That people are so grossly ignorant on
the most vital of subjects is no fault Of
the reputable physician. 1t is purely their
own They not only do not try to learn,
but they actually resist enlightenment.
But we have wandered from our subject.
II was our purpose to point ont some OF
the valuable remedial effects which result
from notifications of diet, and the judi
ciOus increase or dminutiOn in the
quantity of food, in not a few affections
special forms Of diet are all that is re-
CURED to effect cure. Take, for in
stance. disorder of the organs of diges-
ton, such as dyspepsia. II person suf
fering from that has forttude, and can
practice self-denial, he may, in nearly all
instances, cure himself il he properly Sc
lccts and restricts his diet. But few care
TO make the effort, or at least to persist
in it long enough. 1t is easier and far
more agreeable for them to take medi-
cine, and SO they go on eating and dosing
until the disease becomes chronic, for
rarely can it be cured by drugs alone.
Diabetes is disease which only can be
controlled by restriction to a special form
Of dict A cure is even possible but the
remedy lies with the patient No medical
agent has yet been discovered which can
stay the disease. There are some which
assist recovery when the diet is properly
i'Nti ''"' INV ivy NV ''"i Ps,l"ti'ei9
vnueless unless that is done While in
some diseases the treatment demands
modification in diet and diminution in
quantity. there are many in which judi
cious increase Is necessary. In iutamma-
tory conditions OF all kinds in which tie
starvation treatment was formerly en-
poyvd, the general principle now recog
nized is to encourage and maintain
healthy conditlohof the bloof by nourish-
ment II sufficient food is gwen, the