Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-05-15
PHYSICIANS WISDOM.
WHAT CHICAGO DOCTORS SAY ABOUT
"soRERlNc OFF,"

90 Ne Pursued By the Victims OF Con.
armed Alcoholism = Various Methods
Recommended.
Is there one course better than another
for Q man to adopt In endeavoring to
break himself OF the drinking habits
The Mail has sought to obtain from
those who should be best informed q
practical answer to the above question A
number Of leading physicians have been
visited and given set Of questions put
TO each. The result Of these interviews
Is here presented.
"Ah." said Dr.. Charles Gilman Smith,
they never do taper off They can't.
The way to break of drinking is to stop.
and stop short. In stopping short don't
use bromides unless the reforming drlnksr
can't sleep Use the fluid extract of cocoa
leaves That's sort Of stimulant, not so
dangerous as alcohol. perhaps. although
its continued use impalrs the heart. II Is
hard to lay down a general course of medi.
cation, since every case is different. A
physician must prescribe for a patient
what he particularly needs. AS to diet. 1t
should be generous and rich-not fatty or
greasy. but Strengthening IL the patient
can't sleep let him take brisk walk DO
fore bedtime. and get himself tired out
Regular exercise In gymnasium you can
rarely get drunkard to take The man
who leaves of drinking had better stop
smoking. too Tobacco has q relaxing ef
feet on the system Stop both together
II win pay"
"Will man recover his old physical
and mental toner Well. If he leaves of
altogether he win practically be as good
man as he was before he began to drink"
]. Adams Allen, president of Rush Med
ical college. said bluffly. IF mans
going to stop he's got to stop. and
there's an end Of 1t. Don't let him
try to taper of. All nonsense. But
he ought never to try to quit with
out consulting physician. because
steady drinker Is sure to have some or
ganic trouble of the liver or kidneys which
whisky spurs up to action. and which be-
comes torpid when 1t is left He don't
want tonics and other stimulants to stay
him up. A good dose Of calomel to set
his liver going right il worth more than
them all. Yes. leave of tobacco. too It's
harder to break of than liquor drinking
Dr. NJ B. Delamater. the specialist in
nervous diseases. took q decidedly differ
ent view of the propositions He said
Whether the would be reformed drunk
ard shall taper of with light wines and
short rations of drinks depends entirely
on the individual He who Is anxious to
quit and is man of strong will and In
the habit OF controlling himself In other
ways. and Is able to Withstand the pain
and suffering. can do either way There
is less suffering tapering off than stopping
suddenly A man who is not accustomed
to controlling himself would either have
to be put under restraint or be obliged to
taper of
Ordinarily the man VIII begin to feel
better In three weeks time. The norma.
tone ought to be restored In . couple of
months unless some organic disease has
been developed. Some men can regain
everything they have lost. Others can
not. It depends on the man and 1t dc
pends on the amount Of drinking he has
indulged In. Those men of finer quail
ity of nervous temperament are those
who are most bound by liquor and to
whom the damage is most permanent
Coarse, brutal natures are not much az
fected. They recover as much as ever
they lost"
IAN habits OF life are hard to break
of. said Dr. e. a Pratt "A man who
wants to stop drinking must realize that
the thing can only be accomplished by
strong effort Of the mind. and as long as
be weakens his body by keeping up the
irritation with even diminished doses Of
alcohol, 20 long viii be slave to the
liquor habit II be wants to quit. why
quit. II lies more with the man himself
than with the drugs You cant reform q
man unless It is thorough reform.
Therefore, In such cases do not attemps
to drive out one bad habit with worse.
give weak solution Of cayenne pepper to
relieve the burning sensation, and ] give
him lots OF milk Milk is. Of all things,
the most necessary
'sThe great thing in breaking of habit
Of this kind II keeping busy Push thu
mind and body to the utmost activity 70
divert attention from the hankerings of
the old habit Concentrate the thought
on some hobby and ride Il at full speed
For mercy's sake don't think OF trying to
stop. Don't tell anybody how long II has
been since you tasted drop Don't con
gratulate yourself that you have gone
without liquor for six weeks Or six
months Dismiss the subject from your
mind as completely as II you had never
heard Of such thing as whisky and had
no curiosity 70 learn about Il. II q man