Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-04-28
z PHYSICIANS WISDOM.
WHAT CHICAGO DOCTORS GAY ABOUT
"soeeRiNo OFF"

A Newspapes Asks for the Best Courss
to Ne Pursued By the victims es css.
srned Alcoholism = Various MstAoas
Recommended.
II there ono course better than another
Tor . man 10 adopt In sndeavoring 70
break himself Of the drinking habits
The Mall has sought 10 obtain from
those who should b best Informed .
practical answer 70 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,
"tbey never do taper on They can't.
The way TO break Oh drinking b 70 stop,
and stop short. In stopping short don't
use bromides unless the reforming drinksr
can't sleep. Use the fuld extract Of Cocoa
leaves. That's SOFT Of stimulant, not 10
dangerous a. alcohol. perhaps. although
Its continued use impairs the heart. Mis
hard TO lay down general course Of medi.
cation, since severy case 10 different. A
physician must prescribe for . patient
what be particularly needs. A to diet, it
should be generous and rich-not fatty or
greasy. but strengthening II the patient
can't sleep let him take brisk walk bo-
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 . relaxing ef.
feet on tho system. Stop both together.
II will pay
"Will man recover his old physical
and mental tonef Well, II he leaves of
altogether he will practically be - good
man as he was before he began to drink"
J. Adams Allen, president Of Rush Med.
ical college. said blufly: IF Q mans
going to stop he's got to stop. and
there's an end Of It. Don't let him
try to taper of. All nonsense. But
he ought never to try to quit with.
out consulting q physician. because q
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 It 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 Is worth more than
them all. Yes, leave of tobacco, too. It's
harder to break of than liquor drinking"
DR.. N. D. Delamater. the specialist in
nervous diseases. took . 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 of than stopping
suddenly. A man who Is not accustomed
to controlling himself would either have
to be put under restraint or bo obliged to
taper of.
Ordinarily the man viii begin to feel
better In three weeks time. The norma!
tone ought to be restored In Q couple Of
months unless some organic disease has
been developed Some men can regain
everything they have lost. Others can
not. 1t depends on the man and It 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 A.
fected. They recover as much as ever
they lost"
"All habits of life are hard to break
off," said DR.. e. IL 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
he weakens his body by keeping up the
irritation with even diminished doses Of
alcohol. so long will be slave to the
liquor habit. II he wants to quit, why
quit. 1t lies more with the man himself
than with the drugs. You can't reform a
man unless 1t is thorough reform.
Therefore, In such cases do not attempt
to drive out one bad habit with worse. I
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.
"The great thing In breaking of habit
Of this kind Is keeping busy. Push the
mind and body to the utmost activity 10
divert attention from the hankerings of
the old habit. Concentrate the thought
on some hobby and ride it at full speed
For mercy's sake don't think'of trying to
stop. Don't tell anybody how long it has
been since you tasted q 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 to learn about It. II man
asked you how long It has been since you,
stopped drinking change the subject OF
conversation without answering. The
mind has the greatest part of the task ut
first. should certainly say that man
who wants to quit drinking should stop
smoking. too.
"How long It will be before he begins
to feel as good as he did before he stopped
drinking depends on how badly besotted
he Is. The most rapid gain will be in the
case Of the man who has made up his
mind In dead sincerity that he has taken
his last drink and that he will never look
back with longing on the old habit. Six
months ought TO restore him to complete
health II he has no organic disease"
"The notion that quitting suddenly Is
more dangerous or more difficult than ta-
pering of Is one of whisky's fallacies,"
said Dr. A. J. Baxter "Tapering of Is
simply taking smaller doses Of poison. A
man can't quit taking poison too suddenly.
As for bromdes and all that sort of thing,
II his physician finds he needs bromides
let him prescribe them, but II they are
needed It will not be because the man has
quit drinking entirely. but because liquor
has undermined his health and made
tonics necessary to pull nature through In
her efforts to restore what has been lost.
No man on the top Of earth can say how
long 1t will take to make q man well
again. Mail
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