Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-07-05
PHYSICIANS WISDOM.
WHAT CHICAGO DOCTORS SAY ABOUT
"SOBERlNG OFF,"


frmed Alcoholism - Various Methods
Recommended.
Is there one course better than another
for a man to adopt in endeavoring to
break himself of the drinking habit?
The Mail has sought to obtain from
those who should be best informed a
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 off drinking is to stop,
and stop short. In stopping short don't
use bromides unless the reforming drink-r
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 impairs the heart. 1t 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, it
should be generous and rieh-not fatty or
greasy, but strengthening. If the patient
can't sleep let him take brisk walk be-
fore bedtime, and get himself tired out.
Regular exercise in a gymnasium you can
rarely get drunkard to take The man
who leaves off drinking had better stop
smoking, too. Tobacco has a relaxing eff
feet on the system. Stop both together
1t will pay
Twill man recover his old physical
and mental tone? Well if he leaves off
altogether he will practically be as good q
man as he was before he began to drink 1"
j. Adams Allen, president of Rush Med
ical college. said bluffiy: IF a mans
going to stop he's got to stop, and
there's an end of it. Don't let him
try to taper off. All nonsense. But
he ought never to try to quit with
out consulting a physician, because a
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 off tobacco, too. It's
harder to break off than liquor drinking "
DR.. N. B. Delamater, the specialist in
nervous diseases. took decidedly differ
ent view of tie propositions He said:
whether the would be reformed drunk
ard shall taper off 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 off.
Ordinarily the man will 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. 1t depends on the man and it de-
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 arc not much af-
fected. They recover as much as ever
they lost"
'All habits of life are hard to break
of" said DR.. E. e. Pratt. "a man who
wants to stop drinking must realize that
the thing can only be accomplished by q
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. If he wants to quit, why
quit. It lies more with the man himself
than with the drugs. You can't reform q
man unless it is thorough reform.
Therefore, in such cases do not attempt
to drive out one bad habit with worse. l
give a weak solution of cayenne pepper to
relieve the burning sensation, and I give
him lots of milk. Milk is, Of all things,
the most necessary.
''The great thing in breaking off a habit
Of this kind is keeping busy. Push the
mind and body to the utmost activity to
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 drop. Don't con-
gratulate yourself that you have gone
civ 81
months. Dismiss the subject from your
mind as completely as if you had never
heard of such thing as whisky, and had
no curiosity to learn about it. If q man
asked you how long it has been since you
stopped drinking change the subject of
without answering. The
mind has the greatest part of the task at
first. should certainly say that man
who wants to quit drinking should stop
smoking, too. .r--r-~'
"How long it will be before he begins
20 feel as good as he did before he stopped
thinking depends on how badly besotted
le is. The most rapid gain will be In the
:ase Of the man who has made up his
mind in dead sincerity that he has taken
lis last drink and that he will never look
Jack with longing on the old habit. Six
months ought to restore him to complete
lealth If he has no organic disease"
"The notion that quitting suddenly is
more dangerous or more difficult then ta-
,ering off is one of whisky's faliacies,"
aid Dr.. A. ]. Baxter. "Tapering off is
simply taking smaller doses of poison. A
'>--' "-->'+ quit taking poison too suddenly.