Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-05-02
THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN.
An Earnest and Able Plea for the Provor
ton OF Diseaae.

He should have constant opportuni-
ty to know just what is the physical
condition of each member of the FAM
lily in the absence OF any manifest ev.
idence of disease. To this end period
ical examinations should be made Of
such a character as to reveal any
lurking morbid tendency without
waiting for its development into
actual disease. There should be no
such thing as a discoverable affec-
ton remaining undiscovered. Death
from mnsuspected heart or kidney dis
ease, for example, should cease to be
possible. There should be no more
histories like the following, now so
frequently repeated:
A person supposed to be in good
health is Fastening along the street.
perhaps hurrying to catch train.
All at once he is seen to stagger and
fall. Passers by rush to his as
sistance, but he gasps q few times,
and, before any aid can be rendered,
he is dead. An autopsy reveals that
he had fatty degeneration of the
heart, and the extra demand made
upon the heart by the unusual exer-
ton was more than it's enfeebled walls
could respond to. He was not aware
of the existence of this condition, but
if his doctor had merely laid his finger
on his pulse his suspicion would have
been aroused, and listening to the
heart would Immediately have con-
firmed it BY proper treatment and
the avoidance of severe exertion tho
catastrophe might have been averted
for many years, and the usual limit of
life might perhaps have been at
tanned.
Or again, gentleman who has
thought himself quite well goes as
usual in the morning to his place of
business. A few hours later he is
brought home in a carriage in a state
of Inconsistencies. In spite of the
most prompt and judicious treatment
he does not recover from his coma. On
the contrary, commissions set in, and
in the course of few hours he dies.
Unknown to him or to his family he
has been suffering from Bright's dis
ease, the symptoms being latent up to
the last moment. Yet a very simple
examination would have revealed to
his doctor the actual condition of af-
fairs, and by proper care and proper
treatment the fatal termination might
hovo Ioap ol,pocf ;pdof p;<al,, 1oforroI
The records of examinations by the
physicians OF life insurance companies
show numerous instances in which
very serious disease exists without be-
ing suspected either by the patient or
his friends. This fact, in addition to
the frequency of cases such as those
described above, is enough to show
the extreme Importance of a system by
which the actual condition of persons
not consciously i'll should be periodi-
cally Investigated.
In view of this it should be part of
the duty of the family physician to
make thorough physical examina-
ton of every member of the family at
least twice year, and in the case of
a feeble or delicate person at much
shorter intervals. The results of these
examinations should be fully recorded,
and the record kept in possession of
the doctor, to be transmitted to his sue
cessor. A record of this kind would
possess immense value, not only for
the persons Immediately interested,
but also for their posterity. 1t is by
knowing the vital history of the par
ents that we know what to expect in
the children. Heredity is an influence
which it is difficult to estimate, for the
reason that the absence of records
prevents our tracing it backward in
the family history. Yet we know that
this influence may shape the physical
destiny of generations to come. DIR.
Holmes has said that the proper time
to begin the treatment of some dis
eases is hundred years before the
birth of the patient. He might have
added that the treatment sometimes
years after his death.
But the opportunity Afforded to the
family physician to ward off injurious
influences from those under his care
might be extended much farther. 1t
should be within his province to indi-
cate what occupations were suitable to
given youth, and what, in the inter-
ests of his health, should be avoided.
He should be able to prevent a feeble,
ill-nourished, narrow-chested lad being
put behind desk in a counting-room,
where the tendency to pulmonary dis
ease already existing would certainly
be developed. He should have such a
voice in the selection of boarding
schools as would prevent the children
being sent to institutions in unhealth-
full localities, or in which there was
danger from defective sanitary pre-
cautions. In the selection Of a new
dwelling, and even in choosing . sum.
mer resort, his judgment rs to the