The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-11-27
WHENAD0CTORIsILI.
HE PREsoRIBES FOR HIMSELF SOME
TIMES WITH SUCCESS.


TIMES WITH SUCCESS.
Health, Though They Often succumb to
Disease-sometimes They Call In spe-
ciaIist and Give Up to Him.
One side Of physicians character is sci 4
dom seen by his patients. That is when
the doctor becomes a patient, and In turn
has to have another physician to attend
him. This contingency never seems to occur
to the layman.
The doctor is always in good physical
condition when he makes his round of sick
calls. He goes where epidemics and con-
tagious diseases Of all sorts arc rife and If
he ever succumbs to them his former pa
tients are not apt to see him, so that to the
casual observer he appears to bear n
charmed life and to be beyond the reach of
any harm, barring perhaps railroad acct
dent or the collapse of government build.
ing. But this is not 50. The physician is
sick, not quite as often perhaps us the aver
age citizen, who knows less Of the rules Of
hygiene, but every doctor knows what it is
to have had some of his practitioners
under his care.
DIR. w. A. Hammond, in speaking of this
phase of the doctors life to n reporter yes
terday, said:
Yes, the physician is subject to sickness
as much as any other man. As rule he
makes a worse patient than Il layman, prin-
cipally, | suppose, from the fact that he
misses the moral support that is lent to the
layman from his ignorance Of the profess
sion. For instance, II you give a laymau
hypcdermic injection Of water and tell him
it is morphine, he will go to sleep almost
as quickly MS though he had taken the drug
into his system, willie n physician would
not take "A dose in that way, and when he
knew of the deception 1t would not have
any effect on him. Then, too, there are u
great many other ways in which the physi-
clan can morally impress and aid his lay
patients, but which fail when he comes to
deal with another doctor, who says to him
self oh, yes, have been through all that
myself and know just what it means
DO physicians as rule attend them
selves? Yes, should say that they do so
far as they can, rather than call in another
physician. And l don't know but what
they do as well or better in that line than
any one else could do for them. A doctor
Of course can understand his own symA
another person, and unless it is scpous
case he is likely to be able to treat them
successfully. When, however, the case gets
beyond his own handling, he calls in fell
low practitioner, and if he is wise puts
himself completely under the other doctors
charge and does as he is told. Whether he
does this gracefully or not depends entirely
on the man, and think that we have some
of the best as well as the worst specimens
Of humanity in the medical profession. The
really large minded men are pretty much
the same in whatever state You find them,
and the little contemplate fellows will he
| pctulant and irritable when sick Just as
any other patients.
"Onc thing that now sends n physician
to another physician for treatment when he
| is i'll more than anything else is the cutting
1 down of the medical field into specialtics,
| and II physician would be just rs likely to
4 have specialist to attend himself as to
have one for any other member of his fam.
/ lily.
~, for instance, il | had the neuralgia,
would not thank anybody to prescribe for
me, because it is a part Of my business to
/ know all about the nerves that have 10 DC
with that disease, bat ii needed nerve
cut to remedy the pain would go to the
best surgeon | could get and put myself ii
his hands | have known physicians, how
ever, TO perform some of the minor opera
tions ON themselves where there was neccs
sity for It, One man know anputattl tn,
first Joint Of his thumb after having Il
mashed in the door of the safe and nladt
n very good job Of it, and | would prohabl,
recall other Instances if stopped to thinl
of them.
"A doctor naturally feels an inclination
to treat himself SO far rs his particulu
field lies Now, would 20 TO an oculst q
Il specialist in some other lines, but in TIA
case of any nervous disease would be IN
Clinrd To treat myself until the case go
beyond me, Hnd then, from the nature q
nervous and mind affections, ! prubabl
would he more inclined than ever to con
tinue the treatment until my friends IL
tcrpascd to stop it. IL is characteristic
OF many nervous diseases that the patiru
is the only one who is not aware Of hi
ailt etizn.
The only Immunity that physician
haze from epidemic dis Hsts is that Willie
comes from supvllur knowledge Of I'll
can =es Of disease transmission and create
q osre in guarding themselves against it,
. MUSICIAN, for instance, would never haN
r tf.e cholera except through gross carrlrs
H. loT tll'tl 70 y aist'tN' nav N"H Wy AlHl
nitted only through swallowing the germ
and this can be aN0idcd by proper care AZ
CLEANLINESS, hut in typhus fever, which
i the most excessively contagious few
Il known, physicians are no more cXenI
iauu any one else, and great many of the
. die from 1t in every epidemic. 1t is pos.
bic nov, however in the advanced stage
muliscplic treatment, by proper care Al
Washing in Carbolc acid baths, for Il
II stefan and the nurse who are exposed
Jl els D sand a trt;er chance to escape
E;shluiHlu Post,