Arizona republican., 1903-11-16
TREATING TUBERCULOSIS.
Early Diagnosis Encourages Probabil
 ity of Relief and Cure.


 1 Whether tuberculosis can ever be cxterminated may still be a matter of | doubt but that it's prevalence can be | diminished to an unknown degree by | modern methods is already well ,estaf.- ! lished, but physicians on the one hand and the public on the other are not i doing all they can to further this | cause. Notwithstanding all that has | been accomplished by the pretty gen eral recognition on the part of the medical profession that there is some thing to he done in q case of tubercu- losiS. and notwithstanding the great benefit resulting from the associations for the relief and control of tubercG- | losis which is springing up every where( the work of which is done largely by laymen) physicians and the people still fail to appreciate the inn portance of early diagnosis and prompt action. It is well to make known slI the new aids for an early diagnosis. but what is especially need ed is some means of urging physicians and people to a more general appTe- citation of the importance of applying at once means of diagnosis already well known.
 It is my experience, and l think that Of all cOnsultants in such caseS that the infected patients have usually Leeu allowed to go on for months before any attempt at careful diagnosis has been made hoping against hope that the cough will disappear or the fever prove malarial. This arises sometimes from a lack of appreciation of early diag- nOsis and sometimes from the same re- luctance on the part of the physi-
 
 ed condition in perhaps an intimate friend as he would in his own person. This however. causes loss of time which may necessitate years instead of months of appropriate treatment. have seen such a case within a week, in which gentleman (abundantly able to submit to proper treatment. if the importance of it had been impress sd upon him in the beginning). had been allowed to remain at his business and treated for a cough for a whole year. never having been told that lIe had any pulmonary disease. He only applied to me after his strength Was so exhausted that he knew something must be the matter"
 If the physician delays, 1t is not sur prising that the patient should do th" same, and in some way the public should Ee thoroughly aroused to the importance of early diagnosis, and at the same time informed of the possi- bility and even probability of cure if the disease is detected early.
 While the medical press should con tinCe to urge this matter on the pro- fession, U seems to me that the lay press which has always done such good service iE the case of acute epidemics should Le called upon to lend It's forces to the effort to eradicate or at least the prevalence of this Very destructive disease. The press reaches thousands where bulletins issued hy boards of health reach hundreds. ana : it's services should be enlisted in urg- | ing upon all the importancr of seekin:; ! medical advice at once in case of q continued cough. Patients may show no signs of being really sick until long after the infection with pulmonary i; and yet the best time to eradicate the disease is before the sys- tenn is much dist Irbed by il, d quick i cure being often accomplished at this | time. This cannot he too strongly urG l ed on the profession by the medical !! journals and on the public l y the lay press.-Dr. Frederick l.. Knight in Medical Record.