The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1903-02-25
WALKING APPENDICITIS.
A New Variety Of the Disease
which Demans Quick
" Attention.
w aiking appendicitis,

0ASiO ouOh o NiSCoSO' iOP"S~N
Washington physician this morn
ing to a Star mans query. yes,
it may be called such, just as ty-
pheid fever in certain stages is
sometimes chilled walking ty-
pBold." will tell you about it.
"a young man came to me re-
tbntly complaining of a pain in
NWh(right side. He had, he said,
felt the pain with variations of in
tensity or relief for about 10 days,
and thought he had hurt himself
lifting or exercising. The pain
had developed rapidly, he SAID,
within the "a hours preceding his
visit to me. An examination show
ed that what he thought to be
pain in the right side was an at
tack of appendicitis which was
swiftly approaching the highly in
hammatory stage, and he would
soon have been in a dangerous con-
dition.
"He was sent at once home and
put to bed, proper medical treat
Eent given and in week or SO he
was out. Had he remained on his
feet "a hours longer his getting
out would have been another mat
Ter, and an operation might have
been necessary.
1.-The danger in the cases of all
abdominal pains is this: Patients
keep on their feet supposing the
pain to be merely of the ordinary
kind in that region. This has
often proved fatal error. On the
other Aand, l have known of cases
of ACUTE appendicitis to develop
with great swiftness within six
hours after the pain was first felt,
the patient having the attending
fever and high pulse.
"The case of the patient in ques-
ion was one of slow development,
and may be called walking
appendicitis / have had these
cases where men who have persist
ed in keeping on their feet came tC
me in such condition that they
were taken from the Office to the
hospital, or home, as the case may
be, where an operation alone saved
life.
'.One of the great precautionary
hinM about appendicitis is that NJ
pain in the abdominal region
should be taken for granted. WheI
on ones feet the muscles and in
testlnes are more or less rigid anC
the muscles are constantly brough
into play; when in bed in recum
bent position they become relaxed
and, if proper treatment be quick
ly applied the infama tion is gen
orally susceptible of control. A
the first intimation of these pain
90 at once to bed and send for
physician, it may mean the savini
lof your life. =,
"One,of the principal causes o
T-ppehdicitis is cold, and not fror
Aeds, etc, as is commonly sup
posed by the public The ap
proach of appendicitis is condi
ton frequently mistaken by tn
subject for about everything else
from ordinary stomach ache to
stitch in the side. There is n
disease to which the axiom "a
ounce of prevention is worth
pound of cure so aptly applies a
apendicitis. Everything depend
upon getting at it in its initiator
stage.
"Whlle the danger of an opera
ton for appendicitis has bee
largely reduced under the triumph
of modern surgery, the possibili
ties of an operation are Target
avoided by the patient getting t
the doctor before the surgeon mus
be called to get at him. Too muc
stress cannot be laid upon TIL
intact. Another reason why opert
I 'tions for appendicitis are so FRI
auent is because business men an
Others do not feel that they ca
z spare the time to recuperat
thoroughly, relapse sets in, an
ten that has been done toward r
covery is undone in the haste
get out; don't try to "hurry re
y, coysry.' "-Washingten Star