New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-05-01

to produce serious inflammation And 80 Il goes
through Long list OF diseases that the Takers
favor.
Sometimes the malingerers 90 a little too far and
in attempting to fool the doctors kill themselves
The case Is cited OF a man who swallowed a cork
full Of pins to produce hemoptysis, and died from
puncturs OF the carotid A sailor who nnads an
ulcer in his leg with acid pushed copper coin
within to keep It He kept his bed IN the hos
pital but necrosis set in and his leg had to be
amputatsd Eyes frequently blinded by the
use OF alum 70 bring about inflammation
The methods used to expose malingerers, once
suspicion is aroused. often most simple. The
use Of ether sometimes brings out the desired
proof. Aphasia is disproved by patients talking
In the excitement stage. Pretended blindness IN
one eye has been exposed by bandaging the sound
eye and then holding out whskey, which Is eager
ly accepted when the patient Is partially out OF
the influence OF the anestheue. A bad case OF
stammering was cured by Withholding food until
the patient asked for IL properly.
In discussing malngering before the New-York
Post-Graduate Clinical Society recently DR.. J.
Seymour Emans cited a number OF amusing in
stances. colored soldier feigned epilepsy. I'VE
wiz have to throw you overheard II you have
other attack" an officer said to him. I'VE have
no use for a soldier who throws fits" The man
was so frightened that he had no more fts An
English soldier fell his back and was supposed
to have hemiplegia- In the hospital he stood the
cautery and six setOns IN the back The surgeon
enough and sneaked back to quarters
Dr. Emans told OF a soldier who feigned insanity
and sat for hours daily with pole fishing on dry
ground Finally he was discharged from the army
and when asked what he had been fishing for ad
mttted frankly, My discharge papers,
One OF the most remarkable cases which the
Post-Graduate Hospital had was that OF a girl
or seventeen who was admitted to the hospital
last August Her temperature was erratic that
II finally came to be considered a Joke II would
jump from normal to los without apparent cause
She had been In the hospital sixty-sevsn DAYS
when patient In the ward told the house pbv
stefan that the girl frequently took the therrnorn
eter from her mouth and shook It, For a wal, .
nurse stood by her during the taking OF her tenn
perature and II remained normal After the nurse.
discontinued watching neighboring patient was
told to watch. She saw the girl take the thermom-
eter from her mouth and give It a quick shake up
She was soon discharged.
This was clearly the case OF a neurotic nsr,o,
She discovered the Thermometer trick ana II
pleased her to puzzle the doctors and make herseIs
an object OF interest Then, too life was much
pleasanter In the bright. clean hospital ward than
at home where she was one OF ten living In four
rooms and had to work hard
Other means OF raising the mercury have bsen
tried with more or less success in other hospitals
one woman became Jealous because the woman :,
the next cot had the higher temperature To rst
ahead IN this strange rivalry she put her ther
mometer In "a japanese warmer which she had
concealed in the bed. The reading showed a tenn
peratnre OF 1H degrees which was SO beyond rea
son that the fraud was detected at once. stu an
other woman developed remarkable Temperature
oy wrapping the thermometer IN a silk handLar-
onler and Inspiring through the nose and expiring
through the mouth '"a
Professor Thurston G. Lusk tells OF a most ax
cepuonai case OF suffering endured by a girl ~
nineteen who did not want to work and helm SIM
port her family. She first appeared at a disna1-
saTy with lesion on one leg resembling a burn
soon other LESSONS appeared some OF which show,
evidence or failing, as II too much acid bad 49,
apphed. The case was shown at several r7a5Ioa1
societies and pronounced OF malfnrerinq
But the girl was willing to undergo sim sra,+a-
SUFFERING TO attain her lazy desire. She annlts5
hitre acid to her left forehnger until gangrene ana
mummireation set in. Finally the finger had - =.
aInputated- She has since undergone three or Sor
aodomlnal operations and is now planning for a.
otheF She will talk for hours about her 'trorb1..
ana enjoys much misplaced sympathy.
An army major who spent several wears 4, ~
Fhihpplnes as regimental surgeon and who A. -.
liVhs IN New York told a Tribune reporter =, ~
army method OF dealing with malingerers
Il Is an undoubted fact that thera a.. -
cases OF ualngering among soldiers ara 80.