The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-12-11

Contradictions Of the Medical Fraternity
Confusing 70 Laymen.

Confusing 70 Laymen.
The great antltuhereulosis crusade
now ii process o. organization through.
the world has already produeesl = aood
o. literature ior laymen, but there afs
20 many contradictions Ia Il that the
work l. bound TO be seriously hamper.
"a unless physicians come 10 a more
nearly unanimous opinion upon disputed
matters IN prevention and cure. fof
instance the layInan who i told that i'm.
progement takes place mostly Ia the
winter aud not IN the summer Is ma
tnrally bewlldercd ~ the almost nni
vefsal advice % 50 south IN the winter.
~ a. 10 have perpetual summer. Il Is
also well known that Ia the northern
mountains, like the Adifondaeks. where
snch excellent results are obtained, there
u a maximum Of cloudy days and bar
little sunshine at any time, particularly
IL winter. The patient must be aston
ishei then, 70 hear that nearly every
American text book asserts that un
renilnl 20 cure. Il has been asserted
that there i d maximum Of eases aud =
maximum 81 cures hi very rainy 81.
mates, snch a. our northwest eaast and
the northwest corner Of Europe. yet
almost every authority states that the
ideal climate should have no rainy days.
The cures obtained AZ North brothers
Island. IN the city, even Ia quite adj
tsnced cases, arr said to b. obtained IN
spite Of unlayoublc conditions. but the
laymnn will naturally ak why il IL
''ur 'avofahleH II Il cures 20 remarkably.
burton Tanning IN his work ON Tile
0pon-AIr Treatment Of Tuberculosis"
mentions the fact that even In England
The glare Of the sun isFefy powerful IN
producing headache, anoreNia, prostra.
ton and even fever, and that protection
from the summer sun i essential. II Is
rather bcwildering then TO the patient
20 be told BY the majority of physicians
that he must live ia the sunlight IN the
summer. DE-. John L. White Of Color.
ado Springs also SAYS lAlehives Of ply.
siologcal Therapy. October 1900 that
the coolest places must b. selected In
summer, avoiding dircct sunlight, and
that he has proved that the sun bath.
almost invariably raises the temperature
and others have reported adverse results
Of the sun bath. even hemorrhages, but
there are many who advocate Is nee
even 10 the naked body, and one New
York physician advises clothing which
transmits the light, 20 as TO have ; per-
pctual sun bath.
Every little while there are articles
published by men whose opinions can
not be ignored, stating that a moderate
amount Of alcohol j. beneficial in all
eases and a necessity when there Is fever.
Perhaps most physicians prescribe il, yet
the literature Of laymcn often states
that total abstinance Is essential in the
Treatment. Il j. also generally taught
that alcoholic indulgence il a pfedispos.
ing causativc factor. but the recent re-
port Of the Phipps institute SAYS that
alcohol neither prevents nor cures ia.
bcrculosis, 4 evident from the number Of
alcoholics who have come from treat
ment, and that Il does not strongly pre-
dispose TO the disease seems 70 stand
out prominently from the vast prepon
derance Of non.alcoholics among appli
cants for treatment" aud Il also states
that there u no evidence o. greater sus.
ccptibility IN the children Of alcoholics.
Laymcn might twist that into a proof
Of the old idea that total abstinence was
a predisposing cause. but the above re-
port wisely says that all extreme views
must be abandoned Even in selecting
his food the patient must choose be
tween the extremists who insist upon
process Of excessive feeding and this |
who advise low proteid diet. or follow
those who advocate merely 4 moderate !
amount Of food. Should a patient seek
another climate. he IS again bewildefed /
BY the contradictory advice, for he finds |
that about every place is advertised as
advantageous except his home, while |
there are many who advise him not to
leave home nc all.
Surely there is need of greater unifor
nifty OF advice, for the average layman |
is unable to sift it out and reject every
thing except the few essentials upon /
which there are no difference Of opin-
ion II is well to remember also that /
there is growing number of observa-
tions which seem 70 prove that what u
good for one type, either blonde or hru.
net, is not necessarily good for the oppos-
tie, but we have not collected sufficient /
data for good, safe conclusions, except |
on general principles There is then an
other ground for difference Of opinion,
for while few observers are reporting
adverse results in certain types in Ger
tain places, the mass Of the profession
is Of the opinion that complexion has no
influence upon the result. II must he
very disquieting upon a very blond pa.
pient, after reading that he can so any
where, from Sweden to Egypt, or from
New York to southern California, to
learn from some one else that to go to
a hot. sunny place is suicide. Perhaps
it would be better to omit all reference
to diputed points in literature intended
e., II ,,,,nn,, ,,nlnss thn two siflns cnit he |