The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-04-23


Now it is becoming an excuse for
getting whiskey by the pint or quart
from the drug stores. The question
has been raised if prescribing liquor
is not, in some cases, getting it ''un-
der false pretense,' or at least a priv
ilege that is abused. This tendency,
it has been noticed, has been on the
increase within recent years.
In order to get at the facts in the
case, to learn definitely if the gen.
eral attitude of the medical profess
sion is to increase or decrease the use
of alcoholic liquors in treating dis
ease, and to establish a rough stand
ard, rule or guide showing the aver
age quantity of alcoholic liquor now
used by the best authorities on medi-
cine, the secretary of the State board
of health wrote to a number of the
best hospitals in the country, and to
all the physicians in the State who
have been officers in the State Medi-
cal Society during the last five years,
and asked them to give definite facts
as to the number of patients they
treated in year, together with the
total amount of liquor prescribed.
A great many answers were recelv-
ed. From these it was found that, for
total of 1S6,052 patients treated
during one year a total of COL gal
Ions of whiskey and brandy were
prescribed. This, reduced down,
proved to be an average of about
three-fourths of a tablespoonful per
patient during the entire year. This
result, from such a large number Of
cases from the practice of reputable
physicians and hospitals, can only be
construed as being an index as to
what constitutes good practice in re-
gard to the use of liquor as medicine.
From the replies received to the
letters of inquiry, two important
points were brought out:
"a A great many of the doctors
stated that they were using much less
LIQUOR now than they did from five
to 10 or Is years ago, and that, too,
patients are more successfully treat
ed than when more liquor was pre-
scribed.
(2) 1t could not but be noted that,
in general, doctors who had received
their degrees in medicine within the
last 10 years were prescribing great
deal less liquor than doctors who
graduated prior 20 that time. A great
many of the very best doctors OF the
younger set prescribe no liquor what
soever.
From these two points it appears
that unmistakably the tendency in
the best medical practice of the pre-
sent day is to decrease rather than
increase the quantity of liquor pre-
scribed.
One of the most striking features
of the whole matter is that while
the BEST medical practice both in
the State and in large hospitals out
side the State shows strong ten
dency to decrease the amount of
liquor prescribed, yet the actual
amount of liquor prescribed by the
profession as a whole is believed to
be largely increased during recent
years, and it will be noted that this
increase is coincident with the more
rigid enforcement of our prohibition
laws.
The replies to the questions sub
mitted were so interesting that we
cannot refrain from quoting the gist
of a few. Space forbids longer quo
tations, but these are typical:
II find it advisable to prescribe
whiskey to perhaps less than 10 pa
tients a year."-W. L. Dunn, NJ. D.,
Asheville.
During the year I have prescrlb-
ed no whiskey or brandy at ALL
James J. Philips, NJ. D., Tarboro.
with all of our practice, includ-
ing the hospital and our private
work, we do not advise an amount
exceeding one gallon a year. j. T.
Burrus, N. D., High Point.
'"The amount used in the institu-
tion for the year has been an aver
age of 20 1-3 ounces per patient.
This rather high average is due to the
quantity required by certain chronic
patients, and will be reduced this
year. ALBERT Anderson, NJ. D., su-
perintendent State Hospital for the
Insane, Raleigh.
"I do not use more than one drop
of spirits to the patient. F. r.
Harris, NJ. D., Henderson.
''I am sure that on my hospital SER
vices only two or three patients a
nv