Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-12-20
DOCr0Rs OF wINNEsHTEK.
Discussed Some Important Things
at Their Meeting Here Last
Week.

The doctors Of the county at their
meeting in DEBORAH last week talk.
ed about three phases Of medical
work, namely, how to help the pa
tient who can't help himself, SCW
the community may help itself, AMI
how physicians may add to their af-
ficiency by teamwork. The discus
sions led by Doctors Woodward and
Conrad CT DEBORAH and Farr of Min
neapolis, were Of the gall bladder,
of lessening the pains of women in
childbed and of substituting local
anesthesia for the sleep of ether III
many surgical operations.
DR.. Hennessy Of Calmar, of the
society's committee on public health,
spoke of the relations of physicians
with each other, and DR.. Fenton of
the state university of Iowa, OF the
medical relations Of dentistry. The
subject of community welfare from
the standpoint Of preventive medi-
cine was introduced by DR.. Barefoot,
and suggestions made by him and
others present in regard ID inspec-
ton of meat and milk supplies, and
in regard to a visiting nurse at pub
lie expense may reach the stage of
definite action by the society at a
later meeting.
In the business age in which We
live one idea has received marked
emphasis, one test is applied to ey-
cry activity, one word indicates
merit The universal yardstick is
efficiency. Medicine in its warfare
against disease must be efficient, it
must not only win its battles but do
more, it must blaze the way to the
! ideal league for the enforcement of
lpeace. Medicine has gathered many
facts, and its fund of knowledge is
slowly being graded into science.
The application of this scientific
medicine is being made under the
usual test of efficiency. We are com
ing to the time when men will speak
of the medical profession as efficient
mainly when it is preventing disease.
This we do now by telling people
how to avoid or to destroy its caus
es. There are other and better
methods in preventive medicine
than telling people" but perhaps
not for us here in Iowa. A health
lagency centralized at Washington or
at Des Moines with authority to COM
pei us to spend certain amount of
money in certain ways each year to
promote the health of the people in
this county would no doubt have bet
ter results than if the matter is left
to local action, as matters now
stand. Being democratic, people
prefer to listen to expert medical ad-
vice only when they ask for it. Hence
preventive medicine consists merely
in educating the public. In time
the public will demand what, were
it applied now from a central bu-
reau, it would resent. In a few
years our school board will have in
addition to its contingent, teachers,
and other funds, a health fund, and
in our board of health will be includ3
ed representative of the school
board. The best preventive work
is among children, not only because
among them occur most preventable
diseases, but because the habits Of
LOT other preventable diseases ana
habits can be reached easiest through
the young. 1t is easier to educate
than to legislate against habits.
The dental discussion in this
meeting contained new suggestion
in regard to prevention of tooth
troubles. ProphylaXis for the tooth 5
sake is an old story among dentists.
We kept our teeth clean to avoid
cavities and filled cavities
while they were small to avoid the
eventual toothache, or the pain OF
having 'the nerve treated. Late
investigation shows that it is only d
matter of time until every tooth in
which the nerve is treated will have
at its root end an abGcess which,
without attracting attention to the
tooth itself, may be the cause of vari-
Gus diseases i'll the joints, kidneys,
heart or eyes. The dentist, therefore
with an eye to preventive medicine
wants more than ever to catch his
patient young, and in the chase i