The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-07-17
HOME HEALTH CLUB
tEd'tcd by Dr. David IT. R,edcr, La
 pore, Inti.)


 Laporte, Indiana.)
 A Pointer on Diagnosis q pre- pared the following talk for the an nual meeting of the Allied Medical Associations of America, which was held in New York City. June 16th to 19th.)
 ''Frequenly the most trivial thing in the appearance, actions, dress and statements of a patient may point the way to a correct diagnosis when the most skiIlfully conducted laboratory tests make a complete failure.
 ''To illustrate: A retired farmer became a perfect pest at the offices, in turn, of every doctor in his home town and although they losed and charged him liberally, no benefit fol- lowed. He became morose, lost weight and suffered a new kind of pain daily. Neither physical, micro scopical, or analytical tests could re- veal the cause of his suffering. He was finally sent to me from his home In southern Illinois. It took me nearly an hour to find that the man was suffering from nostalgia and when l finally told him that 1t was the city life that was killing him and that he must buy back the farm and get into the open fields, dig in the ground and care for lives tock, he was about the happiest man I ever saw. HIS symptoms disappeared like magic. He had to pay a profit of s2,000 to the man who had bought his farm but he paid 1t without a rlurmer and lived happily ever after. The correct diagnosis of a case Is, l believe, Of greater importance than 1 any part of one's practice and should be charged for accordingly. My po- s!tion a writer for newspapers on health topics has brought me into close contact for over 25 years with the cases that have suffered from carelessness in diagnosis. I say care lessness advisedly because the great ! majority of family physicians could l make Q correct diagnosis if they would take the time to make a de- : tailed study of the patient.
 The time was In the days that are i past for the doctor to instanly flash his profound knowledge of human ailments by telling the sufferer that 1 he knew all about his case and to take a dose of these powders every hour and report the next day.
 The average patient of today ex- poets the physician to make a physi- l cal examination, make an analysis O4 HIS uElnCg test ms DlOOu pressure, make a careful examination of his sputum, test his lungs heart action and thoroughly examine the sexual organs and rectum, X-Ray his teeth, test his eyes, examine his throat and nose. If he thinks of 1t, he also wants a microsC opical examination of the feces. Then he expects to be questioned as to his habits, diet and the health and longevity of his an cestors. The doctor that fails to do all of these things for the chronic sufferer and also fails to charge a | good fee for doing 1t. Is quite likely | 10 lose a customer who is willing to | pay for real service.
 The importance of carefully ex- amining the spine and noting any slight subluxation that may exist should be fully appreciated by those of you that have lost good customers ! to those of us that fully understand | the technic and skill of the osteopaitf | and chiropractors, while the import | ance of examining into the psychic condition may be appreciated more | fully by those who have lost out tc | the mental healer and Christian Sci l entists
 The man who refuses to recognize | the real good thnt is in these various and very frequently successful meth ods of relieving human suffering ie narrow, fidebopnd and should not be honored by the broad title of phy- sfcian.
 After passing through the hands I of ten fairly successful family physi- | clans, a girl of Is was brought to | me suffering with chorea and in an | emaciated and terribly nervous con- dition. Her parents had been told that she could not get we'll unless placed in sanitarium for nervous diseases or sent to the Southwest where she could be in the sunshine constantly. There were at least five different diagnosises and ten differ ent kinds of medicine and ten fail ures. After a brief talk with the mother while carefully watching the girl I sent her to a skillful surgical nurse with instructions to examine for hooded clitoris and adherent pre- puce. The nurse had had many years experience and she promptly reported that 1t was the most az gravated case that she had ever seen. I then sent her to the regular family physician who was an excel lent surgeon and within six weeks after the operation she was well and has remained so. She is now 24 years old. ,s4- g7 Es1WTi T am convinced that while diag- | nosis is the most important factor of | the medical practice the most prac- | tical and scientific means for arrivine | at a correct diagnosis in deeply seat | ed diseases is through the bio-dynamo | chromatic system discovered and taught by our fellow member. Dr, | George Starr White.
 | Next in importance I consider the osteopathic examination, while the | conclusions of pr. Henry Lindlah,
 in diagnosis by the eye are not to b,
 despised. Above all, however, there
 must be an unbiased, naturally good | judgment added to powers of close
 observation. When I speak of un
 biased judgment I mean that the
 prospective fee that might be secur.
 cd in case a surgical operation is ad.
 vised or the patient frightened into
 taking a long drawn out course o.
 treatment. does unconsciously per
 haps influence the judgment of some