The Nevada County picayune., 1922-08-03
DR. WILEY ON WHAT THE
 DOCTORS THINK OF BOOzE,'


 the recent questionnaire sent to physi- clans of the United States by the American Medical Association is given by pr. Harvey W. Wiley. in the June Good Housekeeping Dr. Wiley calls attention to certain facts that are in teresting and significant It appears that city physicians as a rule are more strongly in favor of whisky as a medi- cal agent than are country physicians '"The vote on beer in the 90 large cities was 1903 against its use and 2S54 in favor of it's use The vote in these cities was 1889 against the use of wine and 37S2 in favor of its use Wine, therefore, maed stronger appeal to the doctors than beer
 "A peculiar condition was that in some of the large cities whisky was particularly recommended as remedy for snake bite, although the only snakes in such cities are carefully guarded in geological gardens. It is a strange idea that has almost universal prevalence especially in rural districts that whisky is a sovereign remedy for the bite of poisonous snakes. The most recent studies of snake bite pois- oning show that the remedy has nIa srnn nl yyiot of tn than even the most enthusiastic snakes would claim In other words, it is the opinion of the most competent physi- clans who have studied this subject that the administration of alcohol is the chief cause of fatality in snake bite"
 Dr Wiley sums up his conclusions, as follows:
 Tt has been only a few years since the real nature of the functions of al cOhol has been understood, based upon indubitabe facts developed by ex perimental methods All the old phy sicians. and that means those who were graduated up to ten or fifteen years ago. were thoroughly imbued with the idea taught by their profes- sors of materia medica and therapeu- ties, that whisky was stimulant; that it was useful in case of shock, of low vitality following a long disease, and especially in such diseases as pneu- monia and other acute infections. It is. therefore perfectly reasonable to find that this opinion is still so pre- valent.
 Take the case of snake bite, for in stance. Probably if you would ask thousand laymen what they would do for snake bite. they would say, Give whisky, and I am not surprised to find that 5 per cent, at least, of the doctors of this country would say the same thing Whisky. or any kind of admin istered alcohol, is now known to be narcotic and depressant and not stimulant. and yet this knowledge has not filtered into the consciousness Of more than half of the medical profes- sion, much less the laity It is quite human that this condition should exist. It is. you might say, bred in the bone : It has been taught and believed by the people at large It has been adopted as sane doctrine by the medical pro fessiOn. I for one am surprised that the vote in favor of whisky as medi- cal agent was not far greater. It will take time to redirect this feeling, and we might as we'll be patient about the matter. just as we will have to learn to be obed ent to law, which we are nor at the present time, in so far as prohl" bjtion is concerned. at least. So we must wait for the gradual change Tn the attitude of the medical profession which is certain to come IS the facts of science, determined by actual ex- periment. slowly filter into the inner consciousness of our people.