The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-03-27
THE HEART WITH A HANDICAP

Recently 1 asserted that Tn my opihioH ui6i'e'Ho is a worthless medicine in any circumstances This is the conclusion I have reached after many
 years of thought and study and reasonanie amount of experience. am not aware however that any good doctor or specialist shares my be- lief about digitalist. think that the penent pa tients often show while they receiving digital is is actually due to rest and other remedles
 commonly applied along with digitahs' ,>o
 One of the effects of dgitas is to s.Gw e the the heart more rest, physiological rest, at least III theory. Still believe skilled physicalnLone who is a master of the art of practice, In otner words experienced, as we'll as thoroughly versed in the science-a skilled physician can aiWayS procure the benefit of rest for his patient witn-
 out resort to digitalis. From this it might seem e that am prejudiced against the use or olgitais.
 On the contrary believe it rarely If ever s does any harm. If I i'll and my doctor deemed digtalist advisable should take all he might prescribe, or else change doctors.
 I did try to impress upon readers, In the arlicie about digtalis that could not pretend to judge
 what any one with a handicapped heart ought to do about such important things as rest or sx ercise or even ordinary exertion. But that old
 not prevent a large number of readers or gooo
 intelligence (to judge by their letters) from writ,
 what kind I recommended for one with han dcapped heart. This is like trying to tell what
 sunpose the iaity has been brought up like that and will quite outgrow 1t. After all It is not more absurd to imagine doctor, 1T ne IS as good he pretends to be, can tell slgnt g. un- seen whether invalid should indulge Tn tnis or
 that activity than it is to imagine some medicine or other is the right medicine for the invalid to 'try" It is the inalienable right of any Ameri- can to fool around that way, at least until his
 health is in a precarious state. ana then ne I IS init to the care of physician provided one can
 be had who doesn't expect any hard cashLtne nostrum gentry and quacks ana 1addlsts nave taken all that
 It should not be necessary to say that no doc tor can tell whether has anything wrong with the heart, unless the doctor has examined the patient carefully No more can doctor tell
 what treatment remedy or general regime a one one should have on the mere secondhand diagnosis of some one else. Even if doctor Is quite sure of the nature of the heart trouble in the case in quest ion that knowledge gives him no ground to conclude that the patient should have this kind of rest that kind of exercise or the other kind of medicine In order to form opinion about that the doctor must study the individual patient and he must determine the degree of handicap and the amount of reserve power the heart mas: digitas there can be no argument about the ab- surdity of any layman fooling with digitalis on
 his own seIRS1Ti9s oTsETIoNs AND ANSWERS
 Something About Jewel
 Dear "Doc": notice you are again delivering
 one of yoar amusing dissertations. or should ! say dissertation. on the care or the teeth. Your
 arbitrary views in spite of the fact that at
 the entire dental profession has any doubt as to the value of brushing. (Anonymous.)
 resnonsibilitv for nv opinions. A number of the best dentists I know have frankly expressed their doubts about the value of tooth-brushing,
 being constrained by the trend of scientific dental Storm in the Indian Ocean
  times and never missed a meal on board. Then on one trip encountered a cyclone. When the
 vessel rOsc the crest of one of those waves her propellcPs stuck mp in the air and each plunge seemed certain doom. Waves rolled over the decks and even down the tunnels There were
 some 200 passengers at dinner the night bcfn'' the storm. Only six of came to the table nc . day. Three of were deaf. (P. A. Al
 Answer-Fortunate, wasn't it. You three deaf ones didn't have to listen to the other three tell | about other storms they had weathered. have here somewhere report from a deaf person who who declares he suffers from seasickness whenever he goes on the water. There is com
 mon fancy that deaf people are more or less immune to seasickness.
 CankeP Sores in Mouth
 What Is the cause Of cankef sores In the
 mouth and remedy for them? | believe my
 health Is perfect, but have these canlxer sores
 often. (T. L.)
 Answer-My theory is that they due to trauma and infection. The injury is done isS excessively hot food drink by biting the ing. The damaged tissue then becomes infected tongue cheek or by too vigorous toothbrush by germs harbored in the teeth, tonsils or nasal
 sinuses. Best remedy can suggest Is frequent gentle rinsing of the mouth with warm solution of teaspoonfu of boric acid in the pint of boiled water. Use this dozen times a day, particularly before and after food Avoid brushing the teeth. Touch each canker once @ day with a wisp of cotton toothpck, moistened with a mix ture of equal parts of glycerin and tincture of iodi