The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-10-26
EARLY RECOGNITION OF TUBERCULOSIS

EARLY RECOGNITION OF TUBERCULOSIS Fifteen years ago received quite few let ters from foolish parents who had child,
 usually daughter, who was mot strong" and
 wished to know what thought about giving the frail child Father Shysters Food Tonic. or Dr Fossils Old Reliable Remedy or the rem edy that cured some far off testimonial writer or even tubercle- -buncompe. Times change. Such inquiries rarely filter in these. days. But in the past five years have received too many inquiries about the lost health and weight of young women who have reduced too well If not wisely. Whenever I touch on the subject of tuberculosis or its treatment receive sev- eral letters from readers who are patients in a hospital and who want to tell the history of their own misteps and of the carelessness in- efficiency or neglect shown by the doctor or doctors they first consulted. Vg,.
 Tn tabulation of the histories of $500 tu- l berculoss cases Ehnrenreich found that In a | majority of cases the patients did not consult a doctor until they had been in poor health from three months to yeari In that period most of them were content to experiment with something recommended by kind druggist or something suggested in an advertisement. Now even If all these patients had gone promptly to their regular physicians for examination and advice in the first three to twelve months of impaired health. it is entirely likely that good many of them would have come away from the interview with the doctor few dol lars poorer but not much wiser, for when all is said and done the diagnosis of pulmonary | tuberculosis in the incipient stage demands a
 good deal of courage on the part of the physi-
 elan, as well skill. The diagnosis is a mat ter of the doctors opinion, not a question Of
 fact Before the doctor can risk 1t he must have some assurance that the patient puts con idence in him; he must weigh the patients | mentality and decide whether the patient is in | telgent enough to accept the opinion. great
 many patients in that stage of the disease lack | the confidence in the physician and the intel | lgence to accept the doctors opinion after l they have asked for it and paid for 1t. If he | says the trouble is tuberculosis in his judg- ment the patient is quite likely to listen to va
 rious friends, neighbors and soap box special | ists who him it is no such thing. If the diagnosis of incipient or first stage | tuberculosis is difficult, how much greater is | the doctors problem in dealing with the pre- | tubercuous state. the stage when there are no definite signs, not even significant symptoms, but just malaise, fatigue. run down condition"
 usually distaste for fats anenfia, sa.catarrh,' | tendency to catch cold"r easily but no cough, perhaps just desire to clear the throat morn ings some loss of weight or failure to gain weight At least careful and complete health | examination is inorder for any young person answering the description. Parents Of daugh- | ter in the pre-tuberculous state would do well to place her under a regime like that which
 most certainly aids recovery from active tuber- culosis. Such regime may be followed in
 many sanitariums. health resorts or at home
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Chronic Rhinitis
 | am 17 and in school. I find trouble in enun-
 clating correctly due to my nose becoming
 clogged. e. A. G.)
 
 chronic rhinitis. It has given me more relief | throat specialists did. We are fortunate to have
 than my family doctor and two nose ana | a man with courage to dcnOuncc. co. B.) | Answer-C. A. G. should send his name and address on a stamped envelope and ask for in-
 structions for the treatment of chronic rhin- | No Authority
 feel 1t my duty to call to the attention of
 the health authorities the unsanitary condi-
 iOns in scnG" % ,o;,e, roo sr son Isea %as Y; | no means of washing. no toweis-and yet the
 health authorities teach that children should
 Answer-You should indeed bring the inn | proper conditions to the attention of your To-
 cal authority. Is there no parent-teacher or | ganization in your community to correct such | dangerous conditions f+t
 We Put Man on Ais Feet l wish to thank you for your prescription of
 calcium lactate for headaches My mother no
 onger gsf somers an rsv w.n sin toes tB I KS Answer-Oh. I'm willing to take 1t for grant
 ed readers grateful for any helpful advice | when they write in to tell about it they'd give | a brief synopsis of the case, So that may | make some practical Reductions which may be helpful to other people. 3t Castor oil for Warts
 Mark up another tally for castor oil as . killer of warts Had several on both hands. Applied castor oil each night for about week.
 Brady has some good dope but he is all wet about absorption through the skin. He said if 1t weren't for giving the plant bad name he'd to your skin-buf you'd probably die and get the plant i'm for much notoriety. O. H.)
 Answer-weii if the doctor Is not just bluff ing he might swipe a can of aniine and take N away of somewhere, wherever he prefers to perform the experiment. and I'll join him
 Gpr % b % snr a word about the tmpermeability of the human A~' ---r"~- ;.,t' 2 't