The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-10-16
THE DEAD FINGER SEASON IS ON

As soon as the weather becomes chilly, writes a Chicago man, the third and fourth fingers on my left hand go dead" By that I mean they turn a clay color and get cold and have no feeling in them and sometimes it is an hour or more before they are normal again. am Al wears of age and have had this trouble only in the past two years and always when IL gets cold.
 A Brooklyn woman complains in the same mail that when the dull, chilly, clammy wealth CT comes and the temperature is below 65 her fingers and sometimes the hands up to the wrists become what she calls dead. The nails look purple and then black. This condition lasts from half an hour to five hours. She IS 45 years old and has had the trouble for seven years. A Los Angeles man describes a similar trou- ble in the toes of one foot
 Doctors call this affection Raynaud's affec- tion In some instances it becomes progressive ly worse and eventually actual gangrene or the affected fingers or toes occurs.
 In some cases the cause of the trouble is ap- parently chronic arsenic poisoning, usually oc- cupational sometimes from exposure to arsenic in dye with which some fur garment Is dyed. AS we have told here previously, the doctor can confirm his suspicion of chronic arsenic poisoning by comparatively simple cllnlcal test He first ascertains by ordinary chemical test how much arsenic is being ellInlnated through the kidneys (there is a normal trace of arsenic in the urine of healthy person.. Then he injects into a vein small dose or so- dium hyposulphte photographers fixing agent). If this produces distinct increase in the amount of arsenic excreted in the urine, 1t is reasonable to conclude the patient has chronic arsenic poisoning. The same chemical
  ly in larger doses over period of a few weeks, | is one of the best treatments for such poison- | ing, and this treatment has proved of extraor- dinary benefit in some cases or ftayhauus 5 uis- ease.
 Another treatment which is giving much | satisfaction in advanced cases of Raynaud's $ | disease is surgical removal of the ganglia of | the sympathetic nerve near the spine. This operation is simple enough and a minor one so
 far the risk is concerned, but 1t calls for ex-
 act knowledge of the nerve anatomy involved. | If the operator overlooks any delicate hlaments | of the nerve structure he seeks to remove, the
 patient will not enjoy the full benefits anti cipated.
 | For symptomatic relief of the dead fingers | heat in form another is most effective. | One sufferer made for himself a little oven, ! consisting of q portion of an old glove with finger tips cut off, tackled to the frame or base | board, and an ordinary 25-watt frosted electric | bulb mounted the board so that his fingers were kept few inches from the bulb when his | hand was placed in the glove. Over all place | or heavy muslin, tackled to the edges or the | board, covered his hand and bulb. He plugged | his outfit into the bedside socket and enjoyed | the heat while he slept.
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Willow Charcoal
 I char willow twigs in gas pipe plugged | with clay and then polish and Whiten my teeth with the charcoal pencils Thanks to you no longer waste time money with tooth brushes or tooth ceansers. I'll send you some Of these charcoal pencils if you wish. (R. J. Al Answer-Willow charcoal is the finest char coal for any medicinal purpose Charcoal helps | to whiten and polish teeth. But why bother | Tony the Perpetual Pup is nearly years old now and his teeth are still white and sound and Tony and I never give a thought to clean ing our teeth. We both take a nip of todin once | or twice a week. if that makes any difference, | and Tony knaws bones while chew carrots. | turnips radishes, celery or telluce for my cal | cium phosphorus, Vitamin and tooth exercise i No feas on us either. Tony sometimes mas | bath.
 Distressing Ignorance Please put something in the paper about the
 IfnGiC
 jected to. The patient is my mother. She IS a | regular reader of your column. She absolutely
 refuses to take precautions. and coughs terribly | in all directions, and will drink and leave the | glass for the children to use after her. (B. F.
 T) | hospital or sanatorium for a course of training l in behavior and good treatment. She is men, ace to everybody around her. Surely she does not wish to give the disease to those who love | her or serve her or to those whom she loves | The children, and all others wno nave come | within her range, should now be carefully ex-
 amined, and again six months year from | now for signs of early tuberculosis for 1t Is | not unlikely that they have already contracted | the disease from the patient
 Heredity
 We adopted our son. He is now years old | and apparently a fine, healthy boy some | friends raise questions of heredity. We are not raising the parents, but our doctor had Wass serman test given the boy before We adopted | him and pronounced him healthy. (Mrs b. c. L.)
 Answer-Give the boy wholesome bringing up, . good example, good education, anfl don't worry about hercdity. You did the right thng--it is always best to have your own phys ician examine the child you propose to adopt. and determine definitely that there is no con- genital disease such as syphilis present.