The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-07-17
MASTOIDITIS

| In most cases of "gathering in the ear" in
 which the drum ruptures, permitting alSG GasS | of matter from the cavity within or is lanced l for that purpose by the doctor, there is more | or less inflammation of the spaces inside the | mastoid bone back of the outer ear canal ana this inflammation is called masto1dltis So if the doctor begins muttering something about mastoiditis when one of the children mas acute inflammation in the ear (otltis medla, as if is called) don't get excited. Just keep the cotton and stuff out of the chlids ear, unless the doctor insists on obstruct1ns Ventiauon and drainage that way, in a season when there isn't much other work for him to do. M'hd
 I'm not advising you to neglect using any drops or other medicine the doctor prescr,pss' merely offer the hint that cotton never dlo any thing but harm in the presence of infection m the ear. If your doctor says I'm crazy, all rlsht its your funeral.
 Heat applied in or around the is an ex- ceIlent remedy for any acute carache where in hammati tion is presumably the cause. HlycerIl, and other medicines dropped in the ear canal
 or applied to the drum by means or very th,n twisted cotton gauge wick, will otten uo good. But don't try to help the famine in the
 south by stuffng bales Of cotton m ihnaiheo ears. ,
 I still believe. though may be the only doc tor in North America who believes that d no, % mustard foot bath is the best Of all nrst ald remedies for acute earache-and if our Arkan-
 sas reader happens to see this he will kindly
 refrain from asking me if not mustara ear don't want to go into a discussion of the lengtn of the mans ears again. It cost me me GUS toner last time. It is odd, but l never could keep the wholesale grocers my friends Theyre
 almost as techy customers, find, as the deaiers
 in bath Ailments. l., You see the inflammation easily spreads from the lining of the cavity within the drum to the lining of the air spaces In the mas told bone-the mastoid process or the tenn. poral bone, which you feel as a. hard rounded knob right behind your ear, If you can
 reach that far without getting dizzy These air spaces in direct communication with the air space of the ear cavity, and that in turn com municates with the Eusachian tube ana that with the nose and throat passage. 50 there you have it. all complete. At first it's just lit- tie cri some friend hands you gratis and under the approval of the health authorities. Most cases of mastodtis progress unevent- fully to complete recovery if not maltreated | You can't judge the severity of mastoiditis by the tenderness of the mastoid process to | touch. nor by the swelling. for very grave mas | told infection may be present without either | sign and without any pain behind the ear. | Any acute earache followed by very pro- | fuse discharge rather indicates mastoiditis. A discharge which pulsates is certainly from
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS I Dare Not Tell
 | It is strange how readers more in col- | umn like this than say. Years of experience | has taught me to think twice before allude tG | likely to help anything anybody. Even If | do tell all have to tell about it here, and add | q special reminder that have not further in- formation to give about 1t. invariably there fol- | lows long line of iOng-windcd letters from | careless readers who plead for further particu- | lars about my "cure." Were it not for this de- l | more practical suggestions. As It Is dare not l tell.
 When Wens Wane
 My sister had wen as big as d hens egg on | her leg, and two small ones her scalp. A | doctor told her to tie a white thread around the wen close ts the skin or scalp and 1t would dry up and drop OT in two three weeks, depend on how tightly she tied the thread and the size l of the wen. She did this and got rid of hei three wens with no cost and no pain. (Mrs F. l c. McN.)
 | Answer-Wen is a cyst or sac formation of a | sebaceous or oil gland, most commonly on the | scalp, but often on other parts of the skin. The l sebum or skin oil accumulates in the sac or bag | In the form of thick cheesy or semi-fuid mat ter. It is annoying and unsghtly but not dan- gerous, unless it becomes infamed infected and suppurates. Usually the only remedy il removal of the entire and contents, or al | least most of the sac. by incsion, which any doctor can do in his office with local anest hesia | sealing the little wound over immediately and | sending the patient on his way poorer bu, handsomer. This method Mrs McN. describes may work all right in some cases but would | scarcely do where the wen has a wide base | Personally I'd prefer to have mine neatly ex' cised.