The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-07-28
CHECKING UP ON YOUR DOCTORS
 AnVICE

1,dv told us here the other day now her s.rniIv doctor advised careful intensive inedical ,aatr r,ant for her exophthalmc goter, but she aished to check up on that. so she slipped OH and consulted another doctor who lan i,v ,t ,brouph a meta bolism test and she came out ,narked Minus 60 or something, and so ine "poiter specialist" urged immediate operh.iioi, and threatened that if she deiayeo hnr continude medical trcatmcnt) too i'"b - heart would become incurabie. ,, ., ,o.v
 Having thus checked up, the chiid-the iauS wrote 10 me o ask what she had better uo. toId her the family doctor seemed sincere and honest. He could not assure her tnat a 'ou i. ical treatment would cure. lie lheleay ,ui 7 I h., his hest opinion and advice, and he stiii ho- hercd to this after the simple creature came back to him with the second-h hand report ol .iio i brass specialist. think that lailIly ,t;i uoI.o, not onlv sincere and honest but extraordinariLy naticnt under exasperatng circumstahces' Ny own impulse would be--well, you know me, all
 Now in view of the fact that draw sharp ,i,n of distinction between real specialists ana brass ones may l not indicate the course the lady should have taken? ,
 When she received the family doctor opih- ion and advice if it did not entirely satiSiy hei and her relatives the doctor, in any case. an" am particularly certain In this case, woui" t; have welcomed cordially any hint, susgeSt'oh or request that the patient or her lanily ue sired further consultation before deciding. NO onod nhvsician can or will resent or object to any such reasonable WiSh--the doctor niihseii would probably desire the same sort or adu,- tional assurance, if q member or hls own iainly ,v.re the patient. If the goiter patient or hei reI,t,vrs hinted to the doctor that some such rcasslrance was desirable good, honest phys- f;ian would at once agree and elther recoii- mend a good conSultant or pass judgment upon inc oualitications of any consultant the family might prefer. Then the patient would go to 'ne specialist conaultant or the consuitant woulo he called 10 the patients bedside, and the opin- ion and advice of the consultant would pc sV- en through the attending or family physician:
 This last flea ture is more than wseacre ana overly suspicious customer can quite sWaiiow' Being both dumb and dishonest himself ne imagines there would be collision between the consutant and the family doctor if the ma,teT
 
 advice from the specialist and without the knowledge concern of the regular meu'cd' attendant. =, ., i, every such consultation. His reputation IS at stake. He is not likely to be swayed rom ms ms opinion, then, merely to cater to the good VIII of a family doctor who would consider his own
 interest above the welfare of the patient The final outcome of the case will either enhance or mar the reputation of the specialist.
 On the whole it seems to me that nothing our wiseacre, affected, snObbiSh population can do
 s more foolish than this 'checklng up Via l'e ''''' QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 As Viewed from Either Side . Am interested in your articles about tonsil removal as 1 am now taking the diathern'y treatment and am more than pleased with re. suits The only drawback being the number of treatments necessary. This method will be blessing to any one afraid as was Of taking | ether. I was in very run down cohutIoi from neglect of diseased tOnsils. l cannot say enough in favor of this diathcrmy way or rec moving tonsils (Mrs D. WJ
 We find that patients Ike thiB method (elec- tro- coag gulation) for it's doesn't interfere with their usual occupation. And we like the method because we don't have to worry about sec ondary hemorrhage, abscess of the lung, etc. It requires q number of treatments. but we are able to remove all of the tonsil. (E. K. -, M D., J. l.. ---, M. D.
 Mouth Breathing
 My son, a normal, healthy yOungster, aged ,, breathcs through his mouth most of the time In sleep sometimes his mouth is closed, some | times open. We had him examined and the dOc- | tor found no adcnOds. He said 1t Is habit. What would you advise? CIR. l.. J.)
 Answer-Mouth breathing Is often caused by chronic rhnitis In some cases 1t is due to faulty development of palate and teeth If there l is no rhinitis, have your dentist examine for ma locclusion.
 | Anyway We Had the Right Color One of your correspondents suggested using red precipitate saIvc for head lice. and ada parentIleticaIIy that 1t Is biniodidc of mercury | It isn't It is red oxide of mercury Red oxide oi mercury is much used for head lice in the coun try districts. I have many times incorporate the bIniodide of mercury In veterinary prescrip' | ton for blstcrs. I thiak you should print q l correction. (F. R. J.. Pharmacist.)
 Answer-Thank you, brother. We had the | right color but wrong medicine. Red oxide o mercury 1t &.