The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-11-12
SUPPORT IN THE CURE OF HERNIA

Not a few cases of inguinal hernia (rupture | or breach) if taken early curable by simple | leg-raising exercises which the patient takes | regularly each night and morning while sup porting the hernia with his two or three mid dle fingers. Of course one must follow such exercises faithfully for a long time, many | months, in order to get any such result By 1 leg-rasing, I mean lying on your back and lift ing first one leg then the other, to vertical and | lowering it again to the floor, and later both | legs together The novice should limit this to | three lifts or each or both legs the first week.,
 and gradually increase the number of lifts in a
 seance week by week till after six eight
 weeks he lifts both legs from fifteen to twenty | times each seance If the hernial protrusion is
 irreducible, that is if it does not readily slip | back into the abdomen when the patient lies | down. fexes the hips and knees and gently | manipulates the protrusion with his hand, then | such exercise should not be attempted and can not cure.
 | A physician who has had striking success in | the ambulant treatment of hernia, that is a | series of injections which the doctor adminis- ters in his office without detaininG the patient | from his regular occupation, has this to say of | the treatment of hernia:
 '"The more l get acquainted with hernia cases the more see that good percentage of | sufferers always have been cured with well fit | ting truses alone. This Is very interesting
 fact which accounts for the public's interest in | various advertisements l do not believe that
 many physicians realize natures efficiency in
 closing hernial opening That in mind l be- | lieve that any kind of stimulant irritation un-
 der fitting truss will do the trick" | For years earnest folk, to judge from their | letters have been writing me assuring me that
 they've been cured of hernia by just wearing
 truss. and I have called all of them po- | itely as I could gulbe idiots or prevaricators. l I now offer all such folk my apology-rd
 write em and apologize personally but l keep l no memoranda of such correspondence and so | I've forgotten the names.
 | In making this about face and admitting my | error 1 hope that no reader will let himself
 be mi misled % into the hands of a charlatan or an 1 "expert" who promises to cure rupture with | any external remedy or appliance. or course no | honest doctor other individual can or will | promise such cure.
 But the ambulant treatment of hernia, which
 good physicians here and there are now using | with satisfaction includes not only the series | Of hypodermic injections but also very careful | adjustment of truss and the constant wearing | of the truss under the doctors regular super vision and frequent adjustment Indeed, this is | half the treatment. As the doctor says, with
 much special study and experience behind him, | it doesn't matter so much what particular ir-
 ritant is injected, the important part is the fit- | ting support. The formula he uses is very sim | ple-and doctor can prepare it himself; am | glad to give the formula to any doctor, but not | to any layman can 1 instruct doctor in
 the teachnic of the treatment. The technic is
 simple enough when doctor learns it by see
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | Professor McCOllum on His Beat | | have just learned that there Is tactic acid
 in buttcrmilk. which have been drinking al- most daily for a long while Dr 10. V. Me-
 COlIum of Johns Hopkins claims that sour milk
 therapeutic value is now well recognized. (Mrs | c. M. J.)
 1 Answer-Professor McCollum,- however, fs
 not physician. he IS a very good t...4.o.-. ...
 nutrition chemistry, but very poor one on pathology therapeutics. In these latter fields | he is far off his beat and l believe over his | head, Buttermilk is a wholesome food beverage | for any one who like 1t. We need not take the
 claims of therapeutic value too seriously. | Exercise for Rupture Please give the exercises you recommend Tor
 cure of a small rupture low on the right side | GA. R.)
 | Answer-Lie on the back support the point | of protrusan with the fingers of one hand. and | do from four to 20 leg-raising movements, each | night and morning. only four at first, and in- | crease the number of elevations one time week. Such exercise, done while the hernia is | supported by the hand, will cure a certain
 share of cases if done when the hernia Is re-
 cent and small.
 | Have An Onion What effect has raw and cooked onion oi | the digestion? (B B. O
 l Answer--Raw onion retards the passage oi | the food from the stomach Into the duodenum It increases the secretion ofs gastric juice and the acidlty of the gastric juice. It tends to | diminish Intestinal. Fermentation or putrefac'
 ton. It is helpful in certain cases Of dinrrhea Peaons with excessive stomach acidity should
 eschew raw onions. Cooked onion Is without
 " Don't Monkey
 Picase send instructions as l0 amount 0f l0' dine for g0Itrc. (M. D.D
 | Answer--Ony the patients physician can dt
 that with benefit to the patient. | Wlsy Give EManflso3
 Ktndsy nayise me what Co Rive fOr Iaaatiyt
 Co . ( weeks old baby. tAirs v. b')
 l Answer--First tell me what the bhbya die
 is and what justification theFe may DO TOT 'ieMative.