The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-08-07
WHEN THE BABY HAS THE GROUP

{ A child with croup always alarms the parents
 hut always joins in the laugh next morning at
 the prank. ,os .,nts
 The reason why the parents uncies' aun.s t1a,s and neighbors are so frightened by the cni!u antics is tradition. Long, long ago even tne doctors did not know the difference and could not distinguish between ordinary croup Isome
 times known as spasmodlc, sone''tes ne tha farvnx | or voicebox. Diphtheria, of course was was a terrible disease in the times oelo,e tho discovery of antitoxin. So one can
 readilv understand why parents have al ways been so alarmed when a child deVelops 1 any symptoms suggesting croup. Even now .a a parent might well nave tne sre.ea, i, ao"ht oSont the doctor in attendance seems m doupt apTu Sia the diagnosis, that is, unless he gives the cnllo | the benefit of the doubt by admlnisterhe iin- | mediatey q full dose of anlitoXln, whlch can uo | m harm if it happens the child has not d1ph- theria . .o r ,h. ,,,,s cles in the throat, muscles that cOntrol the vocal cords from the irritation of an otherWlse trifiing coryza, sore throat or laryneits. oucn
 local muscle spasm Is more hkeiy to occtr tnd d' certain children who inherit q spasmodic tehd- ency: such children may have general cohV Vul-
 sions with the onset of acute illnesses "hcn ,t,
 adults or in less susceptible children would
 cause only chilliness or shivering or perhaps restless twitching. - l., | Simple croup is never fatal. If the spasm IS is so severe as to imperil the childs air suppiy and bring on cyanosis (bueness of lip and skin from suffocation or lack of suff1clent alr) tne inevitable consequence IS 1aihtness s or s'uHo' n, which relaxes the spasm and brings rele1. Na, ture's way of curing croup-crude ana palnIui for loving parent to witness, but sure cure nevertheless. . ', want to assert emphatically that there IS no such thing "membraneous croup or raise croun" There Is only simple croup and dlph-
 theria. No doctor to-day is 1ustihe,dt In per peetrating these indefinite terms in lieu or ms honest opinion, even if he he. cannot ann, make The child planning to stage an attack or croup tonight has a slight cough or running nose to-day, and becomes a trife lrritapie peev rI hadfimp. small hours the child wakes the household with his growing labored breathin and barking
 cough. The attack subsidies in an hour ,e;,r or ewo' body the laugh, or at least a little smile. Late next afternoon the little rascal begins to pre- pare for some more fun, and sure enough, III inc middle of the night repeats the perform ance, with variations. By this time the parents begin to get mad, and probably ply the poor child settles down and quits carrying on like that the third night, the parents If convention ally dumb, credit it to the dope or nostrum they tney have chosen. But the truth is it makes little difference whether the child receives any treat ment or not-croup is a one or two nlgbt show' and seldom indeed is third performance given in any case. owing to important things we must print to-day. this story will be continued in forthcoming issue, if still more important things
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Nursing in Iowa
 The Iowa state department or health, divi-
 ior "t nursing education, replies to an inquiry
 "Ihcrc arc no schools Of nursing fin Iowa
 in good standing giving two year courses nor there any which require IcSs thah hish school graduation"
 Iowa young women who contemplate the
 Iowa citizens who may some time want the services of good nurses. Not that high school | graduation is q handicap to good nurse but only that the extra year chaInb bcrmald
 year of the training course helps to make her
 more difficult to employ and more difficult to | get ;'',,..r q. in time of sickness.
 ynpI ffNn AntIN ont tR Your eczema prescription has cured three
 people after half n dozen physicians failed. We
 subscribe to your paper only to get your serv-
 ice. When you leave the paper our subscription
 will be cancelled. (M. NJ. Al | Answer-How much do you ask for an au- thentic copy of the prescription, brother? I'd
 really like to know the formula. To be sure, there few remedies given in the mono-
 graph on Eczema which am glad to send any
 incloses stamped envelope bearing his address. | but I do like to know about any cures, even if they're only coincidental.
 Insulin Treatment for Underwcight On the strength of your suggestion went
 to the diabetic department of - clinic and
 asked Icm for the insulin treatment for un-
 derwcght. was the first patient they had had
 of that sort. but they gave it to me. I went
 from 95 to IDA pounds, not much, but 1t helped
 ed In with 5 units, then 10 and the last week | IS unit doses. But another doctor in another
 department of the clinic seemed to think the | treatment might break some part of the body down, and that 1t Is only in the experimental | Ire" Mrs ". R.)
 | Answer-Evidently you of those women who can't be happy unless they have
 something to worry about, and there are doc tors who specialize in such cases. That you had Ito go to "clinic" for such treatment is a sad Ireproach upon the inepttude or apathy of the medical profession of your community. Any reasonably capable physician can and will give lthe insulin treatment for underweight in suit able cases The clinic racket is fine for doctors lwho haven't the ability to go along on their Town. By going into huddle like that their lpersonal incompetence is not so apparent to l eistomcrs. their responsibility Is not so clear. in ,ase of any malpractice claims. and they can | ct away with more or less advertising to at- | ract trade. without being drowned upon by the