The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-10-26
SPRIGHTLY COMMENTS c
 THE DEATH RATTLE

Once was all set before the mi crophone to deliver a plain talk about the cri and the instrume ental trio were saving off the prelimin- ary musical number" when the bright young man who was the broadcasting companys censor rushed up and showed me the mangled remains of my talk with the -er, inside structure all cut out. That unpleasant truth about the range of conversational spray might offend the sensibilities of women and children. So there was I with 13 minutes to talk and nothing fit to talk about.
 I know what would happen if thoughtlessly titled today's chatter "The Death Rattle. They'd run something else in it's place, and maybe something nutty or silly and accidentally still leave my name on it. So I play safe and add that facetious touch. I find that is good way to get by. You'd be astonished at the morbid, lug ubrious, unconventional stuff you can dish out at the breakfast table if you are careful to serve nepenthe sauce with it.
 In a symposium on asphyxia at the Utica meeting of the N. Y. State Medical Society in May Pennsylvania doctor who has had far too much front page publicity to appreciate mention in this con emptible column d cus d the ''l n gual check valve" as a cause of death from asphyxia. Asphyxia, as any high school boy or girl can tell you, means suffocation, unconscious ness from deprivation of air, though how it got to mean that rather than absence of pulse is a. question to take up with some. co., lege professor.
 The only reason we do not all die in our sleep, smilingly observes this Pennsylvania doctor who so often crashes the headlines, is that we waken before we asphyxiate. Just as soon as the tongue drops back against the rear wall and fills the throat, closing off the entrance to the larynx and windpipe, we walk en, and with return of partial con sciousness the tongue goes back to its proper place-that is, if we | are sober.
 | put SuppOSc We are d Dll JdIS lSu, as is the fashion among the nit wits, or suppose we are too fond of taking sedative or hypnotic drugs, suppose we are suffering with some exhausting illness, sleep may be unusually profound and we may not waken. Undoubtedly, said the doctor who is a master of newspaper publicity, many cas- es of death attributed to heart failure Che said cardiac failure so the medical audience wouldn't misunderstood him) in alcoholism are really due to asphyxia from this check valve action of the tongue.
 When in deep relaxation the tongue falls back into the throat and covers the entrance to the larynx. it does not prevent exhal- ation or breathing out but it does prevent inhalation or taking in air. Physicians and first aid workers should always have this in mind when attemptaing to resucitate. If the victim is in the prone position the tongue tends to fall forward away from the larynx. But III the supine position it must be drawn forward and kept drawn forward. If any pressure is applied to the chest with the tongue
 swallowed" like that, some air will be expelled, but none can be drawn in and the effort may pro-
 duce atelectasis or collapse of
 the lung and actually hasten or insure death.
 | Oh. yes, that rattle. It is.some-
 times caused by the bubbling of secretions, but more often it is the
 final Tapping of the lingual check Ivalve. Turn the victim off the
 back.
 QUESTIOSS AND ANSWERS
 It ss the Same Thing.
 Many of my doctor friends say
 that you are radical. But the men
 of your profession who know their