The Indianapolis times., 1934-04-21
-Conservation-
SINUS TROUBLE
CONTRACTED IN
DIRTY STREAMS
Conservation
Swimming in Contaminated
Water Opens Way for
Infection.
BY WILLIAM F. COLLINS
Times Special Writer

AAHCS SpCCldi NFiNeE
eyes, you are living in the sinus
belt, Mr.. Collins. Sooner or later
when you have lived here long
enough, you will have an infected
sinus"
! The doctor who was issuing this
ultimatum sat before me on a low
stool peering through a tiny hole
in round mirror strapped to his
forehead
That is why there are more nose
and throat men here than in any
other section of the country" he
continued in a low voice. There
now, lean forward Just a trif1e,
please, now relax your jaw muscles"
From a nearby stand he produced
a tiny expanding funnel and a long,
rather murderous looking steel wire.
This was my first experience with a
sinus. You no doubt remember, if
you read The Times last summer, 1
had predicted just such an event as
this. had gone swimming with my
oldest daughter in Lake Freeman,
about mile below Monticello, near
the spot where the municipal sewer
discharges into the lake. Three days
later both Of us contracted a very
severe septic sore throat.
Later, one of the doctors in a
Lafayette hospital told me of cases
of septic sore throat developing
among the youngsters who swan in
the Wabash river and warned me
that 30 per cent Of his cases reap
peared during the winter months
with sinus or mastoid trouble and
occasionally with pneumonia.
Kept in Bed Six Weeks
Whatever bug" I inhaled evi-
IDENTIFY dug in and waited for the
winter months to finish the job. In
January he called out the first
squad and gave me a battle that
nearly cost me my life. Lying in
bed those interminable six weeks, I
recalled my friend who died as
result of swimming in White river
north Of indianapolis. No comfort
ing thought, you may be assured.
Modern medicine pulled me through,
1 took enough heavy metal, gluteal
muscle "shots" to plate an auto
mobile.
So, was living in the sinus belt.
have also lived in the malarial
belt and in the yellow fever belt
and in the beri-beri belt and in later
years, doctors discovered the bug
or condition responsible.
BY eliminating the mosquito, the
malarial and the yellow fever belt
vanished. BY eliminating corn
meal diet, pellagra passed out, the
robust trypanosome carried by the
tSetSe fly in Africa made the sleep
ing sickness belt and I have my pet
theory about this so-called sinus
belt. BY eliminating polluted water
we will have an end to the sinus
belt.
Millions Suffer
Squeezed between the knees of
the doctor, my nose expanded by
the little funnel, I was getting my
first dose of something that about
100000 brother and sister Hoosiers
already have got. Somewhere,
within the depths of my Uranium
the exploratory wire had found the
sore spot, the winter habitation of
that little guy I picked up in Lake
Freeman. I'll not go farther into
the details. You will discover them
all for yourself at some later date
all you have to do is swim once too
often in one of our Indiana streams
or lakes.
When you do find out for your
self, try to remember just what
water you frequented the summer
before and then go back to it and
discover for yourself where the
sewer came in.
Remember, there are $40 miles of
grossly polluted rivers in Indiana
in any mile of which it is possible
to pick up an infection that may
cost you your life. But don't tax"
my word for 1.-THE best way to find
out the truth of theory is to make
your own experiments.
Sugar Creek Polluted
One of the most dangerous
streams in Indiana is Sugar creek
below Charlottesville This is the
stream that runs through Turkey
Run park.
This water looks clean, it runs
over gravel banks, there are a few
fish in it, it is cool and inviting and
passes through a beautiful section.
But the analysis of its water made
last summer discloses 120,000,000
colon bacillus per cubic centimetre,
the same number of human intesti-
nal bacteria in water drop the
size of a lead pencil eraser as there
are persons in the United States.
Of the more than 10000 persons
who read this issue of The Times
about five persons will remember
what have just said and out of
those five there will not be one,
I10N L.