The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-06-22
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE or
 HERNIA PROBLEM

According to Randall over 20,. 100000 persons in the United states have rupture (breach, her. nia); 5000 persons year die from strangulated hernia (shutting off of circulation in the protruding strue- ture, with subsequent peritonitis or acute intestinal obstruction); and 160,000 persons each year undergo operation, involving an expense of more than $15o,ooo,ooo. including conyalescence and loss of time. That would be over $soo per each, unless my arithmetic Is as bad as usual.
 ,Formerly operation, involving confinement in hospital and at least Q month of convalescence was the only treatment available for her. nia. Various surgeons claimed cures in from s0g5 to 95% of the cases operated on. A few brass surgeons of the front page era have loudly claimed less than i9e of occurrences, but Mark Twain TO. minded us that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. These brass surgeons count 'em quick. Six months or Q year after the success ful operation the victim sometimes finds his hernia Is recurring--the fibrous scar tissue or adhesions produced by the operation begins to absorb and the protrusion oc- anua Ia Rpt lt Ia fAA iatA AA record the failure in the statistics. Sometimes the wearing of suit. able truss or support and simple exercises will bring tAout natural cure of hernia. The truss must be fitted and worn under the super. vision of the physician. The exer- cises consist mainly of leg raising as you lie on your back, supporting the hernia with your fingers or hand while you do the exercises regularly twice or three times day. Of course natural cure Is pos. sible only In recent and small her nias, which are perfectly supported by the right truss, and the truss must never be left off even for . moment while you are on your feet.
 Every man would have hernia if nature did not succeed in most !n- stances in closing the opening, down through which the testis passes shortly before birth. by ad- hesions and fihrosis or deposit of fibrous tissue which obliterates the canal.
 Various investigators have found that the injection of certain chemi- calls or drug solutions into the tis. sues of the groin will produce an artificial fibrosis and adhesions, which Is precisely what the sur geon hopes to accomplish by oper- ation and what the physician today hopes to accomplish by injecting such chemical or drug solutions in the ambulant treatment of hernia.
 For many years injection treat ment of hernia was given almost exclusively by quacks and often without even parliamentary knowl- edge of the anatomy and pathology involved. Many disastrous conse- quences gave the method a bad reputation.
 But in the past ten years or so. more and more reputable physi- clans have investigated the meth cd, studied and experimented upon animals with various solutions, and finally adopted it in practice, with results at least as satisfactory, from every point of view. as are obtained with the radical opera ton.
 Industrial organizations are in- terested. of course, in a method which promises to save the time of their employees. for as a rule the ambulant treatment does not de- tain the patient from his regular work.
 The radical surgeons. the old guard. may as we'll resign them- selves to. it. The injection treat ment of hernia has arrived, and 1t is going to effect a saving of c large part of that $iSO. .O00. 900.
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Baby Has Bull Montana Far My baby months old has one ear pFotruding. (M. q. G.) Answear--Keep a skeleton hood or cap on the baby to hold the pro- truding ear back against the head for few weeks. Bran
 would like to know if bran in harmful to the digestive tract. We have heard that because of ils