The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-05-21
FATNTTNO TS NEVER FATAL

PAINTING IS NEVER FATAL
 old Doctor Goliath had the larg- est ride of any doctor in tho county, or ct any rate the fastest horses and the noisiest clirbsidc manner. His boast up to the day he died Of 1t was that he never lost a patient from pneumonia. If now and then the busy doctor could not be reached when one of his patients was try- ing to break the record, and some lesser light had to pronounce the man dead, Goliath would always clear the record immediately upon his return, by announcing that heart failure had set in.
 Painting is unpleasant, annoying, embarrassing, alarming, quaintly old- fashioned or silly, if you will, but never fatal. Oh, well, died that way if you insist, put I warn you the autopsy will prove you were mis- taken about 1t.
 Shock, hemorrhagc (perhaps con- cealed or internaD, petit nal (minor epilepsy - temporary loss of con. sciousnesS without convulsion), heart disease, severe anemia, hypo- glycemia (exhaustion of tho blood sugar feserve) or hyperinSulinism (which amounts to the same thing in effecO or an overdose of inSulin or . proper dose if the patient fails to take an extra allowance of car- bohydrate soon afterWard, may ac- count for what the casual observer calls fainting. I repeat, pr. Goliath and I never lose Q patient from pneumonia or fainting respectively.
 In running over the list of mor- bid conditions which may pass aS "fainting" I have by no means ex- hAusted our resources. But these will suffice for samples. If you do not find anything to ilt your case here, be of good cheer, for we haven't even glanced at the possi. bilitics yet--thereB apoplexy, carbon monoxide gassing, tobaccoism, alco- holism, concussion of brain (what- ever that may Do we dunno yet) fracture of skull, ennbolism, poison. ing either clandestine or aB actual or fake attempt At suicide. Anyway you begin to sec what mean. Painting is never fatal That's what I mean and I'm going to stick to my story.
 Tn crinoline days they Bwooned; in the gay iiineties they fainted. Today 1t is called syncope. By whatever name you prefer the phenomenon means sudden withdrawal of blood from the head. Cerebral anemia, as we doctors call 1t in office hours. Any abrupt fall of blood pressure may be responsible for fainting.
 Some persons become faint or feel dizzy if they too sudder' assume the erect posture on rising n bed. They lack the normal omatic control of blood pressure which should react to such change in pos ture. The blood pressure IS normal ly lower in the horizontal position.
 Persons with high blood pressure may faint on getting out of . hot bath. A hot bath lowers the blood pressure perhaps l6 millimeters for from two to six hours.
 Instead of fainting, that is, losing COLibClOubHc5Bp Wl0 tAny ACGh JuSV V momentary giddiness or dizziness (vertigoD or tinnitus (noises in the ears). Best first aid for this is to lower the head. Lie on floor, ground or bench and elevate legs and arms. If patient is sitting, let him lean far over and rest hands on floor so that the thighs compress the abdo- men. Never persuade or permit Q person suffering from shock or fainting to try to sit or stand up. Head down til the doctor comes.
 My0plR
 am nearsighted. I contemplate opening c small print shop, and l wonder whather composing. reading proof. printing. etc. would be bad for my eyes. They are about 70 per cent normal. I have heard myoplA or neaT-sightedness Is the result of straining to look at distant things. w. ]. B.
 Answer--On the contrary. much naaF-w0rk Is hard on the near.