The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1939-12-18
YES, ALLERGY is ExTENUATTON

u ECO fhA4hS9At01 40 hA 8kNOhA
Yesterday when the bell rang ]
conceded that some individuals who
insist they DO take cold" II they
get their feet wet or are subject u
undue exposure may have some ex.
tenuation for their silly notion.
Were " not for this allergy, which
Is quite frequent today and In my
opinion steadily increasing in FREE
quency (remind me TO explain why
I think 50, later and for the wide
spread chronic rhinitis nasal ca.
tarrh TO old timers no doubt the
draft and wet feet diffusion would
have been relegated 10 the Victorian
archives long ago. A perSor subject
TO either OF these conditions Is likely
10 be SNUG, mulish and exaSperat-
ing In his insistence that by gosh
some people may not mind cold
6ampness or change OF weather but
he knows he takes cold whenever he
gets In the slightest draft Or even
goes out without his hat or rlecktie
on when II Is at ali chilly.
In the case OF allergy with nasal
reaction Of course this inference the
individual draws from coincidence
That Is, suppose his hypersenSitive-
ness happens TO be 10 parrot feath-
ers or TO cat hair; every time he
drops In 10 ray hello 10 Aunt Car
RE who keeps q parrot. or stops to
pass the time OF day with the cor
fier druggist who keeps cat, the
poor fellow begins 10 stuff UP, Sneeze
and run at the nose, and TO review
his recent life TO discover wherein
he erred-ah, yes, he crossed the
drafty hall In his Mighty this morn
ing or maybe II was when he went
out ON the doorstep without his hat
10 get the paper. II Is no good
unless you keep your man wrapped
In wool and employ guardians 10 see
that his environment never varies
from what he deems ideal, he can
always find an out which, however
absurd II may seem to you, seems
perfectly satisfactory to him.
Seriously, the high incidence or
frequency OF occurrence OF allergy
In the general population, together
with the comparatively small pro-
portion OF allergic persons who
know the nature OF their trouble. rs
today a grave obstacle In the way
Of progress IN preventive fnedi-
cine-in the most important field
Of preventive medicine from the
viewpoint OF morbidity statistics or
sickness rate, the prevention OF
respiratory infections, which, ac-
cording to surveys made by the fed
eral public health bureau, are re-
sponsible for thre-fourths Of the
illness physicians attend. 1t impedeS
prophylactic effort both ways-for
while most persons with nasal al
leroy exhibit themselves as convinc-
ing examples Of the causation OF the
alleged cold" by drafts, ETC., and
thus mislead and disarm many
others into carelessness about avoid
ing unnecessary exposure TO infec-
ton, there are some--you supply q
suitable name for them, / can't
print it-who take advantage OF
"allergy" to cover their nefarious
conduct In keeping about. at work
or play, spreading infection pro-
miscuously, when they are in fact
coming down with cri. You know,
! hope. that all Of the Common Re-
spiratory Infections from coryza to
pneumonia, from measles TO menin-
gifts, are most communicable (via
sneeze, cough or conversational
moisture spray In the stage OF on
set, BEFORE the victim feels quite
III enough 70 80 10 bed or 10 rest
from work o. play.