The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-10-11
MANY DOCTORS HARBOR OLD TONSILLECTOMY OBSESSION

MANY DOCTORS HARBOR OLD
 TONSILLECTOMY OBSESSION
 Among 7,958 girls from IS to 19 years of age, 2,756 (more than one third of them) had been subjected to tonsillectomy before they entered college. What for? Oh, don't be so inquiSitive. It is just an old medi- cal custom.
 Examining 12,530 women univer- sity students Dr. R. L. Cunningham 5.60 per cent of those whose ton sils had been removed were subject to asthma, and sos 2. per cent ot those whose tonsils had not been removed subject to asthma.
 The facts in respect to a number of other conditions for which re- moval of tonsils was routinely ad- vised twenty years ago, still is ad- vised by not a few general practi- tioners, pediatricians and throat specialists who pretend to be some pumpkins in the profession, are lit- tie If any more convincing than that.
 The trouble is that once the rank and file of the medical profession has adopted a principle of practice it takes at least twenty years to teach them to discard the principle and change the practice based upon 1t, after the unsoundness of the principles has been demonstrated.
 Scarcely week passes that I do not hear from several readers that some more or less eminent or well known" specialist has informed them that the diathermy method of treat ing infected tonsils is unsatisfact- ory or even dangerous" be cause 1t does not remove or destroy every vestige of tonsil tissue or because it sears over or seals in infection. The quacks who so decieve their credulous customers imply, if they do not assert outright, that tonsil tissue is harmful. There is neither physiological nor pathological foun- dation for any such halfbacked mo- tion, no matter how many doctors or specialists still entertain it.
 The only purpose of any treat ment of infected tonsils is to remove. pasteurize, disinfect, sterilize or destroy the infection, the germs in the septic focus or indus in the ton. sil. The ideal object of treatment, so far as the patients subsequent health and well being are concerned, is to achieve this sterilization or diSinfection of the infected area with the least possible damage to the surrounding normal tonsil tissue. which has useful function and never in any circumstance does harm, even when it remains in the throat long after treatment of in- fected tonsils or whenit seems to grow in again" after removal of more or less of the tonsil.
 I say removal of more or less of the tonsil," meaning that no mat ter what method may be employed, no doctor who is honest even pre- tends that he can or should remove every bit of tonsil tissue. Further I'd say that any doctor or specialist who tries to tell the unsophisticated pa- tient that complete" removal, in that sense, is desirable or necessary, is plain everyday quack, and that's that.
 From all I have been able to learn about it, within and without the medical profession the ideal ob- ject of treatment of infected tonsils is most likely to be achieved by eltctro-coagulation, diathermy in the hands of a doctor of medicine who is skilled in the difficult tech- nique of such treatment.
 Some Like It Hot
 Massachusetts State College offers free to residents of the state g recipies for milk drinks. They say that nutrition authorities concede there is no hetter drink than pure, sweet milk when served rich and cold. GA. B.
 Answer--I disagree with them. I think a better health beverage is pure sweet milk served warm from the COW. Boy, oh, boy, why do you bring these tantalizing memories back? However, I concede that the NEXT best food or health beverage is the same milk after it has been allowed to cool or even after it has been chilled-if you like it in that state.
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