The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-16
WHO SHOULD CITE AUTHORITIES?

A medical colleague, or at least a physician I met and conVerSeo with for half an hour one day, | writes that he Is completely sold on my teaching in reference to "coltls" and he breaches 1t widely, but many of his medical friends argue With him and ask him to cite authorl" ties, especially on tho innocuous.. ness of drafts, exposure, wet feet and the like. That stops him, for he can't name any authorities. Per- haps l will be good enough to give him 6 few, It would be more to the point if the old timers would name an au- thority of any standing for the quaint notion that drafts, exposure, wet feet and the like have, any thing to do with any particular ill., ness. I have been studying the question pretty closely for many years and I have yet to find Q clear or equivocal expression Of such on opinion by e physician of standing, Tell me. anybody, if I'm wrong about this, and I'll thank you for enlightening me.
 Here Is another aspect Of the question about which may be wrong because Of my prejudice. I cannot help believing that the cogent reason why @ good many physicians cling to the notion that exposure to cold Is harmful or q cause of respiratory disease is that general practice would be more dif- ficult If they were deprived of that grand old diagnostlc dodge.
 It Is pretty soft for the doctor, you know, who strings c patient along with the suggestion that the Illness or indisposition Is just bad ''cold," If the illness or indisposition proves to be something serious, such as diphtheria, measles, infantile paralysis, meningitis-the willy doc- tor has only to mutter "Too bad the cold settled in the nerves or de- veloped into"-whateve 1t seems to be. This dodge Is perfectly satis- factory to the general laity. People know no better and are unwilling to learn any better, especially when their eminent" or well known physicians. and specialists practice in that way.
 I can conceive of no better au- thority on the effects of exposure to cold and wet than the polar ex- plorer, Vilhjalmur Stefansson. An opinion based on his opinion and his high order as Q competent ob- server outweighs thousand mo- tions conceived by musty medical writers of the past century and carried from one medical book to another through successive genera tions until finally the uncritical reader today takes 1t as "authori- tative."
 You can find "authorities" for al- most any ridiculous notion in re- gard to the nature, cause and treat ment of disease if you search the medical Literature thoroughly and far enough back.
 Tn short, an authority" in my opinion, Is too often just preten- tious little guy who is smart enough to say something lot of other little guys want to believe Is so.
 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
 Hair
 Could you please give me some advice on granulated eyelids. also on thin oily hair and what will make the hair grow better. (Miss V. E.)
 Answer = Consult Q physician about the granulated eyelids. Send stamped envelope bearing your address, for Care of the Hair."
 Animal Experimentation
 University department of animal husbandry research workers experi. mentally treated pigs with necotis enteitis with nicotine acid. It gave marked results. I understand thi: condition in animals is similar tC gastric ulcer in man. Is nicotinit acid beneficial in gastric ulcer?
 (F. c. P.l
 Answer Intake of much morl vitamin B complex than is neces' sary to prevent manifestations o deficiency disease has proved bene' ficial in many cases of gastric (pep' tic, duodenaD ulcer Nicotinic aciS Is one of the several entities of thu natural B complex. Advice on die and vitaminS for gastric ulcer 1