The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-02-25

slVe ana cldDOEdIt EXAMINATIONS
and expensive and elaborate meth
DDS of treatment are unnecessary
in the majority Of cases. and II he
IAN talk the patient into allowing
simple remedies TO be applied, ex-
pense can be avoided and just as
good results obtained.
As an indication that this is the
view Of good doctors in official po-
sitions, DR.. Morris Fishbein, edi.
tor Of the journal Of the Ameri-
can Medical Association" said not
,ong ago, "s5 per cent of the dis
eases for which patients consult
doctors are of the type which the
general practitioner can handle
with the amount of equipment that
he can carry in his handbag"
DIR. Cabot Disagrees
In commenting on this state
ment, DR.. Hugh Cabot, who op-
poses many of the methods DR..
Fishbein stands for, said. 1--WE
shall, | think, be on solid ground
in asserting that this statement
never was true and that it is even
less true today. / am unaware Of
any evidence which would support
Or. Fishbein's position.
In an effort to supply evidence
for DR.. Cabot the medical men Of
Winston Salem, North Carolina,
tabulated 200 cases each. OF the
1000 patients thus seen or visited,
s48, or S4.8qe, had been called for
without any other equipment than
the contents Of a handbag.
The contents of a modern doc
tors handbag includes, remember,
for diagnostic purposes; a Their.
mometer, stethoscope to listen TO
the heart and lungs, blood pres
sure apparatus, tongue depressors
and light TO look in the throat,
an otoscope TO look in the ear. and
an ophthalmoscope TO look in the
eye, glass slides and color scale
TO make elementary blood tests
and culture smears.
For treatment, it contains .
hypodermic syringe, half a dozen
emergency drugs and a prescrip-
ton pad.
Home Medical Aids
And it must be assumed that
besides what he has in his hand
bag the doctor will find in the
home an enema bag, hot and cold
water so that he can make a COM
press, bath tub so he can give a
medicinal bath, mustard for q
mustard plaster, and that he will
know how to give these treatments
and also can give some massage,
manipulations and probationary.
With such equipment it would
be seldom indeed that the doctor
would have to send the patient to
the hospital for basal metabolic
tests, elaborate blood tests, cleo
trocardiographic tracings Of the
heart, or even Though this may
be an exception) X-ray plates.
What ! am wondering is, if we
included the patients who are
treated out Of the family medicine
case without having a doctor at
all, and added them to the hand
bag treatment, what would the
percentage bel
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
NJ. R.: "(D What is the correct
way to clean the teeth? (2) What
is the correct home eye treat
ment?"
Answer-(D For correct clean
ing Of the teeth a small tooth
brush is better than a large one.
The tooth paste or powder used is
not of Importance. The teeth
should be brushed systematically,
beginning in front at the upper
left, going across in front, to up
per right, and then brushing the
back Of the teeth from the upper
right to the upper left. Repeat on
the lower jaw. AS one dentist says,
it is like painting a picket fence
every picket, front and back and
sides. The brush should be placed
at the gum margin and a firm,
pressing, rotary motion used. (2)
Home treatment for the eyes. The
eyes do not need any regular n.y.
giene other than simple cleansing
Of the lid margins at the morning
toilet TO remove the dried mucus.
The tear ducts cleanse the surface
OF the eyeball, in all circumstances
but very severe dust storms. Daily
treatments 10 the eye. as with an
eye cup, are likely to do more
harrn than yood