The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-04-10

his column.
demands serious consideration,
but was discussed yesterday under
the head Of the acute abdomen.
Today / wish to discuss chronic
abdominal pain which is not too
severe and which recurs day after
day.
To show how varied the causes
Of this symptom are, saw a pa
tient not long ago who had a con-
slant dull pain all over his abdo-
men. There was very little else
that he complained of and very
little else that could be found on
him.
Lead Poisoning
The cause turned out TO be lead
poisoning which is a fairly rare
disease nowadays. It was found
that his occupation was the pecul-
lar one Of inserting lead Innings
into caskets.
A distinguished Philadelphia
physician once wrote a paper
called THE West Indies Dry
Gripes," and dry gripes is a very
expressive term for the abdominal
pain Of lead poisoning. 1t is dry"
because it is not accompanied by
a diarrhoea, but by constipation.
Another often unrecognized
cause Of abdominal pain is a cury-
AZURE Of the spine which causes
pressure on the nerves that 60 out
under the skin and are distributed
to the abdominal region. The dag
nostician, who hearing the symp-
toms Of abdominal pain, confines
his attention to the abdomen and
does not examine the back, often
loses out on these cases.
Commonest Cause
| suppose the commonest cause
Of abdominal pain, and one which
leads to innumerable unnecessary
operations is simply emotional i'm
balance. The person who is chron-
ically dissatisfied with life is
known as a belly acher" and
quite often these people actually
have a belly ache which they do
not realize is due TO their dissatis-
faction and maladjustment to life.
OF course there are many tangi-
bic causes Of chronic abdominal
pain in the abdomen itself. Peptic
ulcer Of the stomach or duodenum
causes abdominal discomfort, so
does gall stones, also gall bladder
disease.
The treatment OF chronic abb
dominal pain depends upon the
cause, as can readily be seen, and
10 determine this cause requires a
considerable amount Of diagnostic
skill but in the present day we
have many aids and means for this
- diagnosis. Such a patient Is usu-
ally subjected to a routine exam
ination with the help of all labora-
tory technics and consultants.
Methods of Diagnosis
An examination Of the blood
will Immediately disclose the pres
ence of lead poisoning, which
solved the case mentioned above.
The X-ray. Of course, is highly
important feature of the examina-
ton. Examination by stomach spe-
cialists, rectal specialists and gym
biologists all may be necessary TO
help unravel an obscure case.
In treatment, too, we are pretty
well fixed TO handle these cases.
The orthopedic surgeon may be
called in to treat the spine condi-
ton and thus serve as a specialist
on the abdomen. One Of the curses
Of our modern situation is the
readiness with which these pa
tents are sometimes operated on
without careful consideration Of
exactly what is the matter.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
NJ. A. L.: What causes dizzi-
ness when one lies down or when
raising the head or turning the
head or eyes quickly?"
Answer: Dizziness Of this sort Is
due either TO changes in the AFTER
les Of the brain or changes in the
equilibrium apparatus Of the in
ternal ear. 1t is possibly due 70
focal infection from bad teeth OF
tonsils. Your doctor could work
out the cause for you.
T. Y.:-"Will young baby boy
rupture If he cries too much, or Il
you let him cry too long?"
Answer: This is a possibility,
although very slight one. II il
is possible TO stop baby from cry.
ing, it is better to do so.
and Fascists. as more urgent gam,
TO chew on.
The trouble with Martin Dies |,
that he doesn't keep up with tn,
news.
He's bug on one subject anc
can't get onto any new one, NJ
matter II it appeared good polio,
for him 70 90 so What he has Ia ,