The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-05-19


mide drugs which have become so
popular in the treatment of gen
eral infections during. the last
eight years.
For many years men tried TO
find the chemical which could be
put in the body and which would
kill germs without injuring the it's
sues. The first Of these ever to be
perfected was quinine. Then came
the famous magic bullet" Of Ehr-
Itch. But these all we're used in
parasitical diseases. The injecting
germ was an animal and nothing
valuable was discovered for cases
where the germ is, as is mostly the
case, vegetable until 1892.
Prontosil Announced
Then a German. Domagk at the
|. G. Fsrbenindustrie, announced
drug called prontosil which would
kill streptococcic septicemia in
mice. Domagk received the Nobel
Prize in medicine in 1888. but it is
evident that the Germans were try
ing some shenanigan because they
apparently intended to keep the
chemical structure of prontosil
secret. and it was the French who
not only worked out what the
chemical formula was, but also i'm
proved on it so that it was a crys-
talline product known as sulfanil-
amide.
There is no doubt that the drug
performs practical miracles. Be-
ginning with streptococcic infec-
tons, it has been used in pneumo-
MIA and a great many bacterial
diseases, and while it has some
disagreeable toxic effects, it still
does nearly everything that has
been claimed for it.
Since its introduction sulfanila-
mide has been modified, trying to
get compounds that are less toxic
to the human being and more
lethal TO a germ, so that now we
have sulfapyradine, sulfathiazole,
sulfadiazine and sulfaguanidine.
Each time one Of these drugs is an
nounced. it is tried out with the
enthusiasm which belongs to the
medical profession and is &C.
claimed as the best.
Toxic Nature Of Drugs
We have come to understand the
toxic nature Of these drugs little
better and it would be wise to al
low for them. have a notion that
a great many doctors are afraid to
advise patient not to take one of
them because there is so much
popular prejudice in favor Of them
and he is afraid he will lose out.
But this is unfair to your patient
because with mild disease that is
going to last only three or four
days, the use of q drug which can
possibly cause rather severe poi
soning is injudicious, whereas II
the patient has a serious, possibly
fatal disease, it is justifable to use
any drug that has any hope Of
checking the disease.
Another feature of the use Of
the sulfonamide drugs that has
come to grief is their application
on a local wound surface. II has
been found in such things as burns,
for instance, that the actual action
of the sulfonamide drug is to stop
the growth factor both Of germs
and cells, and while it may kill of
all the germs on wound, it also
stops the rapidity Of wound heal
ing. This was recently demon
strated once more in the severe
burns that occurred among en-
listed men and officers at Pearl
Harbor.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
n. M.:-Will you please advise
in your column whether a nursing
mother can follow a reducing diet
such as your Lenten diet? | am
very healthy, but find am gaining
too much weight while nursing the
baby.
Answer: II a nursing mother is
overweight, a reducing diet is very
much in order because that is a
particularly likely period for ex-
cessive overweight TO be put on
which is hard to remove later.
Is that the AXIS presently won I
have even enough grass TO eat
Never mind warns Psychology
Professor J L Benson of Wash
ngton and Lee University Our
problem isn't TO figure out schemes
Tor protecting OURSELVES IT'S
how 10 defeat the enemy"
II We lick EN-. let's eat grass or
my old thing,