The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-06-18

only, ana then only through
his column.
the British Army a veritable cpl
demic of ulcer of the stomach
broke out in the troops which had
returned from the Low Countries.
Other forms Of digestive dis
turbance also occurred, so much so
that in a group of invalided sol
diers admitted to a hospital near
London, there were IT'S medical
disorders, of which no fewer than
Al (23.5fc) were cases of stomach
disorder and OF these, after care
full examination, "a were actually
found to have some form of ulcer
of the stomach.
Remember that these men had
been passed by a medical board
before being accepted and many
of them were members of the regu-
lar British Army, so it is assumed
that they were in good health be-
fore entering service. The number
of ulcer patients far outnumbered
diseases in the numssical groups
closest to them such as bronchitis,
pneumonia, rheumatism, etc.
In attempting to formulate the
cause for this outbreak one must
remember food factors. Most Of
the soldiers ascribed their symp-
toms to the Army food. Undoubt-
edly under the conditions which
prevailed during the retreat, most
of them lived for days on rough
food badly cooked and served at
irregular intervals. When they
had no food in the stomach they
probably had a nervous secretion
of acid gastric juices for a long
time which would predispose TO
the formation of ulcer.
The tobacco factor is also
stressed. There were only three
non-smokers among all the dys-
peptics. One patient with a duo
denal ulcer used to smoke as many
as 60 cigarettes a day. The aver
age consumption was over II
day. Tobacco, if used excessively,
unquestionably upsets the diges-
tive function and under the ner-
vous strain of being under con-
slant gun fire, unquestionably a
man who under ordinary circum-
stances is moderate smoker
would, from nervousness and rest
Iessness, step up his tobacco con-
sumption two or three times.
Another factor which is men,
toned in the English reports is
oral sepsis. Again we can under
stand that under conditions Of
warfare the toilet Of the mouth
with toothbrush and toothpaste
would have to be neglected.
The trench mouth Of the last
war was an indication of this and
here again we have a cause that
is known to operate under ordi-
nary circumstances in the forma-
ton of ulcer. The whole study
indicated the fact that has long
been suggested, that nervous con-
ditions play certain part in the
formation Of ulcer of the stomach
or duodenum.
A side effect of this condition
has been that a great many Eng
lish Array men who were doing
ordinary medical duty have been
recalled to take charge Of the x
ray laboratories in order TO con-
firm the diagnosis of stomach ul-
GER. An X-ray man is always q
good doctor besides being an x
ray man, and during war condi-
tons 1t was found that most of
them would be more useful in gen.
eral practice than in X-ray prac-
tice. With the epidemic Of dys-
pepsia, a great many men in the
armed forces began to complain Of
dyspepsia in order to be relieved
Of duty. The symptoms of ulcer
Of the stomach are of course very
easy to fake and there is no GER
tain way to prove or disprove the
existence Of the condition except
By X-ray.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
c. His it safe to have
spleen removed? Is it possible to
have tumor in the spleen? What
can be done for an enlarged
spleen?
Answer: In skillful hands, re-
moval Of a spleen is quite a safe
operation. There are many differ
ent kinds Of tumor Of the spleen.
The treatment Of an enlarged
spleen depends upon the cause;
sometimes it is due to malaria,
sometimes it can be reduced with
the X-ray.