Evening star., 1942-05-07
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

And Study
BY Thomas r. Henry.
Experiments with . radically new
method Of dressing wounds in which
surgical wrappings are replaced by cello
phane have just been reported by 1t.
Comdr. J. w. Kimbrough Of the Navy
Medical Corps.
With this treatment, he explains in
the Naval Medical Bulletin, wounds heal
faster, there is less danger Of infection,
and progress can be watched from day
to day.
1t now is recognized, he points out,
tissue automatically produces q secre-
ton which has two functions-first serv-
ing as mothers milk" to the new cells
which form to replace those destroyed
by the injury and secondly acting rs an
antiseptic to prevent the multiplica-
ton Of bacteria.
Both Of these functions, he explains,
are disturbed by the old system Of sur
gical dressing. These must be removed
u
the possibility that they have become
attached to the wounded tissue and
must be torn away. Even when this
is done without pain to the patient the
new cells are likely to be injured and
some Of them destroyed.
Every time the bandages are taken
on, he says, there Is danger of re-infec-
ton.
The cellophane, on the other hand,
need never be removed. It is trans
parent 70 that the progress of healing
can be watched constantly and unless
something untoward happens the sur
geon need never interfere. An especial
advantage Is that it is transparent to
the bacteria-killing ultraviolet rays of
the sun which also promote healing
A particular advantage, Comdr. KIM
brough says, is that the cellophane Is
tmpervious to water. Hence q patient
can bathe regularly without removing
or protecting the dressing. 1t also is
impervious to the common chemicals
encountered in industry, 50 that man
can return to work without danger of
infection.
Cellophane, the experiments have
shown, has no tendency to adhere to
suppurating wounds
"As nearly as could be judged" he
says, LESSONS treated by the cellophane
method have healed in from one to ave
days less time than similar wounds
treated with other dressings"
Uncle Sans para troopers must be
selected with care.
Any emotional instability may be .
greater handicap than for an aviator,
according to Navy Medical Corps tests.
This Is due in large part. according
to report just made to the Naval Medi-
cal Bulletin by 1t. ]. o. M. Thatcher,
to the fact that fear Of falling is one
Of the Unborn phobias Of mankind.
"One OF the reasons for fatalities of
airplane accidents today" he says, "is,
In reality. the fear which has forced
the pilot to trust his disabled ship rather
than his means Of safety, his parachute"
Observation before the jump. he says.
shows that in normal men there is al
most always . slight rise Of both pulse
and blood pressure. When such men
are examined Immediately after reach
ing the ground 1t is found that the
pulse rate Is almost twice normal and
the blood pressure has taken a big Jump.
This can be explained only, he says,
on the basis that even In ell-balanced
individuals there Is a marked effect on
the sympathetic nervous system.
Some 60 much beyond this in their
nervous symptoms. Examiners have OBJ
served blushing, blanching, tremor Of
hands and eyelids, suffering or con.
tinuous smacking Of the lips
After the jump" he says, there may
be observed in this same group an As
sumed nonchalance, excessive gesticula-
ton or bravado. Some appear irritable
others fail to answer ordinary questions
such as to what outfit they belong, what
day 1t is, or In what order they jumped
from the plane. These latter men,
upon careful questioning, usually relate
some incident that occurred during the
Jump. AL of these men showed emo
tional unbalance. It is conceivable
that they would develop a neurosis and
might easily prove detrimental to their
companions. Because of this, the prob
lem confronting the medical selection
board Is to give . real evaluation of
the emotional temperament Of each
man"
Medical observers assigned to this
service, he stresses, should themselves
be obliged to make one or more jumps in
order to have . personal appreciation
OF the nerve-mind factors involved.
Urges Putting Army and Navy
Into Effective Action Now.
To the Editor Of The Star:
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, World War
ace. recently stated that the United