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


as a little worse than a bad cold
DR.. Clendening will answer
questions Of general interest
only, ana then only through
his column.
but an attack lasted two or three
weeks and everyone who caught il
complained more than If he had a
bad cold, because he didn't want
10 go around with red. streaming
eyes and granular lids.
In October it began 10 appear in
California and spread rapidly,
reaching its peak incidence in De-
eember. To show how widespread
II became, II was estimated that
as many as two per cent OF all the
employees in some ship building
plants were affected. Some special
groups Of workers who had to put
a special strain on the eyes, such
as welders. were more frequently
affected than others.
Ordinary Pink Eye
Conjunctivitis, or ordinary pink
eye, Is known " De contagious, and
a particular group Of germs is in
most cases responsible and can be
cultured from the secretions. But
In these cases, although they were
thoroughly examined by bacteriol-
ogists, no germs of any kind were
found and they are now known as
cases Of epidemic virus conJuncti-
Wits.
saw few cases and can testify
that II is quite an uncomfortable
condition. At first there is pain,
excessive teariness and the feel
ing that a granular or dusty body
or other foreign substance is in
the eye. The lids are greatly
swollen, although there is no &C.
tual pus discharge-as often hap
pens in ordinary pink eye.
The whites of the eyes are in
tensely Redeemed and as a nearly
regular thing there are small
hemorrhages beneath the coats of
the whites Of the eyes. Reports Of
show you caught it" were rife and
varied. One theory which always
comes up in such cases was that it
was due TO swimming in pools.
Method of Spread
The real method of spread was
probably plain contamination with
soiled i.ren, and hands. One per-
son with a mild case rubs his eyes,
handles a tool, puts it down, then
another person picks it up and
then rubs his eyes. The welder or
worker at the brightly lighted
machine didn't strain his eyes, but
the light made his eyes itch and he
rubbed them more than somebody
else.
This is a lesson that can be APP
piled to all cases Of pink eye, be-
cause they all tend TO occur in cpl
denie form. 1t is astonishing how
many cross contacts people can
make, such as pupils in a school
room, workers in an Office or .
family within the confines Of the
domestic walls.
There is q lesson also that ap-
plies to all forms Of conjunctivitis
in the reports of the effects of
treatment. Most Of these cases are
treated with the mild organic sill
yer preparations, such as argyrol'
Other mild antiseptic solutions
such as the zinc preparations. can
be used. Personally. | favor a qui-
nine bisulphate ointment squeezed
in the eye from an ophthalmic
tube. Sometimes any one Of these
preparations causes more irrita-
ton and does more harm than
good. Cold congresses perhaps
give more real relief than any
other thing.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
c. B. Sis it true that q
person can pick up a pneumonia
germ and carry it around for
eleven or twelve months and then
have the germ develop into bad
case Of pneumonia ?"
Answer: Not enough is known
about the immunity reactions Of
the carriers Of pneumonia germs
70 answer this question. 1t is true
that a great many people carry
pneumonia germs in their mouths ;
whether they develop pneumonia
from these same germs or from
new ones they pick up has not
been answered by psychologists.
J. 3. Ed. Would a cup Of
pure coffee hurt a person with any
form Of heart trouble7 2. What
kind of salt can a person with
high blood pressure, kidney
trouble and heart trouble use? g.
Can a person with kidney trouble
drink grape juice? 4. Which Is
tic most acid, a red or pink TO-
mato?"
Answer: /. Coffee will not hurt
a person with any kind Of heart
trouble. 2. Salt, in moderation, is
generally allowed people with high
blood pressure and most forms OF
heart and kidney disease. 3. Grape
juice is not harmful TO a person
with kidney disease. 4. Neither
red nor pink tomatoes are acid al
all. Their ultimate reaction in ths
body is alkaline.