The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-01-31

his column.
ton which sponsors the Presi-
dents Birthday Celebration in or
der TO obtain the money for the
prosecution of these researches.
W. can not say yet with con-
fidence that we have any method
Of preventing infantile paralysis.
Research has not furnished US
with that gift, although it is work.
ing toward it. There is no serum
which the patient can take in the
midst Of an epidemic that will pre-
vent an attack. Nor can we say,
once an attack IS established, that
we have any serum treatment
which will prevent the paralysis
or even reduce 1t.
The of Infantile paralysis
has been pretty definitely estab-
lished as a flterable virus. This
virus can be recovered from the
central nervous system Of patients
who have died from the disease
and will produce the disease in
monkeys. II is generally accepted
that the virus enters the
system through the mucous mem
brane of the nose. In Sweden a
school Of epidemiologists believe
that it enters the body through
the digestive tract.
Suggestions that it is possible
TO pick up the disease by bathing
in sewage-polluted waters have
apparently led TO some favorable
results.
Preventing Human Contacts
But the standby | n prevention
is still to prevent human contacts.
Outbreaks in such institutions as.
asylum homes for children are all
most unknown, even in a wide
spread epidemic, due to the fact
that these children r somewhat
isolated from the outside world.
On the other hand. boarding
schools which do have outside con
facts frequently report such cpl
denies.
In an epidemic about eighty per
cent of those attacked escape
paralysis n IN many instances
the attack may pass unrecognized
as infantile paralysis. The severity
of the paralysis is due to the fact
that motor cells in the spinal col.
umn, once destroyed, can never be
regenerated; although in a great
many cases the first amount Of
paralysis is always much more
than what eventually becomes resi-
dual. In other words, some nerve
cells are damaged from the poison
of the disease and the muscles to
which they go are paralyzed, but
as convalescence occurs, those cells
which are not totally destroyed
In treatment of a Ease once
established, we have no specific
a%nti-toxin or anti-serum. The best
that we have is convalescent serum
serum from the blood Of a person
who has recovered from the dis
ease.
1t has been the rule to enjoin
absolute rest for several weeks
after the subsistence of infantile
paralysis. This idea was chal-
lenged a year or two ago by the
introduction Of the Kenney treat
ment, introduced by Miss Eliza
beth kenney, an Australian nurse
who had had a great deal of ex-
perience with the disease and who
believed that passive movements
and re-education of the muscles
should begin very early in con-
v~alescence. This treatment has
been widely tried in America and
appears to be meeting with sue
cess.
Finally, and much the most i'm
portant and hopeful aspect in the
treatment Of infantile paralysis is
the improvement that has been
made in the rehabilitation of pa
tients through orthopedic surgery
and the use of braces.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
G. Sis aspirin used to ell
inmate acid from the SYSTEM"
Answer: Aspirin is an acid it.
self. Its only function is to relieve
discomfort.
L. G.:-"Sometime q | read in
your column of someone using
sodium perborate as a nasal spray.
Could you please tell me how to
use it, how often, and with what
TO mix 1t and in what proportion? ?"
Answer: Sodium p~erborate is a
mild antiseptic used as a mouth
wash, gargle or nasal spray. A
teaspoonful in a glass of warm
water makes a two per cent solu-
ton. When used in any treatment
for che mouth and nose, it should
be followed by a rinse Of salt
water.
mother was American but his ia
Their. K. K. Kawakami, was an un-
adulterated Jap. c. HIS press Gre
d%entials. as Washington represent
tative Of Domei, the Toxic news
agency, were promptly gobbled up
by the FBI. directly following
Pearl Harbor. The last | knew
about 1t he was doing his best to
hrQaE Int fkn TT-ft~I Ct,tz. -