The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-05-22
BY Logan CiendeninS. NJ. D.


DR.. Clendening will answer
questions Of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
of the North American continent
who doesn't look into a mirror
pretty regularly. In spite Of this,
a great many diseased conditions
Of the lips-ulcers and assures
are allowed to drag on and no at
tention is paid to them. Sometimes
they result in quite serious con-
ditions.
Fever Blisters
The commonest change that &C.
ours in the lips is the fever blister.
So far as ! know, the world is
divided into two classes Of people
the ones who want TO know how
TO cure fever blister and the ones
who have a perfectly certain cure.
The only suspicious thing about
the perfectly certain cures is that
no two Of them are alike, so | have
always hesitated to recommend
anything to my readers.
Since fever blisters pass away in
nearly every instance, the medical
profession doesn't pay much at
tention to them. The only danger
is that a more serious condition
will be shrugged off by saying, "Oh,
it's only fever blister"
say the fever blister almost
always passes away. Very infre-
quently there is left chronic ulcer
or a little, hard horn Of skin at the
site of the fever blister. These may
drag on for years and should not
be allowed to do so because they
are potential cancers.
In fact, any change in the skin
of the lips which is at all chronic
is potentially cancerous. There is
a condition known as keratosis
that occurs in people whose occu-
pations expose them to the wind
and sun. There is a thickening of
the skin Of the lip, which in itself
does no harm, and may last for
years before finally it turns into a
cancer. There is nothing to be done
for the keratosis, but when it be-
gins TO break down and form a
weeping ulcer or sore or a assure
that doesn't heal, it should be
removed. ,
Leukoplakis
Another condition of the lips is
known as leukoplakia. This occurs
mostly after middle age and shows
up as white, silvery patch which
looks as if it could be rubbed off,
but is extremely deceptive in this
respect. Like the keratosis, it may
60 on for years doing no harm, and
then begin to turn into cancer.
Of course, the lip is one of the
most frequent sites Of superficial
cancer. Besides the cancers that
are secondary to the precancerous
conditions we have described above,
such as indolent ulcer, horn kera-
tosis and leukoplakia, cancer may
appear on the lip spontaneously.
There are two kinds: one in the
form of wart and one in the form
of an ulcer. They are more fire.
quent in middle-aged persons and
hardly ever occur before the age
Of sixty.
Lip Cancer Neglected
1t is an astonishing thing, in
view of the campaign against can
Ger which stresses the fact that
any lump or liberation of the skin
should be examined by a physician
and also stresses the fact that in
ternal examination should be made
regularly after the age of forty,
that cancer of the lip should be so
frequently neglected and should
show one Of the highest death rates
OF any form of cancer.
There, as / said at the beginning,
we have part Of the body that we
look at every day and should know
what changes are occurring, and
still so many people neglect and
put off these things until it is too
late. The lesson is that the lips are
particularly subject to serious de-
generative changes and anything
IN the form Of lump or an ulcera-
ton or a break in the skin should
have the benefit Of medical advice.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
K. S.:-What are shingles! Are
they dangerous? Are they con-
tagious? What is the treatment?
Can you completely get rid Of
them? What are they caused from?
Answer: Shingles are due to an
infection of the gangla of the
nerves and cause an eruption on
the skin in the area which the
nerve involved supplies. They are
very painful. They occur mostly
IN elderly people. They are not
dangerous or contagious. The best
treatment is by X-ray over the
ganglion involved. One attack pro-
tects from recurrence for life.