The Ypsilanti daily press., 1944-12-02

only, and then only through
his column.
along without some degree Of such
feelings. They are not necessarily
signs of any serious illness on the
down side Of life although in chill
dren or younger people they would
be regarded as Of considerable
gravity.
Essentially they indicate
changes in the blood supply of the
apparatus Of equilibrium. The or
gan of equilibrium is in the bones
of the skull just behind the ears.
It consists of three horseshoe
shaped canals-technically known
as the semi-circular canals-which
stand pointing in different direc-
tions, one upward, one to the side
and one backward.
They are filled with fluid which
moves as the head is moved and
relays to our brain the news OF
what position the body is in. Prac-
tically everyone but senators and
cabinet members can tell whether
he is standing up or lying down,
or standing on his head, even if he
has his eyes shut and is in the
dark, and it is very valuable and
mysterious function.
Causes of Dizziness
When you whirl person around
rapidly the fluid in these canals
swishes around so fast it gets out
of control, and he staggers, cannot
control the direction in which he
is going and for a minute or two
is lost.
Drugs, notably old John Barley
corn, VIGOROUSLY do the same
thing.
Since these semi-circular canals
are near the organ of hearing those
who are beginning to have chronic
progressive deafness may suffer
from vertigo as the first symptom.
But in others there are no dis
turbances Of the hearing mechan-
ism and we must ascribe the
sensations of dizziness to the CEN
tral receiving organ in the brain.
Undoubtedly this is due to changes
in the arteries of the brain of a
general process Of hardening Of
the arteries all over the body.
With such a theory in mind DR..
Maurice Eliaser, Of the Army
Medical Corps, has devised treat
ment consisting Of an elastic collar
9s of an inch in width with a hook
and eye attachment to admit of
ready adjustment and removal.
This is tight enough to cause some
engagement of the blood vessels
in the skull, but no. enough to
cause any shutting off Of the blood
supply going to the brain.
Collar Beneficial
He has tried it on a number Of
patients and it works. One man,
40 years Of age, had recurrent sem
sations of loss of equilibrium. They
were noted most prominently on
arising from bed in the morning,
q common experience with all cases
of vertigo. He was fitted with a
collar of the character described
and puts it on when he feels the
need, sometimes leaving it on sew
eral hours with complete relief Of
his symptoms. Maybe the old
irjunctions against tight-collars
were wrong, especially for those
on the shady side of 40.
The only bad symptoms observed
from this treatment have been oc-
casional headaches. Most of the
patients with mild degree Of in
volvement are able to remove the
collar in the afternoon.
Certainly the treatment is SIM
pie and inexpensive enough to
warrant a trial anyhow. There is
no place known to me where the
collars can be purchased, but it
would be easy to construct home
made affair, unless the rubber
shortage has extended to garter
material.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
f. NJ. S.:-I had a fall six weeks
ago and now haze what they call
housemaid's knee. The doctor told
me it would wear off in a week, but
there is still some fluid and the
knee does not get any smaller and
still hurts. What is your advice?
Answer: There is always tend
ency to minimize a slight injury
and say the result is a wrench or
a sprain, or, as in this case, house.
maids knee. AS a matter Of record,
little falls and injuries are just as
likely to cause fractures as severe
ones and it is always advisable to
have an Xray taken and see that