The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-11-10

and tonsils is always a problem
sometimes even serious enough TO
slowup military operations for a
few days. Methods Of shortening
the 'ength Of the disease by chem
ical therapy, such as sulfa drugs,
have been used quite successfully.
OF course this military expert
ence is just an extension for the
doctors of the troubles they have
with tonsils and have had with
them for years on the home front
long before it became the home
front and when it was just home.
Just what the tonsils do is a
mystery. Presumably they have
some function, but it is hard to
figure out what it is. They have
not even the function Of being
ornamental, as eyebrows have, be-
cause except when the mouth is
wide open as in the dentists Of
fee and the Senate, they cannot be
seen at all.
Lymphatic Tissue
In structure they are Emphatic
tissue. In the form Of islands, or
lymph nodes, this tissue is scat
tered all over the body. II is def
mtely associated with the over
coming of infection. Bacteria, or
germs, which light. in Emphatic
tissue usually get killed off with
neatness and dispatch. Sometimes,
of course, if the battle is a severe
on the lymph node itself gets
pretty we'll snarled up and par
TALLY destroyed and shows up as
an enlargement under the skin
called by the oldtimers kernels"
in the neck or groin or armpit.
But exactly how Emphatic It's
sue exposed in the back of the
throat can overcome an infection
is more or less a puzzle. The tonsils
and adenoids become the seat Of
infection all right but when they
do they are more of a nuisance
than a help to the body economy.
The Emphatic tissue also is
part of the blood system having to
do with one form of the white cells
but while the tonsils and adenoids
play their part in this function
along with the rest of the nodes,
they are certainly not necessary
to the process because the body al
ready has more tissue Of this kind
than it needs for blood building
purposes.
Theory About Tonsils
Still another theory that has
been advanced about them is that
they supply an internal secretion,
but this can hardly be true be-
cause we have records of thou
sands of human beings whose
tonsils and adenoids were removed
in early life and suffered no con-
sequences in the way Of health,
growth or intelligence.
One phenomenon about them
Is worth knowing by beginning
mothers and fathers. They are
very large at birth and constantly
atrophy and recede through life.
The new mother may look in the
baby's mouth and find these red,
spongy masses filling the entire
back of the throat, and then by
comparison she looks in papa's
throat and can't see any at all, and
she may rush to the conclusion
that there is something very seri-
Gus the matter with junior. But
such is not the case. 1t is perfectly
natural for junior TO have big ton
sis which look as if they would
not allow him TO swallow.
The question as TO whether the
tonsils should come out or not is
a moot one. There is no question
that they are natural breeding
places for infection and tonsilitis
is a potentially dangerous disease.
Certainly there could be no argu-
ment that after the first real at
tack Of tonsilitis the tonsils should
come out, because one attack pre-
disposes TO others
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
]. K.:-Does beer help make
milk for a nursing mother?
Answer: The carbohydrate and
ealories Of beer will supply ma
terial for milk, but we do not ad-
wise alcoholic beverages for .
nursing mother.