The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-10-20

questions of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
think it clears very much up. But
it happens to hit me at what has
been, ! believe, called q psyche
logical moment.
If the rest of the world is half
as fatigued as | am and ! seem to
see evidences that it is, it is IA
tigued indeed. Why shouldn't it
be? The war has been so arranged
that it would tire anybody out. |
seem to see evidences of it all
about me--in the new books, in
the announcements Of statesmen,
in schemes for world planning. /
suggest from the viewpoint of a
physician, that after the war is
definitely over we all have a peri
Cd of rest and recuperation and
try to renew the springs and wells
of the spirit.
Fatigue is the commonest Of the
symptoms of which the. human
race complains. And in spite of
that we doctors are quite at loss
to explain what causes it. 1t is not
always due to excessive or extra
exertion. That kind of fatigue is
easy to understand and to remedy.
But we all know the person who
is tired all the time and never does
any work.
Anxiety Causes Fatigue
Anxiety is a caus, of fatigue
even If it is not accompanied by
any particularly unusual activity.
The army and navy medical corps
are meeting it right along. 1t is
sometimes called "Flying Stress"
sometimes "Operational Fatigue"
or Combat Fatigue" as the case
may be. And it works in a vicious
circle-anxiety causes the fatigue
and the fatigue creates anxiety
states. The medical reports on the
men at Guadalcanal where there
was no chance to relieve them ade-
quateiy, are among the most gra-
phic and pitiful in medical case re-
porting.
The simplest fatigue states
gives us a clue to the cause OF
some of the more complicated
ones. Brought to the lowest COM
mon denominator the body gets
tired when it performs muscular
exertion over a certain period Of
time. This certain period of time
varies with the individual. The
feeling Of fatigue is in this SIM
plest form located in the muscles
and we may assume that it is due
to lack of food. Or re- her to hav-
ing all the available food used up.
Simplest Form of Fatigue
Schedule fatigue in school chill
dren is of this simplest form. The
Joint Committee on Health Edu-
cation has repeatedly insisted that
school children have extra lunc les.
Especially in such cases as seen
in these children who get food at
am. and then cannot reach = me
for their next meal until ABOUT
2 pm.
People vary greatly, as is we'll
known, in their meets for sep
and frequency Of N, IS. 1 M
pie mechanism of simple ,ue
as outlined above ma be tie ex-
PLANTATION for all form of fatigue,
no matter how much disguised it
is in the complicated cases. Drs.
Ports and Zitman. of Northwest
ern Medical School, have found in
patients with fatigue neurosis, the
Inconsistencies, that the symptom
may have a chemical explanation.
We know the energy giving foods
the sugars and starches-are
burned in the oody by insulin Sc
creted by the pancreas. Perhaps
the Inconsistencies vary from other
people in the habit of secreting
more insulin than normals and
hence using up their available
food energy quicker.
For these pers ms It Is sug-
gested that diet high in cereals,
bread, fruits, vegetables, desserts,
and starch and sugar-containing
beverages-milk and soft drinks
would be the proper one.