The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-01-27
YOU CAN'T BELIEVE ALL YOU
 READ

hEAO
 A life insurance company tells the credulous public that "the germ that causes most cases of pneu- monia is a skillful hunter, prefer ring the cold winter months when people are less able to ward of his attacks enjoys good hunting in stormy weather, stalking people who aren't dressed warmly, or whose clothing or shoes are soaked" and SO on.
 There is no scientific evidence that pneumonia is more likely to att tack 8 person who dresses as lightly as he or she pleases in any weather. Nor is there any evidence that wet clothing or wet shoes make any one more likely to have pneumonia.
 Sometimes pneumococcuS strikes people who are in excellent physical condition" the insurance cornpany's oracle tells the world, but the oracle does not explain how he or any physician can tell whether an irl- dividual is in such excellent physi- cal condition"-it's just a nice sort of thing to say, you know. "But he really goes to work with glee''- now of course the oracle who makes up these pieces doesn't imagine pneumonia germ feels any emotion or other concern, but they figure dumb laymen wouldn't understand the thing at all without touch of drama-"on someone whose resist ance has been weakened-perhapS through overwork, poor nutrition, or insufficient exercise"
 No medical authority, no health authority has educed any scientific or clinical evidence that overwork, poor nutrition or insufficient exer- else has anything to do with any, ones immunity to or susceptibility to pneumonia. The insurance com pany is foxy enough to use the term ''resistance'-knowing nobody can define it, demonstrate 1t or meas ure it, and to avoid using the term immunity" for a physician can de- termine by specific test in at least some instances whether the indi- viduaI has immunity, say against diphtheria-and incidentally no re- sponsible physician or health au- thority today would dare to suggest that overwork, poor nutrition or in- sufficient exercise has anything to do with anyone's immunity to diph- theria.
 There were a darn sight better, pictures of stormy weather and ex- posture and gleeful disease germs printed in Old Doctor Horse feathers Almanacs fifty years ago.
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Status ThymO O-Lymphaticus What does status thymo-lym- phaticus" mean? Would . baby treated for enlarged thymus be sub- l ject to it? (Mrs. F. K) AnSwer-It is medlcalese for the condition or state of a baby with en- larged thymus gland-with the en- largement of the thymus gland (be- | hind breaStbone) goes enlargement of lymphatic structures elsewhere, such as tonsils, adenoids, lymph nodes or glands" I discussed the condition in an article published re- gently, bt have no copies of the article available. Here I may say that godo many babies with en- larged thy1nus show no i'll effect and require no particular care or treat ment.
 Exercise for Nervousness Please send me your booklet de- scribing exercises to take for nerv- ouSneSS. (MrS. H. O. Answer-No. Ma'am. I fear you'd be disappointed. do not prescribe or advise special exercises for nerv- ousness. In the green book Nerves and Nutrition" I recommend belly breathing exercise to promote nat ural sleep, somersaults. to iron out irritation or vexation, and honest work as wholesome way to let of steam or absorb the energy released by emotion. If you think the green book would interest you, send twenty-five cents and stamped en- velope bearing your address and ask for it.
 Copyright, 1944, John F. Dille Co.)