The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-04-03
Your Health By Dr. William Brady

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 SALICYLATES FOR RHEUMATlA
 For more than fifty years saits of salicylic acid, particularly sooi- um salicyIate and methyl salicyIase Coil of wintergreen or oil Of pircL synthetic or distilled from winter green leaves or birch bark) nave been used as remedies for rheuma- tism, infiammatory rheumatism. rheumatic fever, acute infectious arthritis. The same remedies nave been almost as much for reliei or various other ills called rheumatism. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin was introduced primarily as an im- provement upon other SallcylaVeS or salicylic acid compounds, ouG has come to be used chiefly as 3 pain-killer in all sorts of paln1n conditions.
 Any of these medicines may pros duce unpleasant or dangerous CT" fects-such as tinnitus Bringing or other noises in ears), vertigo, oea1- ness. nausea. So far as untoward or dangerous by-effects are con- corned, aspirin is little II any safer than other selicylic acid com pounds. In my opinion aspirin has no remedial value other than the relief it may give to ache or pain. I do not believe 1t cures or helpa in the cure of any aliment or dis" ease.
 Recently some good physicians have administered by slow injection into vein large amounts of sodi" um salicylate-aS much as 10 Gn. (nearly 150 grains) dissolved m nearly a quart of salt solution ev- cry day for four days-in acute rheumatic fever. with astonishing relief for the sick child (most cases of rheumatic fever occur in chllo- hood.
 One of the risks in such treat- ment is prolongation of clotting time, which would increase the ha- zards of hemorrhagic complications from the damage the rheumatic in- lection itself does to the blood yes" sels. But this risk is largely guard. ed against by giving the patient adequat amounts of vitamin K. which is physiological essential for natural control of bleeding or hemorrhage by coagulation or clothing of blood. Alfalfa (rich source of vitamin K, as also arc other green leaves such as cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, kale, carros tops) concentrate or synthetic vita- min K may be given for this pur" pose.
 It is my own belief that the sali" cylates have remedial value only m rheumatic fever (acute infectious arthritis, infiammatory rheumat- ism), and that aside from tempor- arily relieving ache or pain neither sodium salicylate nor methyl salicy- late (wintergreen oil. sweet birch oiD nor acety-salicylic acid (as- pirin) has any remedial value in any form of chronic joint trouble, whether the nature of the trouble is obscured under the meaningless name of rheumatism" or not.
 The nature of rheumatic fever or acute infectious arthritis will be another story. Here suffice to say CD 1t is always an acute illness usually affecting a young person, and CD rarely if ever does any last ing disability of the affected joints follow the attack.