The Ypsilanti daily press., 1945-01-11

DR.. Clendening will answer
questions of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
bronchi. Sometimes just one is in
yolyed at time Sometimes every
thing is involved-there is run
ming from the nose, sore throat
and difficult swallowing and tight
ness in the chest and coughing.
Sometimes the whole thing starts
in the nose, works down 10 the
throat, and lands in the chest.
Most often it starts in the throat
and works both directions--that is
one kind of sore throat. If you look
in such a throat you see = red
palate with little yellowish, glis-
tening spots scattered over it
follicular pharyngitis.
Acute TOnsillitis
Another kind Of sore throat is
acute tonsillitis. That is a strictly
throat affair-and a good thing
too because if the same amount of
trouble as is kicked up in the
throat by a pair of acute tonsils
were to spread to the nose and
chest it would be early Christian
torture.
Then, whenever a sore throat
turns up, especially if the prostra-
tion is out Of proportion to the
fever or soreness, one has to think
Of diphtheria and make an imme-
diate throat culture.
The strep throat is somewhere
in between all of these. 1t may
have a membrane on the pharynx
that looks like diphtheria, it may
involve the tonsils almost exclu-
sively. 1t is certainly prostrating
and makes you good and sick.
Varieties of "Strep"
The streptococcus is q fine,
round little germ that grows in the
form of chains. There are many
varieties of it-one causes cry
sipelas, and one scarlet fever.
Other varieties are responsible for
puerperal fever and forms of
acute heart disease. The kind you
have in the pharynx in a "strep
sore throat" may be any Of these,
so it is best not to treat it with
contempt. Select rather one of the
sulfa drugs. 1t can be identified
and differentiated from diph-
iberia by a throat culture.
eo We ere ne srr1nndsd r'a aH ~ str:ctc sc
around in our mouth cavities and
noses. But we are used to them and
have developed immunity to them
and they give us no bother. 1t is
when we get an overwhelming
dose Of a strange variety that we
are in danger Of coming down with
strep sore throat.
Many epidemics have been
traced to infected milk, the milk
being just loaded with colonies of
streptococci which come maybe
from some food handler-dairy
man, milk man, waitress, cook.
You may get on a street car or
bus, or go to a movie and sit next
to someone who is just coming
down with a fine case of it and
breathing out gobs Of strepto-
cocci in all directions. They are
very contagious and tend TO 90 in
epidemics.
Develop Immunity
| don't want to scare anybody by
all this. There is really no way to
avoid it. Certainly the worst thing
is to withdraw yourself from life
and refuse to 90 on buses or to
the movies. The best thing is TO
mingle freely with everybody and
develop immunity to all varieties
Of strep. Take me who have for
more years than | want to tell
jammed into crowds and movie
houses from Oregon to Russia. |
don't suppose it would be possible
TO give me strep sore throat.
Knock on wood.
But the serious dangers that
used to accompany a strep sore
throat are pushed into the back
ground now that we have the sulfa
drugs to treat such conditions
with. These chemicals are espe-
cially deadly to streptococci. In
fact in the first period Of their use
they were supposed to be effective
only against streptococci. Now we
have found they are useful against
other infections. Given in ade-
quate dosage they knock out a
strep sore throat and stop the
dangers of complications in about
48 hours. There are two now-sul-
fadiazine and sulfamerazine -
that are highly effective against
streptococci and produce almost
no disagreeable toxic symptoms in
the patient.
WashIngtop-Rep. Andrew MAY
Cd Ky, House Military Affair,
Committee chairman, announcing
he will introduce a bill for Undue
ton of nurses into armed forces