The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-15
WE'RE ONLY POOLING

WERE ONLY POOLING
 Familiar item in the news; Jon @ Fella the w.k. so and so collapse ed last evening while at dinner with friends. Dr. Fonda Publicity stated that MT. Fela's attack was due to acute indigestion. Tn the same category is this one, from a readers letter: My friend called A doctor who said she has chronic appendicitis. Later in 8 check-up at the hospital no such trouble was found. Still later when she had more pain and called the doctor he told her just to take an aspirin or a nice cream soda. He said it was chronic appendicitis and he didn't need ta examine her again that she needed to be builo up with tonics so she could nave her appendix removed.
 My own interpretation Of MT. Fellas acute indigestion is that pr. Fonda Publicity is only fooling-- just whom he is fooling cannot say. but hope it is the reporter or the public, no MT. Fella. I'd hate to be in MT. Fella's place if the at- tending physician seriously attrib- uted my illness or collapse to f1n- digestion"
 After all, even if your food re- mains wholly undigested for hours or days, or remains in the stomach long after it should have passed along into the duodenum, or under goes prolonged fermentation and SO produces more than the normal or ordinary amount of gas, or ex- cites secretion of more than the ordinary or normal amount of acid gastric juice or excessively acld gastric juice, still the very worst effect will be some temporary dis comfort. If you have real pain, or any real embarrassment of heart action or breathing or in fact any attack" or distress severe enough to call for medical emergency re- lief, you may as well realize there is something seriously wrong and it isn't just upset digestion os sonle- thing that doesn't agree" or any, thing so simple as that. Here I must leave you to worry about 1t. can only assure you that any attack" which amounts to more than temporary discomfort Is NOT just indigestion"
 AS forchronic appendicitis, there is still some division Of opinion about this rather cryptic diagnosis. some good doctors maintaining that it can happen. But if you are ask ing me, not telling me, say that I would not fool along with any such notion myself if were the patient. Too many cases of alleged Chronic appendicitis" have been opened by mistake. One may have repeated attacks of acute appendix citis, whether the first attack is so diagnosed or not, but in my opin- ion a diagnosis of chronic appendix citis of indefinite or gradual onset. without the history of one or more acute attacks and intervals of com- parative freedom from trouble, is always questionable.
 QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
 Blood Donations
 Two different girls were told by their respective physicians that donating blood would cause them to gain weight. Both are trying to keep weight down.
 (Miss S. M)
 AnswerLOne girl, I suspect, is propounding a hypothetical ques- ton. Of course donating blood will not affect weight one way or the other. Don't be quaint-it was back in the early thirties that women thought they had to be skinny. Snake Poisoning Kindly give me information re- garding anti-venom for snake pois- oning and the care of the person bitten by snake. Or. P. M. Jo Answer-Perhaps a drugstore in in your city has the emergency outfit with instructions for its us by anybody. The anti-venom is supplied at nominal charge, to be carried in the emergency kit, and the package is returnable if not used.
 Free List
 Doctors of Medicine, Doctors of Dental Surgery or Dental Medi- cine. Teachers of Health and Psy- sical Education and students of these arts who provide stamped self addressed envelope are -wel- come to any booklet or pamphlet I have, for the asking.
 Copyright 1945, John F. Dille Col