The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-02
IJRrC ACID MY EYE


 A woman aged seventy has all but two of her own teeth. A recent x-ray by her dentist shows, she says, that she has a tendency to uric acid in her system, which, if not cleared up, will affect her teeth seriously, also her eyesight = pre- sumably this is what the dentist told her. She does not wear glasses at present. Now just what changes should she make in her diet. It seems that in sounding of in my quackish way here recently l poast- ed that I have had more experience than any honest doctor in the coln- try in long distance diagnosis ana absent treatment, or something to that effect, so it should be childs play for me to see the correspond- ent and her dentist right about this case.
 I do talk myself into situations. I can't dig up the copy without q tedious search through the files, than which can conceive of noth- ing more odious unless it is read- ing clippings from my own column - but I'm willing to bet you ten to one any amount up to dime - that when I uttered that remark about long distance diagnosis and absent treatment I was trying to make the reader realize the absurd ity of any attempt or pretense of ability to make a diagnosis of, or to prescribe treatment for any in- dividual condition without having examined the patient.
 According to the medical author ities X-ray pictures of what medi- cal authorities call "gouty arthritis" show typical "punched-out" appear ances about the joint involved. But speaking now as the old one-horse country practitioner I repeat I'm from Missouri in respect to several fine old medical traditions, and par- ticularly these three:
 1. That any illness is caused by
 cold, dampness, exposure, sud-
 den change, draft.
 3. That rabies occurs in man.
 3. That excess of uric acid or de-
 posits of monosodium urate in
 the tissues or about joints is
 the cause of a disease called
 ''gout".
 The correspondent asks whether I think what she describes is seri- ous and if so whether advise a change in her diet.
 After all, she doesn't describe anything = so I don't believe it is serious. The only change I would advise in her diet. if any. is an in- crease in the daily consumption of these foods:
 Milk, cheese, egg yolk, vegetables raw and cooked, greens, peanuts and nuts, and if necessary a de- crease in the daily consumption of these:
 White flour and things made of it. Refined sugar and syrup and things made of them.
 Tired Youns Girls
 By now you must be tired of hearing from tired young girls, but. alas, I, too, am one of them,s so please send me Instructions for Taking Iodin Ration.
 (Miss F. F.)
 Answer-I'm pretty sure did not use that epithet, Frances - if you can show me I did, I'll send you with my compliments a complete set of the works of or Doe Brady. Not only young girls, tired or just 'dopey' and maybe not as sprieht- ly as young girls should be. but also boys, youths and most adults not under medical care should take z wee nip of iodine regularly, espe- cially if they do not eat much sea food. Any one who asks for 1t in writing (not by a clipping) and incloses stamped, self addressed envelop may have the Instructions for Taking an Iodin Ration" - that being my spelling.
 Sex Is Bilateral
 Gan woman whose left tube and ovary have been removed have children. If she can would they be male or female? (M. Al
 Answer-As long as a portion of one ovary and one tube remain in: tact the woman may have children. No one can predict the sex of child. in any circumstance. Scores of our readers have reported their experience - the birth of both boy and girl babies after removal either the right or left ovary. That dis poses of the quaint theory that male children originate from one ovary. female from the other. (Copyright l946 by John P. Dille Col