The Omaha guide., 1945-03-24

DIR. Ballard but it doesn't seem to
help much"
I explain to such a patient that
before I can do anything for him
1 want a picture of his lungs, and
arrange for him to have a chest X
ray. All too often when 1 look at
the x-ray pictures 1 find that the
patient has lung trouble" or tu-
berculosis. The ex-ray indicates
that he has had the disease for
many months, perhaps for a year
or two, that he had it long before
he began coughing. Although
many people think that everybody
with tuberculosis coughs, actually
a person may not begin coughing
until months after he gets the dis
ease.
tuberculosis, or consumption, is
a disease caused by a small germ.
We get these germs from some
body who has tuberculosis. We
may get the egrms from kissing the
person, from using the same dish
es he used or even from breathing
the air in a room where a person
with the disease has been. Most
people come in contact with tuber-
culosis germs at one time or an
other, but if our bodies are healthy
they fight off the germs and no
harm may be done.
If we are in a rundown condi-
ton, the germs are more likely to
work their way into one of our
lungs and hide there. Unfortun-
ately, one may have the disease a
long time without feeling any pain
and so we do not know we are i'll
even though a lot of damage has
been done to the lung. After a
while, however, we begin to feel
tired all the time, we may lose
weight we do not want to eat and
we start coughing. Sometimes we
cough up blood.
When we get to feeling all-in
and start coughing, some good
friend is apt to suggest that we
take a tonic or cough syrup. But
notonic, no cough syrup and no
drug will kill tuberculosis germs
or cure tuberculosis.
The smart thig to do when we
feel bad is to find out why we feel
bad. When there does not seem to
be any reason why we are tired all
the time and are losing weight, we
should go to a clinic or a doctor.
If the doctor thinks there is some
thing seriously wrong. he viii have
an x-ray taken of our lungs. That
is the only way to find our Tor GER
tain whether the germs have DAM
aged the lungs, Ii they have not,
the doctor will know that we have
not tuberculosis and viii tell us
what is wrong.
If the lungs are diseased, the doc
tor will also tell US what to do. He
will say that tuberculosis a be
cured but it is easier to cure it
when the disease first gets hold OF
US than after the germs have dam
aged the lung. That is why we
should go to the doctor when we
first begin to feel bad.
Rest, not drugs helps to cure tn
~berculosis. When we have tuber-
culosis we need rest III bed "a
hours a day. octors usually rec
ommend hat people with tubercul-
osis go to a hospital built especial
ly 10 take care of patients with this
disease. There is at least one Of
these hospitals in every state ana
in many counties, supported by the
state or county for the care Of tu-
~berculosis people. The doctor
knows where these hospitals are
how to arrange for their pat
tents to get in them.
Many people think they can rest
at home, and sometimes the doctors.
says this is all right. Usually, doc
tors prefer for their patients to go
10 a tuberculosis hospital. When
we stay at home We may be temp
ed to get up when company comes,
or just to have dinner with the fam
lily but we stay in bed all the time
until the doctor says it is safe to
set up. Another reason it is bet
ter to go to the hospital is that ii
we stay at home we may give the
disease to other members of the
family.
We should try to avoid being
seriously sick by going to the doc
tor when we first begin to feel