MEDICAL SCIENCE

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17451, 11 May 1922, Page 13

MEDICAL SCIENCE

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„CB OWS CORRESPONDENT.) I.^ S ' ,*, „t the Pasteur i pnlW' D Sn devotins Ja* <° tto preie :°°i :Sl« oibl ' £t'Z>™ l ™Z "" ♦uttf** 05 n to crcn more serious nOCU Lt been found to be the biases- 34 -_«»n+a have been made In the early S cU3 treatment expenAs for a °,f wi th the Lumiero ;<%ere mn f tir „ by absorption, of mccubt.cn / dcatl mi&J i dysentery, could be enough to fortify itseit '& sensl Kilitr bv the absorption of These dead miif they were to Besredka be-. of experiments- with aJortg-sew , inp sonw> means ©t S mirrobe pills digestS S *AhJS by render,ng jk ind irnaUy admixture of oxfeffl »l üb SXeries were first put to id-ridden district m where was able to secure lojjia, wnere . everyone who j^wSSarrast id J* P i ßt l n the recent outh the "Pas-de-Calais I tlS' sW new treati yiorongSly exhaustive test, to » people exposed selected. » we submitted to the :Of tht» 1 ? 600 refused treatment: : Besredka J Wy tho diseas6) 1 «»miße aUdest of form. Of ?S d nvrafew Seated, four afeCftf:-'the non-treated, fSjlaresult of this *est £ ffSemy of Medicine hac iuffcsadW employment throughout .'Efj iff niir Besredka. method. feu* two - other recent antiSlu»e diswreries of the Pasteur IniS. One, also a find of Professor Beindki, is' a tuberculous egg-pre-«md antijpDj to be taken in tablet jnn . both as a preventive-and as a the other is in th© form of a atifrfoefind is advoted both as apreative m as a cure for pyorrhoea, iierto generally regarded as more or |.jflwintble. All these can pow be Irtd- for experimental pu'iposes by iStttjifiM surgeons or medical laboJfe Jrte of all cost, from the agents f'tlfe Pasteur Institute in London, M»mt fading." 24 Holborn, Lonffleejy ickneai. imewhat. mysterious malady, ipjethargica, or, as it is corned now, "sleepy sickness" (to led it from the sleeping sicke tropics), has so far eluded • have attempted to discover i i It was not until 1917 that J jit described by a Viennese i in . England and Wales ' i 'is most is ofvtho last some The quesJisease .is In 1919 t by Pro;ly it has in Kent, to suffer lnnatural iympioih. attack in ier, three to worryb indoors W<3et bjatime and and^t^n need fas abutt, of ssent our lich may in disease be pitied' reat^ent d frppeai "Drug ■they are e human ;ues but sses. I e to offer >w, there ike -these 1 >e, special lent, and I traffick- ' l as 1000 seen aentirely' i that the iks that i a spirit' ing to a Commons, incoming te search examina-' tirely the into this Dssible ■ to in other, one in >n was es~i was enjeague of rith ■ thecUon. stitution, sted that recording d reduce: its which' r.t o perorevaiue nest.can nmb|r.^;°f

down for a minute scrutiny of of tho obscure phases, and enlargement can be made of any single photograph of the whole series. It is the difference between hearing a lecture and reading a book; in the former case the pace of the speaker must be followed; in the latter it is possible to pause, turn back the page, and collate the arguments. Emotional Strain. Speaking at a meeting in connexion with the Tavistock Clinic , for Functional Nervous Cases, Dr. Crichton Miller, founder and head of the clinic, said the methods _ included suggestion and auto-sugeestion, dream-analysis, and such-like forms of psycho-therapy. Referring to Monsieur Coue, he said that his methods were frankly not at p'l new, but bis personality was one tliiit would never grow old. He was winning and and sincerely r-onvinoed of the validity of bis methods. Tho oxnerienco of the clinic revealed that main and again tin patient of whatever age. had undergone some .emotional strain or unfair emotional treatmint ab?>it the age of five oi six years. Those experiences were what counted fundamentally in the production of all kinds of mental ill-health. Subtle, but disastrous, emotional- conflicts in family life were responsible for an enT- - number of functional nervous disorders. Should -Doctors Tell ? Lord Justice Atkin was in the chair at a meeting of the Medico-Legal Society when tne question of Professional Secrecy was debated. Lord Dawson made a plea for a measure of privilege. Sir Lenthal Cheatle said the question was of large and growing importance, and he agreed with Lord Dawson that any future legislation on individual and public-health' must be made with due regard to professional secrecy. The problems of individual and public health and those of professional secrecy, were so intimately connected that it was impossible to separate them. Take the case of a maid in a house where there was a large family. She had consulted a doctor, and he had discovered that she was a ''carrier" of typhoid 0 r diphtheria. Sho ought to be isolated, and in such a case the doctor must tell. She would have to be isolated, and ought to be compensated for that isolation by the State,. By the notification of infectious disease the State not only incidentally absolved the doctor from professional secrecy, but realised that no private doctor had sufficient power and authority to. ensure the public health. He recognised all the_ special needs of professional secrecy in venereal diseases ; but nobody could be blind to the fact that these diseases were not properly controlled by the present want of system.. The State would guard both professional secrecy and its duty to public health by a system of anonymous notification. The chairman said that those who had heard the speakers must feel that the question'was a real living;one. It was not the : case of a dispute between .the medical profession and the lawyers, and it was unfortunate that it had been considered so. The lawyer was as much concerned for justice as the medical man was for the public health. He did not think it wise to claim that there watj an absolute privilege for medical men. A Child's Appetite. "If a child refuses to eat do not try to foroes it to do so, but dole out the 'food "With apparent reluctance and make him believe'that on no.acoounfc must he eat too much," said Dr._ H. C. Cameron, ii a lecture on "Appetite and Childhood' before the Institute of Hygiene. ■ In. some cases children suffered from "negativism"—an apparently invincible determination tp go contrary to the wishes of parents. Such conduct was found only, in children who were directed and controlled top,much and >' upon whom flreir elders exercised a too constant' : and; obvious, yet • ineffep-; tive,~ tratitidn: "The' parents IseSp' pulilng in 6ne direction,M said the doototj "so 'the child .pulls in the other.. In general', 'the.-child is very ! Conscious .of the;stir which his refusal to «at occasions, . and he knows that, by re- ; fusal, • ho can dominate ntirse. ; and mother, and make all his little world rovolve around him." In such cases ? the only • remedy • was to assume an air ; of : complete -indifference. ' On, iiis. othoi hand,'when the child begins to eat, the interest' of the whole household in his. increasing appetite must be made plain to him. Where: ;the. child; was timid, it should, be made familiar. with flavours, 1 by dipping 'the fingers m egg, bacon fat, and fruit juice. The instinct to explore w'ould do the rest. The Use of the Nose. "lie Throat in Childhood," was the subject of > a lecture delivered by Dr. . Qilbetf Chubb, at the Institute of Hygiene, last ; week. There was ft deep instinct m the child which compelled it to breathe entirely through the .nose, .he said. You could see this jvhen tho child slept. , It breatlied 'through its no's© and.if obstruction of the nasal .passage occurred . it would awaken. This, instinct for nasal Respiration did not exist lor nothing. Tho nose,' in fact, served to warm, moisteii and filter the air and the effects of obetmctcd nasal passage were numerous and f ar-reacning, bo much eo as to sug» gest that other aiid even more important purposes were eerved by nasal respiration. . One of the first effects of mouth breathing was "disuse' atrophy. The'nose became*, pinched, , tho nostrils collapsed,, the upper jaw remained uh-, deVefopM, with a narrow, arch .for the Upper teeth, :which were crowded together aiid;unduly, prominent in front, while." the hard palate spanning the upper iaw was as it were buckled up- - More remote effects of nasal.obstruction were the chest flattened in front, abdomen thrown forward; the in the region of the purved, the shoulders themselves projected forward: while the lower angles of the shoulier-blades pit>jected There was alao often a. lateral curfa'tiire of I the : back resulting ity spoken, of. as -'growmg ont.of the, ihouWer:" ; The feet become feplayea out and fiat. Nasal obstruction aud its consequent- structural changes }m m ®* dialer remote, led to mentalduUness constant colds, general ill-health, poor appetite and lassitude. - Medical Overhauling. Sir A. N«»lKtae, fe. tho reduction of sicknea3. ond be Kreatiy aided Were every adult, an unfavourable, conditions . Such- a provision would do j 1«« true thai'in Act. It l.ftalth woa determined oVlnloscenoe. and early manculosiS 1 and rheumatic inf j^uder; Old age than any other measure. Cotincll of Ment^- Hygiaie. the c hairriian. ,he ro ;- .Xv.'SK"SS tho study of °m ail their srASSTgfefi " d to co-ordinate t exjst"|g <rJLe S } k Sir CourtV\'ritin K thSt sach » aula Tnomflon m ch» Ooifncil -wiU -,h»P for logwal cluiica at g e pyg t^ < . al y nm t nep.the taeatment of ewhr n*e»w* a™ 4 •"">

vous disorders. "It will endeavour to , make mental (hygiene a more prominent subject in the education of medical stu-» dents, and. by instructing the public in. the principles underlying mental health and -illness, gradually diminish the enormous waste of time and energy in all classes of society -which now results from widespread ignorance concerning ttie.'o questions. Tho conservation of mental health is a matter of serious economic importance t-o any nation, and this has been fullv recognised in other countries, notably in America, nCier-3 a National Committee for Mental Hygiene has been daing valuable work for the conservation of mental health; to promom the study of mentnl disorders, mental defects, and delinquency, _ in all their forms and relations; to obtain and di.-j-pminate reliable data concerning thf-m; to help to raise the standard of care and treatment, and to co-ordinate cyisting agencies—Federal, State, and local " The London committee will call a perioral meeting on May 4th, 1922, for the purpose of deciding on the constitution of the National Council, of electing officers, ar.d other business.