A Doctor Who Tells

Evening Star, Issue 25927, 19 October 1946, Page 10

A Doctor Who Tells

HIS NOSE OUT OF JOINT

The Diary of

Monday, October 14. ' George Vincell,.; aged six, stood thoughtfully as his two aunts spoke to me when J. emerged from Ins mother’s bedroom. ' . . „ “Everything all right, Doctor? asked one of them.' . “ All well,” I said. “ The baby’s a iine-loolking boy,' weighing about 7Jib. ■ “Just fancy; George, said the other aunt, •' “ you’ve got a darling little brother.” , ~ • “ You’ll have to watch he doesnt put your nose out of joint, George,’ said'the first aunt. “Mother wont be able to look after you as much as she used to mow sho’s got a baby on her hands ” ; , , , , ; “ George is going to help to look after them both, aren’t you, George? ’ I said. , , “ No,” said George, “ I’m not. 1 don’t like babies.” • • • • Ho "burst into tears and ran away, the aunt who had made 'the foolish remark about hjs nose being out of joint running after him. • “ Ella was silly to tease him,” said the remaining sister. “He’s quite a sensitive - child; takes after his father.” • “ Did they tell him anything about the expected arrival of another child in the family? ” I asked. ' ■ " Oh, ho,” said - the aunt, m a shocked voice: “ He’s only six, you knoiV.’’ • “ There’s no need to go into extensive anatomical detail at that age,” I said, “ but children, especially only children, should, I think, be warned in some way about the ■ arrival of another.” ' ■ . • - ' •; , “ Personally,” I continued, I actually see.-, no reason why the mother’s wonderful part in the arrival of a child can’t: be'told simply.” The' aunt looked uncomfortable at the turn the conversation wasr taking. “ Of course,” she said,, liefvoiisly; " 1 suppose you doctors look oii these things a litfle differently.” , ' The other aunt returned’. • “ He’s calming down a bit,” she said, ■peaking of George, whose cries had ceased. “.'I suppose it’s all the excitement in the house to-day.”' .. . ' “ I’d suggest that you might pay him a little extra attention for the, next few days "or so,” I said. “ The-firet-hOru is apt "to get a feeling of being pushed aside when another comes along.”, . . ‘‘ But lie’s got to. learn, to live with the other child or children,” protested one of the aunts.

“ Oh, yes,” I .agreed. “ And lie’s probably got'to learn to have le.sk of his parents’ tiiiie and money' He’ll do that all right so long as he doesn’t’feel he has any less of his piafents”or anyone else’s 10ve.”., .......

Tuesday, October 15. , [’ve got sinus trouble,”, said Harley Smith, definitely, _as lie came into the’ surgery this evening. “-It’s been had all. day, and I thought I ought, to do something about it at last.’’ - "How long have you had it? ’’ I asked,, and he answered he’d had'it three;, weeks. , ; - “How do 'you know ■ it’s sinus trouble? ” I asked. “ Have you got a hlocked-up feeling in your nose, >or a constant feeling, of something dripping down‘the back- of the throat? ” “ Oh, no,” said Harley. " it’s just the characteristic sinus pain. .It’s just here.”, . ' . He. pointed to a: spot about 2in, below tiie eye. “ When you press it. it’s quite sore.” • ; “ Open your mouth,”- I said. '. -; “What you’ve got,” I said, “is a had tooth at the back of the upper jaw on the right side. If you have it out you won’t have to think-'of sinus any more.” “ Well I’ll be blowed,” said Harley. “ There was a chap at the office who liad just the same sort pain, and lie went along to a specialist. Who said it was a sinus.’’ • “ It probably was,” 1 agreed, “ hut I’ll guarantee that lie had other symptoms than just a pain. ■ Or that he had had other symptoms.” “Maybe,” said Harley. “Anyway, what causes sinus? ” “ I suppose the most frequent cause is a cold,” I said. “ The sinus drainage gets blocked up and So .infection occurs. Another common cause is allergy.”

Wednesday, October 16. “Oh . . and before 1 forget,” I said to John Barnes’s wife, as I was leaving his bedroom this morning, “no visitors for a-week or two. He wants to be kept very quiet.” “ You meq>n no visitors except his relations., of course,” commented Mrs; Barnes. -“■No, -I don’t,” I retorted. “I hiean no visitors at all, except iperhaps his mother and sister. He wants absolute rest.” . ‘ I suppose talking excites him a bit,” agreed his wife. “ All right, doctor; we-won’t let anyone in at all.” ' .John has just had a seriqus accident, with .'a head injury to boot. It may be touch and go ivitli him. The quieter he is, the better his chance. ■ “ I remember the last time I was ill,” said'Mrs Barnes, as she walked to thefront gate with me. “ Visitors arrived in such large numbers I just didn’t know wliat to do about it. It was very sweet of them, of course, to .come and see me, but there were days when I would have given a lot to have been just left absolutely alone. They ought to : regulate visitors like ration tickets or something.” ; I agreed. “ The visitor I liked best, though,” said Mrs Barnes,' as she reached the gate, “ was the one who offered to do something. My' sister-in-law, for instance; is a dear, and a very practical ; person, too. The first day she arrived she said there must be messages I wanted sending to someone, and something I wanted to buy for the hospital, and so on. As she was leaving she said that she was the . one I’ was to .count on to do anything at all I wanted. It was such,' such a comfort.”

: “ I think. 1 nihst get out a book of rules and suggestions for hospital visitors one of these days,” I said lightly. / “ Well,'someone ought to,” said Mrs Barnes: “Bearing' iii mind some of the people. who visited me, my' No. 1 rule would be: ‘ Put on your ordinary (face when you eiit ( er the ward, refraining front being overbright, mistaking the place for a party, or over-solemn, as in a death chamber.’ ”

Thursday, October 17.- “ Shirley’s got this gastric trouble thatis going round,” said her mother, Mrs Adams, on the. telephone .'this morning. “’Perhaps we needn’t worry you this morning if you’ll just tell, us what to do.” ' ; ,1 asked, 1 what the symptoms were. .’ “ She, has . a good deal of bowel trdiible and some acute pain with it,” said: Mrs Adams. ' “Til call in,’* I said. “ It’s just as , ] Well to check the cause of any acute gastric pain.” , 'Subsequent investigation a couple of hours' later revealed ho temperature and iio particularly sensitive spots of pressure on the abdomen. “ It’s just’ this '' gastric infection, whatever.it is,’”! agreed. “Give her a day in bed with plenty of water to driiik, and perhaps a little bread and butter.’ if she Ifeels like it. “ I’m not a castor oil Yah,” I continued, “but I’ve found in these cases that an ordinary' dose, followed in four' hours’ time •by another teaspoonful—in.:.a’little brandy if you like—is helpful.”-: ; ■ -V . ': ■' “ What causes all epidemic like the present one?” asked. Mrs Adams. T don’t know, accurately,” I replied..: “Perhaps the spring has brought out the flies, and they’re infecting food .before we’ve had time to get to work,, on them.” V ■ I like the. story off the teacher telling the class of the danger of fly infection: and the need for killing any and.every fly on sight. “ Do you know, children,” she said, “ a single fly lays about 8,000 eggs every year.”. “Golly!” said a little girl. “How many would a married one lay?” Friday, October 18. From this week’s reading of the writings of famous authors about life. HI. L. Stevenson: So long as we love We serve. So ' long as we are loved by others we are indispensable. Ovid: Either do not attempt at all, or go through with it. Anonymous; , Life is a jigsaw' puzzle with most of the pieces missing. Names in this Diary are fictitious. (Copyright.)