DODGING THE DOCTOR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 6 September 1928, Page 7

DODGING THE DOCTOR.

PERIODICAL MEDICAL OVERHAULS. PRECAUTION THAT TOO MANY NEGLECT. One ot the Sydney newspapers lias put to a number ot leading citizens, with piquant results;, the question whether the average man is acting fairly to himself, to his dependents, I and to society by calling in a doctor | only when he is ill, and often, alas, then it is too late, instead of submitting himself to a regular periodical overhaul -by a medical man, to see il any of the bearings in the human machine want tightening up. Is the average man. in short, game to undergo a regular overhaul, even when in apparently normal health, and. to hear the worst, or does lie prefer to blind himself to the facts, on the principle that, where ignorance is bliss ’tis folly to be -wise. ' x Of those interviewed, only one admitted that he underwent a. periodical overhaul, which is perhaps natural, since bis son is a doctor. The- investigation suggests that, while the average man tabes every precaution to ensure that his motor-car shall always be in perfect, or at least good, running order, he gives little or no attention to the care of his body. Medical opinion is that financially, intellectually, and morally it is wrong for a man to disregard the human machine until lie is faced with a costly and often financially crippling illness. The Federal Minister of Health, Sir Neville Howse, V.C., who in private life has a lucrative medical practice, contends that every man between the ages of. say, 50 and 70, should go to a doctor at regular intervals for a thorough overhaul.