A QUIET BAY.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 2 January 1929, Page 5

A QUIET BAY.

INCREASE OF STRENGTH , ANXIOUSLY AWAITED. ,

<(By Telegraph-Presa Assn.-Copyright.) (Received This Day, 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, January 1. ' The King had a quiet day, and his •condition is unchangedIt is learned that' disappointment was felt at the Palace concerning the report in the morning Hhat, despite a good night,’ no progress sufficient to be noted in a bulletin had occurred. It had been hoped that an improvement would be manifested by to-day, but the doe‘tors are still anxiously awaiting a definite sign of an increase 1 of strength. NO DEFINITE SET-BACK. ' BUT PROGRESS SLOWER THAN EXPECTED. * i i'.; «(By Telegraph-Presa Assn.-Copyright.) (Received This Day, 9.30 a.m.) , - LONDON, January 1. It is satisfactory that the King’s last check has not developed into a ’ set-back.. At the same time, the extreme slowness of His Majesty’s pro..gross and the continuation of his great weakness is (disappointing. • Eveu■though the difficult nature of the illness was fully recognised, the progress lias been slower than was expected, .and anxiety continues. TREATING PLEURISY. WARM CLIMATE NEEDED.

(By a Doctor)

Pleurisy is obviously a disease of the

pleura. The pleura is really a membranous bag that encloses the lungs, ■and it is divided into two, one part, the pleura pulmonalis, that covers the lung itself and dips down into all the fissures and cracks that compose it, and the other part, the pleura parictalis, /that lines the actual walls of the -pleural cavity.

It is necessary to understand the above before you can realise just what this pleurisy is,' and how* intimately it. is connected with pneumonia—which ..is merely an infection and inflamma-

ftion of the lung itself. There are many different types', of pleurisy, according ito the particular' infection that' caused it. The variety called plastic pleurisy, from which the cables tell us his Ma-

jesty is suffering, almost invariably is preceded by a cold or chill if it is a simple case; one sincerely hopes that this is the only reason for it in the King’s case. In its complicated form it is a secondary infection to such things as suberculosis, pneumonia, and other pulmonary affections like cancer of the lung, lung abscess, and hydatids of the lung. The symptoms of primary plastic pleurisy *are first of all a very uncomfortable pain in the side, a cough, and mild fpvcr. When Lord Dawson of Penn applied Ms stethoscope to the Eoyal chest on the first iew days of the illness he heard what are called w ‘friction sounds,” i.e., a rubbing ■caused by. the inflamed enlarged surfaces of the two pleural walls moving with each breath the King took. What is heard there now is hard to say, be-

.cause the symptoms of this kind of pleurisy disappear in a few days as -a rule. The prolongations of his Majesty’s symptoms beyond this period is x one of the treasons why such great 'anxiety, has supervened on top of what was only a mild worry. The Treatment.

Pleurisy is one of. those baffling conditions 'where jthe doctor’s only job is ito relieve the symptoms and watch for untoward complications. There is no medicine that acts on pleurisy in the same way, for instance, as -quinine acts on malaria. The - main jibing is to see that the patient is relieved from his pain, gets as much rest as possible, and gets enough food to maintain his strength. (In regard to itho latter factor, it is interesting to mote that each' and every bulletin issued by the Court doctors has had a special reference! in it to the fact that ■“the King’s strength is being mainItaiipjd.”) If the pain is severe, one frequently hds to inject morphia; if only mild, R satisfactory way of dealing’with it is to strap the chest with 550 strapping, and so support the inflamed. side. In 1 the old days they used to place leeches till over the inflamed side, and there is a good deal, ito bo said for this line of treatment ■ yet. . ’ Naturally, in such an important part •of the body as the thorax, there are ■unlimited * opportunities 1 for serious ■complications to supervene on this unfortunate disease! Pus may develop; pneumonia may set in; the chest is in .the best possible state for the reception -of any infection; tuberculosis/has to Ibo guarded against. ’ It * is. ‘therefore essential that as soon as the King is eufficiently recovered he should get away from the terrors of the English winter. Ho will have to have plenty ibf .rest in a warm climate. Whilst the Mediterranean is very pleasant, a Sydney summer would be ideal for him, but, of course, any visit would have to Ibe devoid of anything like officialism. If His Majesty could only have a house -at Lcura or Dcewhyj for instance, and live as an ordinary citizen for d few months, he would bo benefited to a degree possibly exceeding that, available in the South of .Franco. '■ ( The Medicine. And the bottle of medicine, without iwhich no patient is being properly treated. It probably would be devoted ito expectorants to help the lung dear itself as'much as possible. Some am* anon, carb., ft little ipccaehnana, some compound tincture of camphor, arid a little honey of squills'.