APPENDICITIS CASES

Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1930, Page 7

APPENDICITIS CASES

. ... ••". : : .RISK OF PUBLIC IGNORANCX “ :j WARNING GIVEN BY DOCTOR. 7 A word of warning regaydingk) th? treatment of suspected appendicitis, wa* aiven by Mr. Eisdell Moore in the course of a lecture delivered -under the, auspices. of the Auckland Institute- and . the British Medical Association. _ After tracing the operation of the alimentary and digestive system Mr. Moore described the symptoms and .treatment' of diseases in various parts j of the system. Appendicitis was such a common disease that its importanojr.-.. was well recognised by the public, .J sometimes its progress was so .rapid that-the public should be mad© awar* of the proper steps to take in dealingwith a suspected case. L \ ; “A typical acute case of appendicitis is that of a boy. previously ( fit,. who awakens in the night with a feeling qt internal uneasiness, which at first « localised in the middle of the body and causes sickness,” said Mr. Moore. “Later the pain settles down on the . right side. If this is an attack of appendicitis there is a great risk of: rapid perforation into the other organs, and. it is likely to be hastened by any internal movement. It is therefore essential that no clearing medicine should be given. This, unfortunately, is not recognised by the public, and only too ol ten a homely dose of castor oil is given before the doctor is called. Local heat should be applied to the part. I would say in all sincerity that mor® deaths from appendicitis and resultant peritonitis are caused through the pub* 3 lie ignorance of this danger than by anything else.”