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Show Rheumatism And Use of Vitamin D By DR. JAMES W. BARTON LOOKING back but a few -J years, physicians today feel that they have much for which to be thankful as they treat and are able to cure the TODAY'S disease which UCfllTU physicians of LH L I CI former days COLUMN found "incur- I I able." Tuberculosis consumption con-sumption meant siow, but certain death. Pernicious anemia and diabetes also meant certain death within a couple of years. Relief for asthmatic attacks was often possible, but how to cure or prevent attacks was unknown. Notwithstanding all these advances ad-vances in medicine, the oldest dis- ir k J ease known to man, rheumatism, still is a thorn in the side of physicians. Rheumatism Rheu-matism has well been called the stepson step-son of medicine. Not only is rheumatism rheu-matism the oldest disease, but it is also the most common disease of man, ac-cordine ac-cordine to a survey Dr. Barton made by the United States Public Health Service. "There is almost twice as much rheumatism (arthritis) as heart disease. In former days it was considered almost the natural thing to develop rheumatism as one got older, but this survey showed that half of those permanently disabled by rheumatism rheuma-tism were under 55 years of age. If permanently disabled at 55 it means that many were partly or almost al-most completely disabled some years before they reached 55. Infection Still Commonest Cause. In my early years in medicine it was thought that infection teeth and tonsils was the cause of most if not all cases. Today it is known that, while infection is still the commonest com-monest cause, there are other causes coldness and dampness, wrong diet, injury, emotional disturbances dis-turbances and others. While the cause is being sought, treatment today consists in use of pain-relieving drugs, application of heat, diet rich in vitamin Bl and D, and physical therapy Dr. Roger T. Farley, Chicago, has had great success by use of massive doses of vitamin D. Other physicians physi-cians then tried this method, but reported re-ported little or no success. Today the reports on the value of this method are more favorable and it is taking its place as almost routine treatment in some hospitals. Head Colds From Indoor Swimming MANY towns and cities are equipped with swimming pools. These pools are in the great majority ma-jority of cases kept very clean by washing dawn the sides and floor once or twice a week, allowing the water to drain over troughs at the edges, and use of chlorine every 24 hours. Despite all these precautions the number of head colds and nose and ear infections is very large. Because of these colds there has been much criticism of these indoor pools: the water is not changed often enough, too much chlorine is used, the air about the pool is too hot and wet causing a cold when going outdoors out-doors after the swim. One of the causes of these head colds and infections is pointed out by Dr. H. Marshall Taylor, Jacksonville, Jackson-ville, Fla., in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "It is now an accepted fact that chilling of the body surfaces causes constriction constric-tion (partial closing of the blood vessels ves-sels of the skin including the blood vessels if the lining of the nose." It is also an accepted fact that prolonged pro-longed lack of blood to the lining of the'nose (due to this partial closing clos-ing caused by cool air) naturally reduces the local resistance of the lining of the nose, so that this lining is unable to fight off infection. The cause of these head colds and infections in most cases is thus believed be-lieved to be (a) breathing in when head is under water, and (b) sitting or standing around the swimming pool and allowing the skin and mucous mu-cous membrane of the nose to get chilled instead of keeping body warm by moving around. The remedy is to learn to take, a long breath when head is out of water wa-ter and breathe out when under water. wa-ter. Also, to keep the body active when not in the water. QUESTION BOX Q. What causes me to have a burning spot of pain in my chest near my heart? A. If a serious condition was present pres-ent your physician would advise a complete rest. Skipping of heart is of itself not serious. Q. I am 16 years old and have a chronic endocarditis. Can I learn to dance? A. Your own physician or heart I specialist can advise you just what kind and how much exercise you may take. Get this advice at once. |