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Show You and Your Health By MORRIS FISHBEIN edlfee. Joefael Amerleae MaJleel Astoelatioa, en J e Hyaele, the HmM Mazarine Whenever your child becomes sick, has hlf h fever and pain In the throat, and stems dull anT apathetic a doctor should be called Immediately. He will examine ex-amine the child's throat, as well as his general condition, and determine de-termine whether he has diphtheria, diph-theria, a throat infection, or some other condition, since the symptoms symp-toms which mark the onset of most infectious childhood diseases are, to an untrained eye, apparently appar-ently the same. The membrane created by the diphtheria germ in the throat is characteristic of that infection. There occasionally are severe streptococci infections which will produce a somewhat similar white membrane. Unless diphtheria is brought promptly under control, its membrane mem-brane will spread to the whole throat and even to the palate and note. It has a foul odor which is rather characteristic of diphtheria; diph-theria; in fact many an old time doctor used to be able to diagnose diag-nose the disease simply by its oderi As the membrane spreads, germs form in greater numbers and more of their poison gets into the bloodstream and affects the body as a whole. If a doctor is convinced by the appearance of a membrane that the disease is diphtheria, he will not await the health department report but will Immediately inject in-ject sufficient antitoxin to have a definite effect on the disease. Once 8000 to 8000 units of antitoxin anti-toxin were considered a sufficent first dose; nowadays, most doctors doc-tors give 10.000 units of antitoxin immediately and. in severe cases, as many as 20,000 or 30.000 units ss a first injection. There is a far greater danger of death, of various forms of paralysis, or of serious complications from- this disease than from any excess amount of antitoxin used in the treatment. The doctor will continue to use antitoxin in the treatment as long as the symptoms persist and the disease seems to be making headway. head-way. In moat cases of diphtheria, the proper use of antitoxin la the most significant measure of treatment. The diphtheria victim,' of course, should be put to bed promptly and have prolonged rest there, to avert possible serious complications. If the diphtheria membrane spreads to the larynx, there is danger that resultant swelling and inflammation may shut off the I child's breathing. In such cases, I doctors sometimes recommend the use of oxygen inhalations or of the socalled croup tent in which the child . inhales warm steam. Or the membrane sometimes some-times Is removed by a nose and throat specialist who will draw the membrane out of the windpipe. wind-pipe. Years ago a doctor named O'Dwyer developed a method of permitting people with diphtheria diph-theria to breathe. He invented some gold devices called Intubation Intuba-tion tubes which can be passed into the larynx or breathing tube, keeping it open so that the child can breathe. As the condiiton improves im-proves under the use of antitoxin, the membrane will tend to loosen and disappear, and the child then will cough up the tube. The doctor, doc-tor, of course, can remove the tube as soon as improvement is noted. |