Show Du f ig Delav 7 ti Attempt ed to Cure out Doctor s Advice Ju r c un f m- m t f r rv hj e eA t Rudy's skill J E as a boxer k y w a aY Y ed to those rheas a I r 4 4 4 4 who sparred ed eds a DIAGRAMMATIC VIEW OF THE VITAL ORGANS with h him hm i s If om The germs that breed gastric ulcer which caused the t that hat the death of Rudolph Valentino commonly in ia a dia di 1 5 screen lover I eased E circulate r appendix They through intestines was no pow I and frequently lodge lode in ia the duodenum D or in the lining der p u f f ft t s 1 of the stomach C I 1 hero I The spread of the infection caused pleurisy is ia the lungs I AA A A and finally affected the lining of the heart 8 B bring t ing torture aad and untimely death to the popular movie movie actor I IBy By ARTHUR C JACOBSON M D s t th I Associate Editor of the Medical Times and of w z Medical edical Economics HERE is a great creat lesson in the life liCe T and death of Rudolph Valentino for everyone every one on who relies upon bicarbonate of soda to relieve tion and neglects to consult a physician about it it Dr br Dr Frank Smithies the distinguished Chicago physician has made a particularly particularly particularly earnest plea pica for more effective measures in the prevention of ulcers of the digestive system which sent the great screen lover over to an untimely grave In this golden age ace of preventive medi medicine cine e such ailments can be b cured If It taken in time If It the disease is prevented as it can be specialists cite the untold benefit that will by removing from thou thousands sands the burden of s suffering of expensive sine sive treatment of loss of time from work or study Iii of CA surgical risk and dis- dis discomfort discomfort dis discomfort comfort and of threat cf of sudden death c caused used by ulcer Ailments which may contribute to conditions in which ulcers eventually develop can and must be remedied Authorities even prophesy that a few decades hence the existence of great numbers of stomach ulcers will wil be b con con- considered considered an indication of poor medical practice It is all a question of shutting oft off sources of germ supply Ulcers of th the stomach like Ilk Rudye Rudy's do not start in the stomach or intestines but are arc caused by some Bome acute or chronic disturbance elsewhere in the system It ItIs Itis ItIs Is thought that poor circulation at spots where ulcers usually form permits the tho poison to eat away tissue allowing the germs cerms to move freely then en ulcer germs erms lodge In the th wally of the th stomach or intestines these thes or- or organs organs gans literally digest themselves at these points until a hole is eaten through as in the case of Valentino It was a stomach ulcer of this kind which ended the career of ot the th popular screen arti artist t Just what is a stomach ulcer such as Rudy had How might it be de- de described de described scribed It Is an open tore core on the lining of the stomach causing gradual l destruction and death of the tissues involved Such an ulcer may rapidly eat its way Into the abdominal cavity and poison polson other spots It may slowly leak and cause abscesses near the th stomach It may make smaller the lower end of the stomach through which food passes into the intestine thus arresting digestion or causing stagnation of the stomach con con- contents contents contents tents and swelling ing of the organ It may cause repeated hemorrhages It may mayA V cause the th stomach to become fixed by A adhesions producing dragging pains It may cause the th stomach to become smaller maller and twisted out of shape All All of of these are arc conditions that require the sufferer to b be operated upon Th The cuts made mad by the surgeon th-surgeon surgeon may ot of course heal naturally and completely There is great curiosity as to the par particular titular cause of Rudy's ulcer Could such an ulcer result from an injury to to the abdomen s- s such sch ch as liS a kick kick- kick received in the course ofa of a wild party That is not likely Ulcers have been known to follow fo blows bu the weight of expert opinion is that this is coincidence coincidence coincidence dence Could such an ulcer result from the tho tb use or abuse of alcoholic beverages There Thero is no evidence that such might ever be the case Experts find that al- al alcohol al alcohol cohol relieves the pain of stomach ulcer and Sir Berkeley the great English authority on ulcers and their treatment agrees agres with this opinion According to unofficial reports Valen Valen- Valentino Valentine tino tine had suffered from a rather severe severo attack of indigestion about six rix weeks before his final collapse after which he lived largely on whiskey and bicarbonate of soda Specialists do not list alcohol as a cause cf ulcer and in their advice as to treatment say nothing against alcohol It is safo to aay sa say that alcohol had nothing to do with ith Valentines Valentine case and that its deadening effect ct was all that made it possible for th the screen star to bear the pain Nevertheless it was an anevil anevil anevil evil because it masked the tile seriousness of his bis condition kept him going and only postponed the operation which might have hav been performed perform d sooner had Valentines Valentino's suffering not been made less acute by alcohol Was there ther any ground for ter the rumor that Rudy had been poisoned No This supposition Is exactly In keeping with what Dr James J Walsh has pointed out with respect to the th poisonings that are su supposed posed to have hae been so common In Italy in the th days day of the Borgias Those Thos supposed poisonings were mostly ulcers of the th stomach or intestines We W hate to spoil romantic notions in this ruthless way but Dr Walsh is undoubtedly right Of course there was poisoning following the th oper oper- operation operation atlon but that is another story Were improper environment anemia overwork or nervous stress factors in Valentino's illness Authorities say that such factors must be taken into account Any one rending the accounts of ot Valentino's brief life will realize the hardship and strain that went into it it They along with the th kind of food tood that he h must hav ha eaten for years made it easier casler for the bony hand ot of death to clutch him Did excessive cigarette smoking play any part part Some specialists hold tobacco directly responsible for attacks of ulcer or at least for acut acute disturbances closely ro- ro ref r f ng ng It it Patients an arc ar told not to smoke for three months and then only onlin in moderation for the rest of their lives The danger lies in excessive smoking The explanation may may poss possibly b y lie in inthe inthe irth the fact that nicotine n poisoning causes cause a II slower blood flow in the smaller arteries thus favoring the blocking of the blood in the stomach wall that some som think helps to form ulcer The modern view is that stomach ulcer begins with infection from frog the appendix the gall bladder teeth tonsils lymph glands adenoid tissue in the throat and the nasal passages Infection from at- at attacks at attacks tacks of such diseases disease as ns the grippe erysipelas and rheumatism are said aid to tobe tobe tb be other causes Which one of these th factors figured specifically in Valentino's case Unquestionably appendicitis is one of the commonest sources of ulcer On One authority has shown that certain germs show a great liking for particular places in the system In Rudy's case ease tho the lining of his ls stomach had such an for forthe forthe the poison producing ulcer germs known to medical science as streptococci Valentino Val had bad appendicitis as well as asa asa a a ruptured stomach ulcer On this point one expert remarks that the more mora often the abdomen is opened for gastric symptoms toms toras the rarer does it become not to find gross evidence of the appendix What symptoms must Valentino have suffered from How Ion had ho auf suf- suffered with the th complaint Valentines Valentino's chronic ulcer had caused him to suffer for years We already have mentioned the tho th attack six weeks be- be before be before fore his final Illness A letter left by Peggy Pegg Scott a woman friend of his who committed suicide In London when she sh heard of his d death ath permits the Inference that ho he h told her about his sufferings several years ago Tho The symptoms in ing general comprised d indigestion loss of weight anemia nausea and much ab abdominal pain after eating Pressure over tho the spot where tho the ulcer was hurt the movie star end ind nd at the same sam time tim was associated with more or less stiffen stiffening In of the overlying muscles When Rudy's Rudy ulcer finally ate ale through h the wall walt of his stomach there thero was acute agonizing pain and ho collapsed This pain Is frightful In intensity and the th least movement adds to the tho torture so that Rudy laid la b tense rigidity At first the abdomen was hard later becoming swollen The breathing was short and the pulse puls rapid Still later came the tho signs of ot peritonitis In sucha such a 1 human melodrama with ulcer nicer germs as the villain In the pIa play the tho hero runs great chances A hole hoi in the stomach at ot kills least 15 per cent of patients i C br 7 J V t k eke 1 V Valentino a ha 1 as t this h- h IS picture Aw err a shows had one of the finest physiques in r Rudy as the She Sheik k the role that ele- ele elevated Y I e him to the heights of oft I r movie stardom t S stardomS not prevent I r s the onward pas s a II e of food The butte butte- tins tell the lK s w rest of the sad and story t On Friday a x August 20 anI an I official bulletin reported that the most y y r cal period had bee e n passed and that the patient was w a s well wellon his j e t tf 0 i lC f S 'S xay ay to on s f cry V rd a KO I 1 i is s 1 ti W Actual photograph ofa of a perforating ini ing stomach ulcer such as caused the untimely death of Valentino with ulcer of the stomach as it did the movie star The stomach wall willi was eaten through Sunday August 15 16 at noon but Valen Valentine tino tine was not taken to the Polyclinic Hos lies Hospital Hospital pital until p m ni which meant valuable valuable able time lost The Tho surgeons began their work at 5 p m With the th of ot the appendix operation we shall not concern our our- ourselves ourselves selves since the ruptured rupture 1 stomach ulcer is the tho point of ot greatest interest Such ha niter ruton Ia 1 I c cT T a hole hold Is le usually quite quit small clean cut and situated upon the th under surface of the stomach Especial care Is taken to see ace that the parts immediately beneath the th dia dia- diaphragm diaphragm are ar thoroughly cleansed In order to minimize as much as possible po th the risk of spreading an inflammation through the diaphragm thus causing cusing pleurisy Just such a complication developed dur duro during ing Rudy's apparent convalescence con In addition tp closing the hole the operation known as ge j is if the patients patient's condition permits per per- performed forme formed in order to drain the stomach give it rest and lessen the tendency tormore for more ulcers to develop This operation is a short circuit circuit- circuiting circuiting ing procedure whereby a loop of a por por- portion portion portion tion of the small intestine is brought up and attached to the th stomach in such sucha a way that the contents of the stomach enter the intestines by the new opening instead of through the normal opening into the duodenum or portion of the tho small intestine next the stomach The effects of the th operation are arc both physiological and andl mechanical Alkaline juices from the duodenum constantly enter the stomach and serve to reduce acidity in that organ which is a desir desir- desirable desirable able physiological effect Mechanically the effects consist in rapid emptying empting of the stomach and casing using of tho the muscles while contraction near that region can can can- On Sunday August 22 develops in the left chest Bulletin of August 22 reads There Ther is a slight spread of infection In Inthe inthe Inthe the abdominal wall August 23 Monday Early bulletin reports pleurisy as having spread Death at 1210 noon Dr Meeker one of ot the th attending physicians reported Valentino Valentines death as due to peritonitis and septic endo- endo endo the peritonitis resulting from the hole hobo eaten by the ulcer and the the tho endo endo- 3 from infection of the th heart lining following the development of pleurisy The death certificate filed with the Department of Health reads Ruptured gastric ulcer and ind general peritonitis contributing causes septic pneumonia and septic Not every ery case of indigestion leads to stomach or duodenal ulcer but in- in instances instances in instances stances of such ulcers are arc rare in which there theres is s no history of Indigestion A peculiarity of ulcer which may lead to self deception as to cure is the tho th tend tend- tendency tend tendency ency to periods during which there thero Is complete relief from symptoms Never dismiss indigestion as of ot little consequence Leave Lease the weighing of ot Its iU significance to your family physician Rudy's last service to th the world was wasa wasa wasa a very cry great one for vast numbers of people have hav received an nn intensive education education education tion digestive tive in matters relating to their diges diges- tive interests in particular to health is in general and to to their very lives |