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Show fW A " IL IK' lit The Girl iWho Grew Lazy The young- woman doesn't look lazy, yet we have her own mother s word for it, father concurring, that she is getting too lazy for anything-. Mother opines that a girl who is too lazy to get up before ten in the morning morn-ing needs the doctor's attention, and ishc is generally right in her optneing-. A girl rather tall and slender, aged 19, blond, apparently not blessed with too much blood for she yawns every littlc while, and that indicates that her tissues arc not well oxygenated. 'Last year she graduated from high 'school. She has never been very robust, ro-bust, still never seriously ill, but dur-'ing- the past year she has lost her 'former vivacity and seems to be good 'for nothing but lying abed mornings and going out nights to dancing par ties. The young woman admits no symptoms. symp-toms. On cross examination she wakes mornings as tired as when she went to bed, even when there has 'been no dance. She has no ambition 'to go anywhere or do anything not mornings anyhow. Afternoons and 'evenings she sometimes has dull headaches. Cough? Why, no oh, she has to 'clear her throat mornings, mother explains ex-plains just a little catarrh, of course. , Pulse 94 after ten minutes' rest in chair. Temperature 99 8 but the girl's nervousness over the examination examina-tion may whip up the pulse rate, and wc cant draw conclusions from a single observation of temperature not really above normal bounds. Still, there can be no excuse for neglecting to examine the chest of a lazy girl who has slight "catarrhal trouble." The examination reveals one sign only a prolongation of the expiratory sound over the right apex. Mother now recalls that the girl's aunt, a few years ago, died of tuberculosis, tuber-culosis, and before her death the aunt and the girl were great cronies. Better Bet-ter to obtain a history piecemeal than not at all. Wc give the patient a few doses of sodium iodide to stimulate expectoration. expectora-tion. It proves successful and we obtain ob-tain enough for microscopical exam ination. No bacilli. Never mind.That is only a detail. Wc diagnose incipient incip-ient pulmonary tuberculosis. Wc may be wrong. True. But bct-tcrwrong bct-tcrwrong than too late. We shall see to it that the treatment shall be good, whether the diagnosis is right or wrong. We send the patient and family up the lake for the season. Fresh air is the best of tonics. Sunshine the strongest germicide and restorative. Three months, six months, perhaps a year of it, will restore the girl's health and strength, whether she has TB or not. When a young person grows indolent indo-lent and apparently lacks vim and vitality, make sure tuberculosis is not lighting up. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Cause of Shortness of Breath Please tell mo wbat causes shortness of breath and what would be tho propej remedy. I breatlio easily when alttlnR etandlnjr still or-lylnfr down, but have to stop half a dozn times for breath when walking the length of a city block. (W. C.) ANSWDR. Heart disease, anemia, arteriosclerosis, ar-teriosclerosis, pleurisy with effusion (perhaps (per-haps painless), tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, emphesema, Brlgbt'a disease, aneurism, or tumor In the chest mlRhl cause such shortness of breath. So you see, an examination by your doctor is Imperative. Consumption and Lime Kindly fell me If consumption really is Hmo starvation, also If llmc-containlng medicines are good for consumption What effect has coal gas on the lungs? Would a few drops of Iodine In n solution bo good to keep the nasal passages clean? (Mrs. IlL B. N.) ANSWER. No, there Is no reason to nupposo that n deficiency of lime la concerned con-cerned with consumption. Hence llmc-oontalnlng llmc-oontalnlng medicines would be worthless. However, such medicines may be at times useful for wholly different reasons, a3 expectorants, to oppose hemorrhage, as ant-acldj, etc. Coal gas temporarily Irritates Irri-tates tho lungs. Tbcro Is no permanent effect, but it poisons the blood. The uso of Iodine would bo Irritating lu the nasal passages. Normal salt solution (table-spoonful (table-spoonful salt In pint of boiled water), or Alkaline Antiseptic Solution (National Formulary), diluted with alx or eight parts of warm water, would be good to clean tho naaal passages used as a spray. Dr. Brady will answer all signed Jcttero pertaining to health. Tho names of writers aro never printed. Only inquiries of general interest arc answered in this column; but all inquiries will bo answered by mail if a stamped self-addressed nvolope is enclosed Requests for diagnosis or treatment of individual casc3 cannot be considered. Address Dr. William Brady, caro of this nowspapar. |