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Show Diet Treatments Often Cure for Bladder Trouble Ey DU. JAMES W. BARTON OU may wonder why a A physician in treating gall bladder trouble sends some cases into hospital for operation, opera-tion, treats oth- i 1 ers by medi- TODAY'S cine and still u T fl I T U others by out- H LttL I n lining a diet to COLUMN be followed I 1 strictly. You have perhaps thought of the gall bladder as a small bag which should be removed if it contains any stones; whereas if all cases of gall stones underwent operation, op-eration, all surgeons could be kept busy. As a matter of fact the gall bladder is removed only when there is a new growth (cancer), excessive stone formations forma-tions causing frequent attacks of f colic, or when the symptoms of indigestion indi-gestion nausea, vomiting and painful gas f o r m a t i o n make life hardly worth living. And the results from these operations when the patient follows diet and other instructions instruc-tions afterward are, in most cases, very satisfactory. Dr. Barton However, there are some borderline cases; that is when the physician would like to use medical med-ical and diet treatment or diet treatment treat-ment alone, and thus try to avoid operation, and there are other cases that are severe enough to require operation but for various reasons bad heart, old age, generally poor condition of the patient, unwillingness unwilling-ness to undergo operation in which diet treatment offers the only help. Knowledge of Patient Needed. The usual symptoms of gall bladder blad-der trouble are "belching, gas pressure, pres-sure, distress in the upper part of the abdomen coming on after the taking of food, biliousness, sometimes some-times nausea and vomiting, occasionally occa-sionally headaches, constipation, and loss of appetite." To prescribe a diet to prevent or lessen these symptpms requires much thought and knowledge, not only about food but about the patient himself, his surroundings and his likes and dislikes. dis-likes. The foods to be used are the non-irritating non-irritating foods fruits, some of the leafy vegetables, meat and fish once a day never fried very little butter, but-ter, no spiced or smoked meat or fish, plenty of water, dilute fruit juices, milk, buttermilk and weak tea. The foods to be avoided are cream, salted, canned and preserved pre-served meats and fish, cheese except ex-cept cottage cheese, corn, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, raw vegetables, gravies, pie, nuts, alcoholics, pastry. Use of Venom Studied At Pasteur Institute From time to time you read about the great relief from pain obtained by cancer patients by the use of the poison (venom) of snakes. As a matter of fact, the use of the venom from that very poisonous snake, the cobra, has been used for hundreds of years, but when a research unit such as the Pasteur institute reports its findings, then we can rest assured as-sured that if snake venom has merit, it will be made known to the world. Dr. D. I. Macht, in Annals of Internal In-ternal Medicine, tells us that the first "scientific" use of a venom (that of the cobra) was made quite "recently" by the Pasteur institute. First, special methods of sterilizing steriliz-ing the venom had to be developed as the venom is destroyed by high temperature. Then a study of its effects on the body showed that its power to relieve pain was caused by its action on a certain part of the brain and that it had no effect when placed upon any painful spot in or on the body. Its action then is like that of morphine except that it is much slower in taking effect and its effect lasts much longer. Not Habit Forming. By careful experiments the exact dose with which to begin daily treatment treat-ment has been worked out and when pain has been relieved, the needed amount to keep patient free of pain requires this dosage two or three times a week instead of daily. "The results in incurable cancer were very satisfactory, pain and discomfort dis-comfort being greatly relieved. Later, Lat-er, cobra venom was found to be very useful in other painful conditions condi-tions such as angina pectoris, severe neuralgias, arthritis (rheumatism), where not only was the pain relieved but also muscle spasm was relaxed. In a series of cases of Parkinson's diseases, or shaking palsy, cobra venom was found to be effective in relieving pain and relaxing nerves and muscles." Dr. Macht states that in his experience ex-perience cobra venom did not appear ap-pear to be habit forming. While it is now available to a greater extent than heretofore, the patient must always be guided by the advice of the family physician as to its use in his particular case. Copyright. WNU Service. |
