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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-09-18, Page 2Is Hypnotic Treatment Safe? The surgeon snapped his fin- gers at the pian on the operating table. The man's; eyes closed. Straight away the surgeon went to work to remove the patient's appendix. No anaesthetics had been administed—yet the opera- tion was completely painless. For 24 -year-old Don Cunning- ham, the man on the operating table in the Davies County Hos- pital at Washington, Indiana, had been hypnotized. By snap- ping his fingers the surgeon had induced 'a trance, Cunningham was on the operating table thirty-five . min- utes, while another doctor stood by ready to apply anaesthetics if the hypnosis failed. But it didn't fail. When the wound had been closed the surgeon :napped his fingers twice — and Don Cun- ningham emerged from his trance, "I was conscious of a dull feeling in the area, but I felt no pain," he said later. "I kept my eyes closed during the operation, but I guess I could have watched." This case, reported not tong ago, is by no means an isolated instance of hypnosis being used successfully in modern surgery. It is also used to a consider- able extent as a substitute for anaesthetics in childbirth and dentistry, and in the treatment of, a wide variety of ailments, including ouodenal ulcers, blood pressure. asthma, migraine, and skin diseases. Responsible medical opinion has claimed it to be of great value, too, in the treatment of alcoholism, excessive smoking, stammering, blushing, insomnia, seasickness and many other things, including stage fright' This does not mean that hyp- notism can miraculously cure all types of patients. The success of the treatment depends on the patient's suitability for it. A great degree of co-operation is needed between hypnotist and patient; for this reason it would be very difficult to hypnotize a hysterical person. and impossible to succeed with an imbecile or somenne mentally deranged, Nut long age a Surrey mother revealed how her daughter had been completely cured of asthma through hypnotism. She had developed this frus- tratine disease at the age of three, and any excitement, ten- sion or worry would prostrate her for weeks at a tune. For five years the parents fought a losing battle, the only advice they obtained from the various doctors they visited be- ing to keep her off certain foods, and put her to bed after attacks. One day, however, the father read of a ease similar to their daughter's, which had been eured by hypnotism. "We immediately contarted the doctor and that was the turning point for Jennifer," said the mother. "For the past two years she has attended once every three months for hyp- no:;ls treatment and she is now completely cured." In his book, "Hypnosis and the Pea er Within," Dr. S. J. Van Pelt, President of the British So - tet, r.f Mt dicaI Hypnotist,, urs it is a;.reed among rnerlical men, that emotion or nervous shock m ty brine on an asthma attack. Yet hypnosis, which he claims is the meet effective treatmentin all nervous complaints, has been vrti,t,ily icnored by orthodox medical opinion. In the British Medical Jour- nal' recently, Dr. Richard Asher of the Central Middlesex Heepi tat, told the strange story of the boy of thirteen and the girt of ten who grew heir on their bald heads after hypnosis, The boy, who had been bald for -:even years was given fifteen weekly hypnotic treatments and hair then began to grow scantily. When treatments were stopped. he became bald again The girl had twelve treatments and her hair continued to grow without further hypnosis If hynotism is so valuable in medicine why hasn't it been used to a far greater extent? Probably the main reason is that much distrust has been created in the public mind by the acti- vities of stage hypnotists and by sensational novels, plays and alms about "sinister Svengalis." This distrusthas also existed in the medical profession for many years. And yet Franz An- ton Mesmer, the man who first used hypnotism scientifically, had people flocking to his clinics in Paris and Vienna'in the 1700s. Mesmer, ,who was born in 1734, near Lake Constance in Germany, was regarded as a charlatan by jealous doctors, but he was well-respected as a gen- eral practitioner before he turn- ed to hypnotism. He believed that a strange "magnetic fluid" came from the stars and filled the whole uni- verse. When people became ill it was because the balance of this fluid in their bodies had been disturbed. He discovered that by making passes with his hands he could cause some of his patients to go' into convulsions, as a result of which they appear- ed to be cured of their ailments. A spectacular success came his way when Maria Theresa Para - die, a blind girl who was a bril- liant pianist, recovered her sight after undergoing his treatment, But before the cure was com- plete the child's parents were persuaded by other doctors to take the girl away. She did riot want to leave Mesmer and there was an angry scene in which she was struck across the face by her mother, causing the blindness to return. Mesmer died in obscurity after he had been discredited by his rivals in the medical profes- sion, Dr. Van Pelt has claimed that it may be possible for a person cf average ability to develop positive genius under the influ- ence of hypnosis. He quotes the case of the Russian composer, Rachmaninov, who in 190Q was cured of alcoholism under nyp- nosis, Disappointed in love and de- pressed at the failure of his first concerto, Rachmaninov had tak- en to drink. Then he was persuaded to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Nicolay Dahi. Every day for four months the composer visited Dr, Dahl and sat in an armchair, half asleep, while the psychiatrist repeated these phrases; " You will begin to write your concerto , .. You will work with great facility . , , The concerto will be excellent" There is little doubt that this treatment restored Rachmanin- ov's confidence, with the result that his second concerto was a triumphant success. He also stopped drinking and for the rest of his life seldom touched alco- hol The claims of hypnotism are being made more and more, in the newspapers, on the radio and on TV. Tt was said not :ong ego that the Russion ski jumpers and °Hiet athletes competed while hypnotized. A team of Russian research workers is said to be engaged on the study of hypnotism as applied to sports, in preparation for the 1900 Oly- pic Games. It was hypnotism, too, that film star Cary Grant claimed had helped him stay at the top. He said that he and his actress wife, Betsy Drake, practised hypnotism on each other. This made him mare relaxed, A British Medical Association committee, in its report on hyp- notism, say that great dangers might result from hypnotizing ' unsuitable pepole. But it had de- cided that hypnotism was of value and might be the treat- ment of choice in certain ceses, Much more research was neces- sary, however. VACATION SPOT — This large white frame house is the "summer White House" for President Eisenhower and Mrs. Eisenhower, The golf course is Only two or three minutes by car. GESUNDHEIT Mrs, Theresa Forchione, one of 38 volunteers testing an "immune milk" for its hay fever -preventing powers, toasts the experiment in company of Dr. Herman Bundesen, president, Chicago Board of Health. Cows that give the milk have a pollen solution injected into other udders in an effort to produce the antisneeze beverage, The following are a fear're- cipes for pinkies and so -forth that I hope will come in handy. They've all been thoroughly tested—and found good. TASTY ILELISH 1 6 -quart basket ripe tomatoes 3 pounds brown sugar 1 pound seeded raisins 1 pint cider -vinegar 1 lemon rind and pulp 2 teaspoons ground cloves -2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ;s teaspoon cayenne pepper Salt to taste Wash, scald and peel ripe tomatoes. Cut into quarters and place in large kettle. Wash and quarter lemon. Remove seeds then grind. Raisins may he left whole or cut into quarters, as desired. Combine lemon, raisins and remaining ingredients with tomatoes in kettle. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dis- solved, Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until relish thickens. About 2 hours depending on moisture content of tomatoee. Ladle into hot, sterile jars and cap at once. Label and store in cool dark place. t * * PICKLED CRAB APPLES 8 pounds crab apples 2 cups eider vinegar 8 cups sugar 2 cups liquid from crab apples 2 sticks cinnamon 1 tablespoon whole cloves 1 small piece root ginger 2 blades mace or i/a teaspoon ground mace Wash crab apples and remove blossoms ends but do not peel or remove stems, Place in kettle and just cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 min- utes. Drain, reserving 2 cups of liquid for syrup. Place in large kettle, vinegar, sugar, liquid from cooking crab apples, and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dis- colved, and cook for 5 minutes. Add crab apples. Reduce heat and cook very slowly until crab epples are tender and almost transparent. Pack carefully into hot sterilized jars and fill jars to overflowing with hot syrup. Seal at once. Label and store. BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES 12 medium cucumbers 5 medium onions le cup salt 1 cup sugar lee teaspoons mustard seed teaspoons celery seed le teaspoon curry powder 1 cup vinegar le cup water Wash and slice cucumbers into Vs -inch rings. Wash and peel onions and slice about ?/e-inrh rings. Arrange in layers in bowl, rprinkling each layer with salt. Let stand for 3 hours. Drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients in kettle and bring to boil. Add cucumber and on- ion slices and simmer gently for. about 10 minutes. Pack into hot, sterilized jars. Fill to overflow ing with syrup and soap at once. Labe] and store, R # 4, eiREEN TOMATO PRESERVES '1 pounds green tomatoes 5 lemons 1 teaspoon salt 4 cups granulated sugar 1 stick cinnamon Wash and remove stems from green tomatoes. Cut out any blemishes in skins. Slice very thin. Cut grind from lemons and slice very thinly, Cover lemon strips with water and bring to boil. Cook 5 minutes. Drain and discard liquid. Cut • up Iemon pulp, removing seeds, Combine peel, pulp and thinly sliced tom- etoes in large kettle and add salt, sugar and stick cinnamon. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until mixture is thick and tomatoes appear clear. About 20 minutes. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and cover se curdy with lid. GRAPE CONSERVE 1 small basket bine grapes 3 oranges 1 lemon le pound seeded raisins 4 pounds sugar Wash grapes thoroughly and remove from stems. Squeeze grapes, putting skins in one howl and pulp in. large saucepan.. Bring pulp to a boil and cook until seeds are free. Strain through a sieve and add to skins. W ash and quarter oranges and lemon. Remove seeds and put oranges and lemon through mincer using medium blades. Add minced fruit to grape skins and pulp and place in large ket- tle. Add sugar and raisins. Mix and bring to bail. Cook for ih hour stirring to prevent scorch- ing. Pour into hot scalded jars and seal at once with hot melt- ed paraffin, Cover with metal lids and label, How To pack China Or Glass Are you one of the 44,000,000 Canadians and Americans who will move to a new home — far or near — this year? If so, here are some tips from the Lenox China Service Bu- reau on how to get your china and 'glassware there safely. The secret is careful packing, if you are doing this yourself. First, obtain a sturdy con- tainer, perhaps a wooden or fiber barrel. Be sure the barrel is clean because some chemicals which are stored in barrels cause acid fumes which could damage your china's glaze. Then, plenty of newspaper, or, if your china is to be stored for any length of time, clean white tissue paper. Stack the sheets opened on table conveniently high. Put four wads of bunched newspaper in the bottom of the barrel. Wrap each piece of china separately, with no edges ex- posed. Place platters, service plates, and the like on edge . in the bottom of the barrel with an inch or two of paper between them and the edge of the barrel. Next take dinner plates, salad plates, and place them on edge to complete the layer. Put an inch or so of bunched paper on top. The next layer should he the smaller Rat pieces, such as saucers and butter plates, each well wrapped, and placed on Li'dee with paper between them and the edge of the barrel. Cups and other odd -shaped pieces go in the next layer. The best way to wrap a clap is to take a corner of a hall sheet of paper and stun' it into the cup as it faces away from you. Roll the cup so that it feces toward you and wrap the rest of the piece around,. Use plenty of paper on odd shaped pieces. When you arc finished, there should be a solid mass of paper and china, so that it will not shift or rattle. Pack the insu- lating layers of paper tightly to prevent shifting of the pieces. Glassware should be handled in much the same way, putting the heavier pieces on the bot- tom, and using plenty of paper. Insurance is not expensive, and it might be a good idea to consult your mover, or your in- surance agent about insurance to cover the trip. TANKS FOR NOTHING To help, stimulate the Prate pitchers during the hot after- noons, Branch Rickey had been toying with the idea of employ- ing small oxygen tanks on the bench. The first time he instal- led one in the clubhouse, Cus- todian Byron Jorgensen raised e question, "Is there any chance that it will become habit form- ing?".. There Was No Miracle For Little Nils-Olov Boston (NEA) — Nils-Olov Wissell has gone home to Sweden — to be buried, while doctors at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital try to salvage some information 01 value from their attempt to perform a medical miracle on the little boy. Young "Nils, an 11 -year-old handsome, freckled boy had been born with only one kidney, Doc- tors only discovered this after he had injured it and it had been removed, Kidneys are the human organs that purify the blood, and without at least one, death is certain., While an articial kidney wept to work keeping the youngster alive, Nils wee brought to Arleerica and 50 doctors in Bos- ton planned an operation that NILS OLOV-WISSELL Fortune is Where You Fait On it Opportunity not only knocks more than once; it sticks to you. We are thinking of a certain Swiss gentleman who fell into a batch of burdock, For most peo- ple all that such an event prom- ises is an hour of picking of. burrs out of clothing and a reso- lution not to make a habit of burdock patches, . Soine people will asic also how and why they let themselves fall into such a relentless ambush, But they will probably attribute the misadenture to misfortune, The Swiss gentleman, how- ever, asked a defferent set of bows and whys. Why do burrs cling so tenaciously to fabric? 1Vtore specifically exactly hors' do they do it? Misfortune? No, on the con- trary — perhaps a fortune from the zipperless zipper," apparent- ly simpler to operate and to make, perhaps as reliable and less subject to hitches on the long pull, than the usual zipper. On one piece of fabric a myriad of tiny loops; on another as many little hooks. Press the two together, and what has a burdock got that you haven't got? Of course, developments like this seem a bit farfetched. Not many of us take them seriously unless we read about them in the financial papers, where we read about this one. And, of course, there must be a million --- and a moral — in it. So next time you are flat on your back in a burdock patch don't be too sure where you have landed. It could be a bed of roses in disguise. — From The Christian Science Monitor, would have meant increased life and -hope for thousands of per- sons besides this little boy. The problem facing Nils' doe - tors a way tp transplant a kid- ney. The implications: a oom- pletely'new blood -producing sig- tem, new blood supply and the grafting of an organ onto an it4. tit alien body.. For thousands, this was more than an exciting scientific ad- venture. People with blood dis- ease and kidney disease watch- ed with desperate fascination for any progress. Little Nils` home town of Motala, Sweden, which had contributed money for the boy's passage and care, prayed. His parents kept the long vigil and his mother pre. pared herself to donate one of her kidneys to her child. But what stood in the way of solving the problems was hu- man Iife itself: the body, nidi- cine knew, manufactured anti- bodies that resisted any alien. organ. Nils' blood would react to his mother's kidney as if it were an infection. The only solution seemed to be to kill' the boy's bone mar- row, the substance that manu- factures blood cells as well as aniti-bodies, and replace it with marrow from his mother's body. The boy was given heavy doses of radiation which killed his marrow. Then he was given a transfusion of his mother's mar- row. If his body would accept the new marrow, the boy would have a blood system that would accept the new kidney, But the miracle operation fail- ed on its first step, Nils' body refused to provide a home' for the new marrow and the boy died, "We have nothing to say," a spokesman for the battalion of Brigham doctors reported. "We are reviewing our procedure again and again, going over our results and tests. We cannot talk about what we have learned, or even about what we have net learned. T wish there were some- thing else we could say." CAKE FLOWERS — Pancakellke goodies with built-in handles are a family favorite at the Grief home, Mary Grief, 15, gets a syrupy assist from brother Thomas, 16, as she starts on a plateful of elder- berry blossoms which have been dipped in pancake batter before frying. Younger Set Fashion Hint