The Family doctor
Index A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Introduction
THE purpose of this book is to provide the lay reader with a simple and concise account of the present position of medical science. Technical terms have been avoided as far as possible in the description of diseases and methods of treatment, but at the same time an explanation has been given of current names and expressions as these crop up in discussions of medical topics. The alphabetical arrangement of subjects, supplemented by cross-references, should make it possible to find any desired information easily and quickly.
There would appear to be a growing interest among people generally in the problems of health, and it is desirable that this interest should be extended and deepened, as there is no subject about which the public could more profitably be informed. In the preparation of this book practical needs have been consistently kept in view, and no more than necessary has been said about medical theories, however fascinating many of these may be.
A fact upon which it is constantly necessary to insist is that a very large amount of the disease that afflicts us is by no means inevitable and could be prevented by the utilisation of medical knowledge. Doubtless considerable responsibility for taking measures designed to promote health is assumed by the various public health authorities, but it is well recognized that satisfactory progress in this direction requires the intelligent co-operation of the individual citizen. It cannot be said that up to the present there has been any conspicuous help from people generally, beyond that exacted by the law, and the majority have still to learn how to keep healthy, even when they have made up their minds to take pains about it.
Fresh information relevant to the prevention and cure of disease has been accumulating rapidly, for example, on the role of vitamins in food, the effects of the ultra-violet rays in light, the part played by local irritation of one kind and another in the causation of cancer, and the extent to which infection may be prevented by the use of vaccines. A great deal is therefore said in these pages about the causes of disease and the means of avoiding them. The treatment of the various diseases and injuries is also discussed.
IT cannot be pretended that the perusal of this or any book will fit a layman for being his own doctor. The manifestations of disease are frequently elusive and puzzling, and a correct interpretation of them can only be made by one whose business it is to deal with sickness and who has therefore the necessary experience. Training and experience are also needed for the proper treatment of sickness.
Nevertheless it must be recognized that emergencies often arise and have to be dealt with, at any rate in the first instance, by persons who have had no professional training. It may be taken for granted that, when someone is injured or suddenly becomes ill, those about him will wish to do something for his relief. In such circumstances the treatment has often been quite wrong, the condition of the patient has been aggravated and not infrequently his life has been jeopardised. Similar untoward results have happened when the bystanders have been ignorant about what to do and have done nothing. Many lives have been lost through ignorance of the proper way to arrest bleeding, to restore a suffocated person, and so on.
THEREFORE it is not only the interest but the duty of everyone to acquire some knowledge of the characteristics and correct first-aid treatment of accidents of this kind. The scope of the information given in this book goes, however, beyond what would be sufficient for a first-aid manual, as it is considered that a description of the treatment usually adopted for the various complaints may be useful to the layman in several ways. It is desired, for example, to help those whose lot is cast in out-of-the-way parts of the world, missionaries, traders and others, who are unable to obtain the services of a doctor, or only do so after considerable delay. Such will be able to avail themselves of the instructions given in this book according to the experience thay may have had. Moreover, information about the course of diseases and their treatment may be useful to those who can readily procure medical advice, as it should enable them to co-operate more intelligently in the care of the patient, more particularly as descriptions are given of the many duties which must be undertaken by those who are nursing the sick.
THE attention of the reader is drawn to the accounts given in these pages of the early symptoms of grave diseases that often come on insidiously, for example, those of consumption or cancer. Many valuable lives are lost through persons suffering from such complaints failing to consult a doctor until successful treatment is hopeless. It is sometimes alleged that the perusal of medical literature by a layman may do harm by making him unduly fidgety about his health. Yet the nett result would be pure gain if the perusal of a book of this kind induced uneasy people to consult a doctor, and symptoms apparently trivial, but actually the early manifestations of serious diseases, received skilled attention.
In the treatment of minor maladies it is desirable that reliance, when possible, should be placed on a correction of habits as regards diet, exercise, rest and so on, rather than on drugs. The fact remains, however, that very many people habitually dose themselves with one nostrum or another. It is hoped that such persons will be shown how to dispense with drugs or, at any rate, be enabled by an intelligent appreciation of the accounts given here regarding the actions and doses of drugs, to employ only such as are safe, with advantage at once to health and pocket.
The Illustrated Family Doctor - A Handy and Authoritative Guide to Essential Medical Knowledge and the Maintenance of Good Health - London 1934.
