Archive
It’s time to give thanks for medical advances
IN 1842, DR. WILLIAM Ferguson, a young, ambitious surgeon at King's College Hospital in London operated on eight patients, each suffering from a strangulated hernia. One patient, in preparation for surgery, had been strapped to an operating table. Opiates helped to dull the man's senses to a slight degree, but as the surgeon's scalpel cut into flesh, terrible screams reverberated throughout the hospital. Like most patients in those days, he finally fainted. The operation was successful, but when he awakened he faced yet another life-threatening peril — post-operative infection which was routine then and which few survived. Unlike most surgical patients he recovered, and to show his gratitude asked the doctor to let him become his servant. At this Christmas, 1982, we should all...Read More
Archive
Readers support criticism of refined sugar
What's the verdict? Several months ago I warned people of the dangers of refined white sugar in processed food products. The Canadian Sugar Institute was not amused. It charged that I'd made false, misleading and exaggerated statements about its product. M. W. Davidson, president of the Institute, publicly contested the statements, and sent a formal request to the College of Physicians and Surgeons that I be disciplined. I've since received numerous enquiries about the final verdict. A man from Toronto wrote, "I'm concerned that the CSI would resort to this tactic. Dr. Gifford-Jones should not be disciplined for telling it the way it is. This unwarranted attack indicates his comments hit too close to home. Me thinketh the CSI doth protest...Read More
Archive
Statements about sugar rile industry spokesman
One of the world's most powerful industries says I should be punished for misleading you. The president of the Canadian Sugar Institute, M. W. Davidson, has sent a letter to the Ontario College of Physicians and surgeons. As a representative of the sugar industry he charges that I've made "exaggerated, misleading and even false statements about sugar," that I'm "misinforming Canadians," that I have "a disregard for fact in a quest for headlines" and that I should be disciplined by the College. Why is the sugar institute annoyed? They say there's no verification of 10 miIlion sugar-induced diabetics in North America or that sugar per se causes obesity. And that Canadians do not consume 130 pounds of sugar a year. Who is...Read More
Archive
Canadian diets need more fiber foods
Last week I told you that I had taken a calculated guess when I bluntly asked Mrs. Gifford-Jones if she was trying to do me in. Why had I taken such a gamble? Because I had examined my own household to see if we were practising preventive medicine. My findings owed that some dietary habits needed a change. The research was the simple task. But how could I convey the delicate message to Mrs. G-J? At the least provocation Mrs. G-J will happily abandon the kitchen. And I'd be left wearing the apron. I decided that the best approach was to appeal to her logical mind. Did she know that appendicitis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids and constipation were extremely rare in rural Africa? That diverticulosis...Read More
Sex
What You Should Know about Teenage Sex
Mr. D. H. of Winnipeg writes, “I am a Gifford-Jones fan because I like your practical approach to medical problems. I particularly enjoyed your article in which you advised there's no need to hang from a chandelier to have satisfactory sex. I hope you will write more columns on this universal subject. I would be interested to know your thoughts on teenage sex.” Another reader Mrs. H. N. of Windsor writes, “My daughter says that most of her high school friends are no longer virgins. Recently one of them became pregnant. Would you do a column on teenage sex and how parents can cope with this matter?” Many letters are sent to me about sexual problems of all kinds. A large percent...Read More
Archive
Many questions raised about Swine Flu
Last week I talked about the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. It killed 21 million people in 11 months, more than twice as many as died in years of war. The problem is will it happen again? Even if it does, there are many questions to answer. Will it be as lethal a disease with the availability of present day antibiotics? Will it be the swine flu virus that causes the influenza? Could the vaccine be worse than the disease for some people? In essence, should Canadians run for the woods or roll up their sleeves for the shot? The current fear of Swine Flu stems from a happening at Fort Dix in New Jersey in January 1976. Several healthy recruits...Read More
Archive
You should know about Swine Flu vaccine
Most Canadians are in a no-man's land state of mind about the Swine Flu vaccine. Some patients quickly say they don't believe in flu shots. Others conclude they don't want to risk having a reaction from the vaccine. Still others say that they will ask their doctor what to do. If they follow this latter course. I wish them luck. Doctors I've asked seem as non-plussed about whether or not they would take the vaccine as patients. One surgeon thought it might interfere with his operating for a day or two. Many were undecided on the issue. A few thought they would wait until an epidemic seemed more likely before they rolled up their sleeves. And a couple had a novel...Read More
Archive, Medicine
Consumers Beware
Is it possible to believe what the doctor tells them? Or are there too many "Water-gate-type physicians" around, who too frequently lead patients up the primrose path? It is a question more and more North Americans are asking these days and ending up with incomplete answers. A few people still have implicit, faith in the medical profession. Just look at their track record. Antibiotics save untold thousands from dying of pneumonia and a host of other diseases. Cortisone enables other thousands to be free of wheelchairs. Cardiac pacemakers add years to the lives of heart patients. Surgeons are transplanting hearts and kidneys. But others feel doctors have fallen from their exalted perch, that you simply can't and shouldn't believe them. How much truth...Read More
