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The Treatment of Tuberculosis by Heliotherapy

The Treatment of Tuberculosis by Heliotherapy The Treatment of Tuberculosis by Heliotherapy 1 Horace Lo Grasso , M.D. Perrysburg, N. Y. ↵ 1 Read before the Radiological Society of North America, at the Thirteenth Annual Meeting, at New Orleans, La., Nov. 29, 1927. Excerpt WHILE the therapeutic value of sunlight has been recognized as far back as history records, it is only in the last decade that light treatment has begun to be used extensively. Not very long ago, the pioneers in this field were repeatedly called upon to defend and justify the use of light in the treatment of disease. But times have been rapidly changing. Now, it seems, the value of light, both as a prophylactic and as a therapeutic agent, is so generally recognized that it falls into the category of things that are taken for granted. It may be that the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Whether for good or for evil, the popular press has seized upon it as a timely subject and has broadcast its virtues far and wide, so that light treatment promises to become quite the fashion. Heliotherapy, contrary to the common belief, is not a specific remedy for disease (with the possible exception of rickets) in the scientific sense of the term. It prevents disease by bringing the body to its state of maximum resistance, so that it can ward off infection. It cures infections, once they are established, by summoning all the body's protective forces to the front. While it is valuable in most conditions in which the resistance is low and the body needs to be built up, its principal use has been directed toward the treatment of so-called surgical tuberculosis. The beneficial results obtained in treating cases of this disease at the J. N. Adam Memorial Hospital and other institutions where heliotherapy is practised, have far surpassed anything ever accomplished by the use of surgery, which was formerly the accepted treatment. In a vast number of cases, operative procedure left the patient with dangerously lowered vitality, unsightly and disabling deformities, or non-healing wounds. He was frequently fated to lifelong invalidism or untimely death. In contrast with these unfortunates, the sun-cure patient finds his physique splendidly built up, musculature well developed, and sinuses healthily closed. In the not-too-far-advanced cases of bone and joint tuberculosis, bone tissue is repaired and the function of the joint is preserved or restored. Blood examinations before and after treatment show a decided increase in the red cells and in the hemoglobin. Leukocytosis, when present, returns to normal, with a corresponding improvement in the patient's condition. The percentage of neutrophilic polymorphonuclear cells, when excessive, decreases, and in many cases an actual lymphocytosis results. As might be expected, patients having a substantially normal blood picture do not show any change on exposure to sunlight. In its essential features our sun-cure technic is patterned after that of Rollier, although many modifications have been made to adapt it to our peculiar conditions and needs. One of the first requisites is that exposure should be made in the open air, with nothing to intercept the sun's rays. Copyrighted 1928 by The Radiological Society of North America, Inc. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Radiology Radiological Society of North America, Inc.

The Treatment of Tuberculosis by Heliotherapy

Radiology , Volume 11 (3): 217 – Sep 1, 1928

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Publisher
Radiological Society of North America, Inc.
Copyright
Copyright © 1928 by Radiological Society of North America
ISSN
1527-1315
eISSN
0033-8419
DOI
10.1148/11.3.217
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The Treatment of Tuberculosis by Heliotherapy 1 Horace Lo Grasso , M.D. Perrysburg, N. Y. ↵ 1 Read before the Radiological Society of North America, at the Thirteenth Annual Meeting, at New Orleans, La., Nov. 29, 1927. Excerpt WHILE the therapeutic value of sunlight has been recognized as far back as history records, it is only in the last decade that light treatment has begun to be used extensively. Not very long ago, the pioneers in this field were repeatedly called upon to defend and justify the use of light in the treatment of disease. But times have been rapidly changing. Now, it seems, the value of light, both as a prophylactic and as a therapeutic agent, is so generally recognized that it falls into the category of things that are taken for granted. It may be that the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Whether for good or for evil, the popular press has seized upon it as a timely subject and has broadcast its virtues far and wide, so that light treatment promises to become quite the fashion. Heliotherapy, contrary to the common belief, is not a specific remedy for disease (with the possible exception of rickets) in the scientific sense of the term. It prevents disease by bringing the body to its state of maximum resistance, so that it can ward off infection. It cures infections, once they are established, by summoning all the body's protective forces to the front. While it is valuable in most conditions in which the resistance is low and the body needs to be built up, its principal use has been directed toward the treatment of so-called surgical tuberculosis. The beneficial results obtained in treating cases of this disease at the J. N. Adam Memorial Hospital and other institutions where heliotherapy is practised, have far surpassed anything ever accomplished by the use of surgery, which was formerly the accepted treatment. In a vast number of cases, operative procedure left the patient with dangerously lowered vitality, unsightly and disabling deformities, or non-healing wounds. He was frequently fated to lifelong invalidism or untimely death. In contrast with these unfortunates, the sun-cure patient finds his physique splendidly built up, musculature well developed, and sinuses healthily closed. In the not-too-far-advanced cases of bone and joint tuberculosis, bone tissue is repaired and the function of the joint is preserved or restored. Blood examinations before and after treatment show a decided increase in the red cells and in the hemoglobin. Leukocytosis, when present, returns to normal, with a corresponding improvement in the patient's condition. The percentage of neutrophilic polymorphonuclear cells, when excessive, decreases, and in many cases an actual lymphocytosis results. As might be expected, patients having a substantially normal blood picture do not show any change on exposure to sunlight. In its essential features our sun-cure technic is patterned after that of Rollier, although many modifications have been made to adapt it to our peculiar conditions and needs. One of the first requisites is that exposure should be made in the open air, with nothing to intercept the sun's rays. Copyrighted 1928 by The Radiological Society of North America, Inc.

Journal

RadiologyRadiological Society of North America, Inc.

Published: Sep 1, 1928

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