Last Sniffle?

Some 6,000,000 U.S. hay-fever victims would have smiled through their tears last week if they had known about a new last-minute treatment that, if it lives up to its promise, will provide quick relief. In the New York State Journal of Medicine, Dr. Ernest J. Elsbach of Manhattan told of his experiments with a germ-brewed soothing substance at the Vanderbilt Clinic.

Standard hay-fever treatment is complicated, long-drawn-out, expensive and--in almost half the cases--no good. First a patient must be given a score of scratch tests on his arm to find out what pollens or other proteins poison him. Then for several months he must take a course of "desensitizing" injections to accustom him to growing doses of those irritants. Sometimes the injections give patients all the uncomfortable symptoms of asthma.

Dr. Elsbach's treatment short-cuts all this. He uses a specially prepared salt solution of organic substances produced by the ordinary Bacillus coli, found in human intestines. No scratch tests are necessary, for the Coli Metabolin acts on all forms of hay fever. Somehow the compound has a tonic effect on the irritated sympathetic nervous system. Treatment consists of eight to twelve injections; the first five injections are given daily, the rest every other day. Said Dr. Elsbach: "Treatment before the onset of hay fever is not necessary but should be started when the first symptoms appear. A marked improvement is usually seen after two or three injections."

In the Vanderbilt Clinic, and from reports of the same treatment throughout the U.S., Dr. Elsbach has observed the reactions of 75 patients of all ages. Results: 53 cases were cured, 21 improved; only one stubborn patient kept on sneezing.

Concluded Dr. Elsbach: "I know it would be more satisfying to report about these results after observation of the patients over a longer period of time. But ... I think this remedy is so harmless and brings such quick relief that it should be in the hands of the profession as soon as possible."

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Most fat people can get thinner by eating less but some skinny people can't automatically get fat by eating. However, Dr. Alfred Steiner of Columbia fattened nine obstinately skinny patients by feeding them approximately three and a half ounces of powdered egg yolks every day in addition to their regular diet. In a few months they gained five to 16 Ib.

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