Aging and Allergies understanding the problem and prevention and treatment

The older person needs a good, understanding physician to help him with the more numerous illnesses and minor annoyances to be expected with aging. Also, as friends and relatives die, the doctor becomes a needed friend. What of so-called rejuvenation operations and other methods purporting to stop or even reverse aging? As far as medical science can determine, there is no validity to the claims for any of these methods: e.g., transplantation of animal glands, injections of Novocain. We are very much in the early in- fancy of biological and medical research into aging. 

It is entirely possible that some "Peter Pan" substance may yet be found to keep us young longer. We have to learn why the white rat rarely lives more than three years, a dog no more than twenty, and man seldom more than one hundred. Possibly out of such research, with animals as well as man, will become new knowledge to provide clues to longer, youthful life. Until then, we can only learn how to prevent the diseases and ravages of the years so we may enjoy to the full a near century of life. 

Note: Problems of the later years- e.g., retirement change of location, hospitalization for surgery, choice of physician-are discussed in additional detail in a book by one of us: The Complete Medical Guide, by Benjamin F. Miller, M.D., published by Simon & Schuster, 630 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10020. ALLERGY With all the talk about it, one might assume that nearly all Americans are allergic. This is not true, but allergic ailments are common enough if one considers all the people who have hay fever, asthma, hives, and sensitivity reactions to medicines, pets, foods, cosmetics, and industrial substances.

The term allergy means altered reaction. A person with allergy has become sensitive to a specific sub- stance which is perfectly harmless to the non-allergic population. The word specific is a key one because an allergic individual may have a violent attack of asthma, for example, when exposed to cat dander but may be perfectly comfortable with dogs, hamsters, canaries, or other pets. The offending substance is called an allergen and is protein in nature or has the capacity to combine with protein in the body. 

Thus a person may be sensitive to such proteins as those in milk, egg white, or lobster but be able to take fats, such as butter, and starches and cane sugar in any amount without symptoms. When a person becomes allergic to a non-protein substance such as iodine or penicillin, it is believed that the offending substance is itself a partial allergen and becomes.