AFTER COLDS, FLU,
YOU MAY SUFFER FROM
TIRED BLOOD
If you feel run-down after a win
ter illness your trouble may be due
to iron deficiency anemia. We call
it Tired Blood. Check with your doc
tor. If you feel worn-out because of
Tired Blood, take Geritol, liquid
or tablets, every day. Feel stronger
fast in 7 days or money back.
Get GERITOL today!
Stiff, Aching
' Imnfe Common Rheumatic and
JUIIIlO Arthritic-like Pains
When you suffer from
common rheumatic Gicl
and arthritic-like pains, V M
try Zarumin. Contains Jr . ,
an outer pill that gives j' "-
fast, temporary relief. aOk-L"V'
And an inner pill that 4 Sfj sjk :
brings more relief hours JSIiJmm. .
later thus giving longer-lasting relief.
If pain persists see your doctor.
'For effective temporary relief
-Zarumin
PILL-WITHIN-A-F1LL
100 SAFE
SLEEP
without bromides, barbiturates, narcotics
If you sometimes can't sleep be
cause of simple nervousness, over
work or over-fatigue try Sominex.
Taken as directed, Sominex helps
you sleep soundly with 100 safety.
No morning-after grogginess. Not
habit forming. 'Taken as directed
Here's Rea Relief from
CONSTIPATION AFTER 35
As you get older, usually after 35,
your system naturally slows down
and the laxative you've been using
may no longer be right for you.
That's why you should try Serutan,
the all-vegetable laxative aid that,
taken daily, helps establish regu
larity. Many doctors advise this prin
ciple, that's why you should try it.
S!BN
BRAND
NAM E S
You're satisfied most
with a brand that'
made a name for itself.
Brand Names Foundation. Inc.
437 FIFTH AVtNUE. NfW YQVK 16 N. V.
STOP SaS
PIMPLES!
Don't pick, scratch, squeeze
or merely "cover them up"
Doctors know that acne or pimples
are caused by the germ called the
acne bacillus. These germs invade
overactive oil glands in the skin,
cause blackheads and pus pockets;
then your skin "breaks out."
What's needed is (I) to dry up
the excessive oil that collects on
skin; (2) to destroy acne germs on
the skin, and (3) to stop itching and
irritation so pimples can heal.
A doctor's formula, liquid Zemo
has this effective 3-way action; also
keeps skin looking cleaner.'
Get liquid Zemo, Ointment, too.
In regular and extra strength. To
save buy the large sizes of Zemo.
MY DAUGHTER
FEELS NO PAIN
Is it a blessing or a dreadful misfortune to be completely
insensitive to hurt of any kind? Here is the firsthand
story of a mother who had to weigh that fateful question
by MRS. JAY SHELDON
as told to FRANCESCA LIBERTE
MY lecs turned to jelly and I had to sit down to digest
the news the doctor had just given me about my daugh
ter Mary, 11.
What he had said, in effect, was that you could drive a
nail through her heart and she wouldn't feel it
"You mean you never noticed anything strange? There
must have been some signs!" he insisted.
Numbly, I tried to think. Mary had always enjoyed excel
lent health. Then, recently, we'd decided to do something
about a slight nervous tic she sometimes experienced. Our
doctor couldn't explain it, but he said if anyone could it
would be Dr. Richard Reuben, prominent pediatrician
neurologist So here I was at Dr. Reuben's.
"Didn't it seem strange she never cried when you spanked
her?" he asked.
"Lots of children don't cry when they're spanked," I said,
defensively. "We always felt lucky that Mary wasn't a cry
baby. Her father used to call her his 'Little Stoic' "
"That's interesting," Dr. Reuben said. "Maybe this is
more common than we think. Many parents who feel 'lucky'
that their children aren't 'crybabies' may really have chil
dren like Mary. Some die before the condition is recognized.
Others grow out of it at an early age. Still others could live
as long as Mary has even longer without anybody know
ing something is wrong. Usually, however, there are signs."
Thinking more clearly now, I began to recall little things
that did seem odd at the time yet not so odd that we at
tached any special significance to them.
As a baby, Mary had cried only when she wanted atten
tion or to be picked up never over a bump or scratch. When
her older sister cried over a fall or bruise, Mary would ask,
"What's she crying about?"
When her tonsils were found to be badly inflamed and
had to come out Mary never complained about any pain,
either before or after the operation. She never fussed about
having a tooth filled or pulled, nor did torturously tight
braces on her teeth seem to bother her.
Two years ago, riding her bicycle, she was struck by a
car. She picked herself up and pedaled home without a mur
mur, despite a concussion that kept her in bed for two weeks.
Dr. Reuben nodded as I recalled these incidents. "That's
more like it. Your daughter has what's known as 'pain
asymbolia.' "It's considered very rare," he continued, "and no cure
is known in fact even the exact cause is uncertain. Actu
ally, it's not really harmful in itself. It's simply that your
daughter is insensible to pain. Impossible as it may sound
to you, she probably has never felt an ache or pain in her
entire life."
"She's lucky," I said, vaguely feeling it was the wrong
thing to say.
"Well, not entirely," the doctor replied.
"I examined a boy last month who'd had headaches for
a year. Nothing had helped new glasses, dental care, anti
biotics and the pains were worse than ever. I found a
tumor the size of an egg inside his head. If it hadn't been
removed, it would have killed him within a few weeks.
"Pain is nature's danger signal. Anything from a simple
toothache to a pain in the chest will give you a chance to
fix things before it's too late. But if you never felt any pain
in the side "
He didn't have to finish the frightful picture. Mary, in
capable of feeling such warnings, wouldn't stand a chance!
"But it won't help to worry yourself sick over this," the
doctor reassured me. "You must simply be aware of the
dangers involved, and be constantly on the lookout for
trouble. Believe me, whether you know it or not, those first
11 years were the hardest!"
Even now, several months later, I still find it hard to
get used -to looking for signs of trouble. But I realize all
too well what the doctor meant when he said the first 11
years were the hardest In other children with a similar
condition, the result has usually been tragic and most often
during the first 7 or 8 years.
12
Family Weekly. January 31. 1960