European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 9, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes saturday october 8, 1977 modern Medicine hiccups medical mystery dangerous if they persist by Michael j. Halberstam the guinness Book of world records,"1976 edition reports that the longest recorded attack of Hiccough was that afflicting Charles Osborne b. 1894 of Arthur Iowa from 1922 to Date. He contracted it when slaughtering a hog. His first wife left him and he is unable to keep in his false  is indeed an extraordinary Case for most people an attack of hiccups become dangerous when it lasts 48 hours or More. Many people whose hiccups lasted a matter of Days or weeks have been admitted to the hos Pital in a state of collapse and imminent danger of death from oxygen Lack heart fail ure or extreme  Are a spasm of the diaphragm the muscle Sheet that separates the Chest from the abdominal cavity that suddenly stops the intake of breath. The Windpipe snap shut causing the gasping sound known As the  spasms occur from 40 to 100 times per minute. Their Basic cause despite ample Opportunity to observe them re Mains a medical mystery. Fra drops attempt to restrict Mega vitamins to prescription Washington up after four years of Public dispute and court Battles the govern ment has quietly dropped its attempt to re quire a doctor s prescription for High Potency doses of vitamins a and d. The health food Industry which had fought the government All the Way hailed the Deci Sion As a Victory for consumer Freedom of  food and drug administration which proposed the restrictions in october 1973, indicated it still thinks there is a health risk from so called Mega vitamins but feels Itcan do nothing More about it for now. The final decision came from the Justice department which told the Fra earlier this month it will not Appeal a court decision handed Down june 7, overturning the Fra regulations. The court Challenge had been brought by the National nutritional foods association which represents health food stores and by an individual firm the solar co. The Fra regulation would have required prescriptions for capsules or tablets of More than 10,000 International units of Vitamin a or More than 400 la s of Vitamin d. The Fra said the regulations were prompted by reports of widespread misuse of Large doses of vitamins a and d for conditions ranging from acne to night blindness and arthritis. Neither Vitamin is proven effective for these conditions the Agency said in confirm ing that government lawyers had thrown inthe Towel. And repeating statements it made at the time it issued the regulations it added excessive amounts of Vitamin a taken Over Long periods can increase pressure within the human Skull and May mimic a brain tumor. " Large doses of this Vitamin have also been shown to retard growth in children. Vita min d in excessive doses has been known to retard mental and physical development in  but the Nonfa said the risks have been exaggerated and the court findings show How ridiculous the Fra proposal was. This Means that the Fra will not be Able again to try to limit our Access to vitamins said or. Linus Pauling a Nobel prize Winner and Long time Vitamin proponent. The court basically said Fra May not us toxicity alone As the reason for declaring a product to be drug rather than a food. Scientist urges Coordie noted efforts Zurich Switzerland a a prominent american scientist has urged increased coordination in cancer research which otherwise would be delayed in Many Fields by the pre sent guerrilla warfare  the Appeal came from professor Albert , Pioneer in polio control in the opening scientific lecture of the tenth International Congress on chemotherapy. Drug treatment of cancer and of infectious diseases Are the prime topics of the Congress attended by 3,000 scientists from 65 countries. Indigestion triggers most cases of Ordinary hiccups which last 5 to 10 minutes. Other causes excessive smoking eating drinking swallowing air gulping hot or cold liquids sudden fright or anything that irritates the vagus  nerve serves the entire body and connects with the two phrenic nerves that control the diaphragm. Thus disease in any part of the body stroke heart attack pneumonia hernia diabetes influenza bronchitis brai tumor or Skull fracture for example May also cause  ailment May follow serious surgery or prolonged emotional stress or sudden psycho logic Shock. In one Case a Man who had been married and childless for two years developed hiccups after receiving a medical report that his semen was sterile. If causes of hiccups Are innumerable so Are the cures. They Range from simple Home remedies to elaborate treatments requiring physician s care and hospitalization. Home remedies include the familiar hold ing the breath As Long As possible drinking water breathing into a paper bag or frighten ing the victim. Some people vary the water drinking cure by sipping from the far Side of the Glass or swallowing with a Pencil clenched Between their  sufferers have cured hiccups by tick Ling their noses until they sneezed this remedy dates Back to Plato s time in the fourth Century  out their tongues and inducing nausea. One old fashioned remedy recently rediscovered by the medical profession is a teaspoonful of White granulated sugar swallowed dry. Some of these remedies sound silly but they have worked though never in All cases because they interrupt the reflex that perpetuates the hiccups. But people whose hiccups last longer than a few hours need More com plex treatments. These May include muscle relaxants Cen trial Nevrous system stimulants Tranquilin ers anti epileptic drugs whiffs of Ether and even hypnosis. As a last resort a physician May inject special drugs into the neck to bloc the phrenic nerves or sever one of them Surgi Cally. All of which shows that hiccups can be a serious medical problem. Unlike the cough sneeze and belch which in turn Clear the Throat open the nose and ease the bloated stomach the Hiccup is purely pathological and does the body no Good at  anybody whose hiccups resist Home treatment last longer than six hours or recur with frequency should let a physician find Acure. C new York times across 1 Pierce with a knife 5 Spring month 8 Pound Down 12 assistant 13 fuss 14 bitter laxative 15 simmer 16 novel 17 hollow out 18 piano com position 20 unfasten 22 Church tribunal 24 Blue 25 Challenge 28 ancient name for York 33 moral mostly 34 bring Forth As sheep 35 Viper 36 aversion 39 tints40 for example abbr 41 discover 43 fairy King 47 liquid used in perfumes 51 rant 52 find a sum 54 eager 55 mine Entrance 56 compete 57 Type of Slipper 58 takeout 59 conclude 60 augury avg. Solution Down talk impudently Colloq 2 yugoslav . 3 Arab country 4 be on guard 5 sea cows 6 summer drink 7 Wail 8 seaport in Washington 9 woe is me time 22 min. B 1 a l a l a 1 e n c 108answer to yesterday s Puzzle. 10 stir 11 Hammer part 19 preposition 21 paddle 23 Slacken 25 deity 26 most of Paris 27 Energy source 29 prejudiced 30 Coral reef 31 consume 32 army policemen 37 cylindrical 38 past 39 electric Generator 42 italian River 43 toward the mouth44 commanded 45 wicked 46 main part of a Church 48 egg 49 green50 sir Anthony 53 Racket today s crossword 12 Ift 25 33 3t 43 is 26 22 37 40 19 38 13 28 46 52 56 59 23 4� 53 20 29 47 21 14 17 39 54 60 30 35 10 in 49 50 10-8 Learann Landers dear Ann Landers maybe Youdon t put much Stock in the Zodiac but i can Tell you the woman who wrote and said a Scorpio should never marry Sagittarius knew what she was talking about. My Mother and father were that mix and i grew up in the Middle of a Battlefield. My ear Liest childhood memories Are of the two of them Yelling throwing dishes and breaking up the Furni Ture. When the Moon was full they had such Knock Down drag out fights the neighbors had to Call the  m 18 now and have been meeting some neat Guys at col lege. The first question i ask is when is your birthday any body born Between november 22 and december 21st is off limit for me. I m a Scorpio who believes. An ounce of prevention is Worth a Pound of cure dear ounce thanks for the testimony. Here s another one dear Ann Landers i m glad nobody told me 32 years ago that a Scorpio should t marry a Sagittarius. Had i bought the Story i would have missed out on a very Good and Happy  sign you Are born under does t mean a thing. What counts is whether or not you love one another to work at making ago of it. I m signing my letter nov. 9 and dec. 9 dear nov. And dec i m not about to get in the Middle of any thing so soon after telling Bertha she should Iron her old Man s shorts so i la just say thank you both for writing. Dear Ann Landers since you articles Are read by millions of people i Hope you will print this letter and help eliminate a lot of frustration anger and anxiety. Not Many folks can afford Mohave a Telephone in every room of their Home yet every Day thousands of people will dial the number of a Friend or relative let the phone ring three or fou times and hang up. The party who has made the Call is disappointed because he assumes the person he is. Trying to reach is notate Home. The party who hears the phone runs to answer it and lift sup the receiver just in time to hear the Click off becomes frustrated and irritated. I often receive business Calls at Home so i have installed five telephones in the House and one outside because i enjoy Garden ing. Yet Over and Over my phone will ring four or five times and by the time i pick up the receive the caller has Hung up. What really makes me mad is when people say i tried to phone you three times last week but you re never  everyone who makes a phone Call should wait for at least 10 rings before he hangs up. Maybe if they see it in your column it will get through their thick skulls. Bob t. In Georgia dear Bob to put it another Way 10 rings takes approximately 60 seconds. Anyone who Doorn t have the patience to wait one minute for someone to answer the phone must not want to talk to him very much. C 1977 Field enterprises