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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Drinking from same cup has risks



 (The Spokesman-Review)
Peter Gott United Media

Dear Dr. Gott: Please give your opinion about the practice of people drinking wine from a common chalice in church. Is the small wipe with a white linen cloth enough to kill all the germs that must inhabit the lip of the vessel? Could the alcohol in the wine kill all the microorganisms? I shudder to think of the multitude of diseases that can be spread in this holy (or unholy) tradition in the church.

Dear Reader: Drinking from a communion cup, as is common in many church services, is certainly unhygienic, at least in theory. Many types of viruses can be spread in this manner, as can a variety of bacteria. Wiping the lip of the chalice pays little more than lip service in terms of eradicating harmful microorganisms.

Although I am unaware of any definitive medical studies showing that a common communion cup has been the cause of infections, some clergy are concerned enough about the practice to alter the tradition and use small individual cups, much as some congregations employ.

Your question is a good one, and your concerns are reasonable.

The common cold virus could certainly be spread by a common cup, as could a host of other viruses.

I want to remind my readers that I am not addressing this issue on theological grounds. Rather, I choose to emphasize the potential physical hazards of a tradition that predated, by hundreds of years, the discovery of infectious microorganisms. Given today’s medical knowledge, churches would be prudent, responsible and reasonable to revise this ancient tradition to protect the health of their congregations.

Dear Dr. Gott: I’m in my late 40s, two years after a hysterectomy and have begun suffering debilitating once-a-month cramps that last as long as two hours per session. Could this be a hormone imbalance?

Dear Reader: I doubt it. A hormone imbalance could certainly lead to symptoms of menopause (moodiness, hot flashes and so forth), but not to abdominal cramps. Such monthly cramps in menstruating women are ordinarily the result of uterine spasms. Inasmuch as your uterus was removed, such contractions are impossible.

You may be experiencing pain from muscle contractions in other organs, such as the intestine. Ask your family physician and your gynecologist to put their heads together and suggest a strategy whereby your problem can be diagnosed and treated.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Menopause.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.