Cold-water ‘cure’ for tantrums excessive

Dear Dr. Gott: In regard to your article about children throwing tantrums, fits, etc., a local (and older) doctor here advised parents some 60 years ago on how to stop these actions. Believe me and hundreds of other parents, it works, not only on children, but on animals, too.

You tell the kids to shut up or stop their carrying on, and if they don’t, don’t argue with them. Just get 1/4 cup of cold water and throw it in their faces. An instant miracle happens.

After a time or two, all you will need to do is put a pitcher of water on the table and let them see it.

Like the old doc says, “A little clean water on the carpet won’t hurt it a bit.”

Dear Reader: Although it is physically harmless, the act of throwing cold water in a child’s face and telling him to “shut up” seems to me to border on child abuse.

I was not a liberal parent in raising my own children, and I had success in simply sending them to their rooms when their behavior was unacceptable. The water-throwing tip is a bit bizarre.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am writing to obtain any information you may have regarding blood pressure taken on the leg. Is it as reliable as the arm readings?

I have had a mastectomy on both sides, with lymph glands removed from each of my arms. I also developed lymph edema in the right arm.

I wear a medical alert bracelet to prevent anyone from giving me an IV or putting a blood pressure cuff on either arm.

I would appreciate any information you have on this issue.

Dear Reader: Because the body’s circulation is a hydraulic system, the blood pressure is the same in the legs as it is in the arms. Any differences are the result of technical considerations, primarily that the legs are bigger and more muscular than the arms.

Consequently the standard blood-pressure device is not suitable for measuring leg pressures, which requires larger and wider cuffs. These cuffs are not standard equipment in most medical offices.

I recommend that you purchase a leg manometer for your doctor to use when you go for your appointments.

Dear Dr. Gott: After a recent colonoscopy, during which a small growth was removed and biopsied, the result was explained to me as a tubular adenoma. The doctor advised me to have another colonoscopy in two years and not to be concerned.

I’m perplexed and turn to you for an explanation and clarification.

Dear Reader: Benign adenomas, nests of cells that arise from the colon lining, grow slowly, cause no symptoms and may have to be removed periodically because they can undergo pre-malignant changes in some people over lengthy periods.

The approach to adenomas is initial removal, with a repeat colon study in two to five years.

I believe your doctor is on the right track. Follow his or her recommendations.