PAKATHYROID GLANDS 693 



5. Mechanotherapy in Tetany 



During acute tetany the patients should be kept at complete rest and 

 no form of manipulative therapy should be employed. 



After an acute attack has passed off, gentle general massage may be 

 used cautiously as one of the general upbuilding measures. 



6. Glimatotherapy in Tetany 



Seasonal influences, as we have seen, are very important in the inci- 

 dence of the endemic-epidemic form of tetany. For patients who can 

 afford it, residence in non-tetany districts would be advisable during the 

 tetany months. Unfortunately, those affected by this form of tetany 

 rarely belong to the classes that can easily defray the expense of seasonal 

 migration. 



7. Occupational Therapy in Tetany 



Persons subject to tetany should not engage in occupations that re- 

 quire a sedentary life or much bending over of the head and upper part 

 of the body (shoemaking, carpentry, sewing, tailoring, etc.). Open air 

 occupations (agriculture, navigation, etc.) are far preferable for such 

 persons. 



8. Serotherapy in Tetany 



On the theory that the tetany poison possesses th3 character of an 

 antigen, Ceni and Vesta (1904) tried to immunize animals with the se- 

 rum of an animal that has been parathyroidectomized, and asserted that, 

 on injection of this immune serum, there was an immediate cessation of 

 the acute phenomena, though the tetany was not cured. 



Similar experiments have been made by H. Wiener and others, but a 

 critical review of the results of serotherapy in tetany indicates that the 



method is of no value. 







9. Dietotherapy and Other Measures Directed 

 Toward Combating Tetany, Especially in Childhood 



Great care should be taken to avoid digestive disturbances in tetany, 

 since absorption of poison from the gastro-intestinal tract can act as a 



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