Medicine: Capsules, Sep. 24, 1951

¶ One man’s insect sting is another man’s poison. In Rye, N.Y. last week, Charles Pilger Jr., 28, was stung by a bee, died a few minutes later when his swollen larynx closed. In Vancouver, B.C., 17-month-old Mark Bennett, who had toddled into a wasp nest, been stung 477 times, went home from the hospital completely recovered after 20 days of treatment (with penicillin, ACTH and antihistamines). ¶ Four Brooklyn doctors have found that an extract from the liver of pregnant cows gives prompt relief to most of their cases of osteoarthritis (by far the commonest form of arthritis, for which ACTH and cortisone are useless). ¶ After an executive’s son fell into a poison ivy patch, researchers of the National Lead Co. went to work, announced last week a quick cure for ivy poisoning: ointment containing a salt of zirconium.