Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 74

2 Section 5 Chicago Tribune, Friday, June 4, 1993 Sudden allergy attacks may have simple explanation The Far Side 1 MS FaWoAa kAuUM UnMrad Pimt By Dr. Neil Solomon I've had dogs all my life. and ve never had a problem of being allergic to any of them. But I recently moved VLi into a house with a fenced-in by Syfideala To your health A The overwhelming majority of breast lumps are not an indication of cancer. In fact, it has been estimated that half of all women in the United States have naturally lumpy breasts.

This condition is known as fibrocystic breast disease, which is harmless. I occasionally read about athletes who sustain ligament damage, which, especially for an athlete, is supposed to be a serious injury. What exactly is a ligament, and why are they so important? A There are hundreds of ligaments. They help stabilize joints and hold bones in alignment. Ligaments are relatively inelastic and subject to sprain if they are stretched beyond their limits.

A sprain involves the tearing of ligament fibers, but total rupture is also possible. In some patients in whom there is only a partial tear, the use of a bandage or brace, plus a program of rehabilitation exercises, may be sufficient to produce healing. In cases of a complete tear, however, surgery may be required. If rehabilitation is successful, patients, should be able to return to their activity levels. Dr.

Solomon's column appears in Tempo on Mondays and Fridays. If you have a medical question, write to him at P.O. Box 36184, Baltimore, Md. 21285-6184. Dr.

Solomon cannot give personal replies, but will answer as many questions as possible in his column. 1993, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Thanks for being my friend, Wayne." area where my dog has lots of room to run. Since moving here, I've begun to realize that I sneeze when I'm handling him. Do you have any idea what's going on? A I can think of two possible explanations for the situation. First, anyone can become sensitized to the hair, dander, saliva and urine of a pet if he or she is exposed to these allergens for any length of time.

Therefore, your reaction may simply mean that you have reached this point. However, it is possible that you are not allergic to your dog but to some pollen that it may be bringing into the house from outside. Pets can carry such pollen in their fur. The fact that your dog now runs outside suggests that this may be the explanation. Can snake venom actually cure arthritis? A There is no known benefit from the use of snake venom in the treatment of arthritis.

I've heard on many occasions about the dangers of passive smoking, but I don't remember hearing about why it's dangerous. I see that smokers are affected because they are inhaling all that garbage. But why is someone who just happens to live in the same house as the smoker also affected? factors. For example, drug or alcohol abuse can be responsible for birth defects. Would you please explain how dialysis works? Aside from the fact that it must be a nuisance and takes up a lot of a person's time, does it cause any problems? A During dialysis, the patient's blood is sent through a membrane, poisons are removed, and the purified blood is returned to the body.

Some adverse side effects that have been associated with dialysis include fatigue, loss of appetite, low blood pressure and fever. The procedure may have to be performed several hours each week. A number of my friends and I use the same doctor, and he reassures all of us that most breast lumps are not a sign of cancer. Is this true, or does he just tell all of his patients this so they won't be alarmed? A Cigarette smoking results in the release of such cancer-causing compounds as nicotine, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. These agents may be responsible for a number of common symptoms, including eye irritation and headaches, and may lead to death.

The combination of the exhaled smoke and the smoke that comes from the cigarette itself is particularly harmful for pregnant women, newborns, children and patients who have asthma. If a child is born with a birth defect, does that mean that the defect was present in either the mother's or father's family? A Birth defects may be due to an abnormal gene, but they may also be caused by environmental No kidding By way of "Delicious, America," published by the National Geographic Society, it's time to visit six more edible American communities: 1. Sourdough, Alaska 2. Forks of Salmon, Calif. 3.

Pineapple, Ala. 4. Tomato, Ark. 5. Pie Town, N.M.

6. Chicken, Alaska World Features Syndicate irrw -f l. Tj Dogs ward, as she tended her wound, Henderson wasn't angry. She felt sorry for the animal. "She wasn't a bad dog," Henderson says.

"She was just trying to defend herself, to survive." Henderson sometimes gets defensive when people she meets gripe that animal control officers are dog killers. "Those people real-lv don't know what they're talking i $4 i j''' ii i hi about," she says. "I'm proud of 1 what I do. I know that it 1 don pick up a dog, it will probably starve or be killed or become diseased. "I used to look into a dog's eyes and sav.

'Is it Koine to be 1 But I had to eet oast that. I figure most of them have a chance of captured dog peers out from behind bars at the David R. Lee Animal Care Center, 2741 S. Western Ave. being adopted, and-the others are just suffering.

It seems more humane." It doesn't take long for conversation to revert to the recent threats to close the center. "Where I live on the Northwest Side, there aren't many stray dogs," she says. "And people don't understand the need for Animal Control. But in the areas where I work, a day doesn't go by when packs of dogs aren't chasing school kids. I can't even imagine the city without us." Greg Beaubien is a Chicago freelance writer.

doned buildings, and more often are roaming the streets. "In some of these neighborhoods people carry sticks and baseball bats when they go to work in the morning because they're afraid of packs of dogs," Capno says. Hoping for adoption Henderson has been bitten just once, by a mutt she had been pursuing for more than a year. After Continued from page 1 less likely than her pups to be put up for adoption. In the adoption room, most of the cages are occupied by puppies.

Caprio calls their large numbers a coincidence and says it doesn't necessarily mean that young dogs are favored for adoption. "Lots of people want a dog that's house-broken and trained and will make a good watchdog," he says. Caprio says that another reason stray puppies may not make good pets is that some are born in alleys and are feral dogs, with no concept of domesticity or human owners. "I've picked up dogs born on the street that will tear you up," Henderson says. "A cute little puppy, and he's vicious." Like the other animal control officers, Henderson and her sometime partner, Ellen Ruther, occasionally encounter dangerous and gruesome situations in catching and rescuing strays.

They're routinely called to remove packs from abandoned buildings. In that situation, the officers try to remove the dogs one at a time. "You really have to outwit the dogs," Henderson says. "Grab one and the others will try to get away, sometimes by jumping out second-story windows. Unless you go after a female then they'll stay and attack." Packs that include a bitch in heat might have as many as 20 dogs, she says.

According to Poholik, packs can "be dangerous. "If a pack corners "some kid, he'll get hurt," Poholik says. "It happens all the time. In packs, the dogs start to lose their -domestic traits. It's like a mob of -people.

Dogs bite when they never "did before. And they destroy property, cause traffic accidents. He says that packs are especially hazardous when provoked. "If you Main, wild dogs will chase and at- he says. "And if a bitch in 'I iii liliiinTlilli ITn 'duty Photos lor the Tribune by Lloyd DeQrane Val Henderson works with a wooden pole equipped with a thick rope that loops around the end to capture a stray dog.

getting me, the dog or anyone else killed in the process," Henderson says. Many calls are from people who no longer want their dogs, in some cases pets that have lived with a family for years. "If we don't pick them up, the dogs are usually thrown out on the street and then we have another beginning to another pack," Henderson says. Henderson says she loves her job, but admits it has one aspect she pointedly dislikes: She and the other officers are sometimes called to remove dogs from homes where the occupant has been reported dead inside sometimes by natural causes, other times murder. "We call them DOAs," she says.

The dog catchers go in first, to clear out any animals and make it safe for medics to remove the corpse. Back on the street, not far from where the dogs were living in the car, Henderson and Ayala turn into an alley behind a gutted building where a pack has been reported. Gang graffiti is sprayed everywhere. "Watch for live wires," Caprio says as Henderson and Ayala enter the building from the basement. Inside, it's dark and littered with garbage and beer cans.

Ayala slides back a sheet of plywood over the entrance there's no door and waits to catch any fleeing dogs while Henderson searches the building. She climbs the stairs to the first, then second floor. But they're too late. The dogs have gotten away. "When dogs live in packs they become streetwise," Caprio says.

"They know our vans." "The dogs stick their noses in the air and sniff our truck from a block away," Henderson says, laughing. "I couldn't believe it the first time I saw that." During the summer, packs are less likely to congregate in aban the pack is in heat, the rest of the dogs become tremendously protective." Sometimes dogs aren't the only ones seeking shelter in these crumbling, unsafe buildings. It's not uncommon to walk in and find junkies shooting heroin or smoking crack, or drug dealers in mid-transaction, Henderson says. "I just smile and say I'm there to get the dogs," she says. In fact, the animal control officers are sometimes called to remove dogs before drug raids.

Henderson, who has been with the commission for nine years, says that ever since she started, it has been the people, not the dogs, that have intimidated her. "Half the people yell at us to leave the dogs alone, while the other half beg us to take the dogs away," she says. "Animal control officers are sometimes threatened, intimidated, grabbed, even shot at by people," Caprio says. Ruther was once grabbed by an irate dog owner. Worst part of the job Other calls involve injured or dead dogs.

"I've spent time praying that I can remove an injured dog off the expressway without Writing, direction bring realism to 'Nothing' Vermilion June 11, 12, 13 County Airport, Danville, Illinois By Patrick Kampert Movie review atching "Nothing But a llll Man," Michael Roemer's 5 ballon races fireworks shows entertainment familyland corporate events, exhibits parade big bands food fireman's Olympics parade air displays and more line lnocpenueni release from 1964, it's tempting to sketch a family tree to "Nothing But a Man" 12 Directed by Michael Roemer; written by Michael Roemer and Robert Young; edited by Luke Bennett: photographed by Robert Young; produced by Robert Young, Michael Roemer and Robert Rubin. An Original Cinema release In association with New Video Group; opens June 4 at the Music Box Theatre. Running time: 1:32. Not rated by the MPAA. turn contemporary filmmakers like John Singleton the and Leslie Harris Another Girl on the But a Man," the story xrf a young black man's coming of age, earned praise from everyone from Spike Lee to Ebony magazine for its gutsy portrayal of bjack life in the pre-civil rights South.

But what makes that link -remarkable is that Rocmcr and his Your intimate NEW THIS YEAR! guide to sexy, to FRIDAY NIGHT! healthy sex standing by acquiescing to the white establishment. And jobs are hard to keep when he won't behave like the other blacks. Duff also struggles with the knotty problems of family ties his alcoholic father (Julius Harris), who abandoned him and now rebuffs him, and his illegitimate 4-year-old son, who lives unwanted among strangers in a crumbling Birmingham tenement. How Duff responds to societal and family pressures charts his path to maturity. As Josie, noted jazz singer Lincoln is a calm source of strength in Duffs life, fueling his growth and challenging his attitude toward relationships.

Leonard Parker (Frankie) and Yaphet Kotto (Jocko) bring swagger and humor to their roles as Duffs section-gang buddies, whose initial disdain for Duffs attempts to settle down turns to envy. Young's camera lingers on each scene, evoking the timelessness that used to be characteristic of small-town life, and director Roemer uses fadeouts to add to the unhurried air, avoiding quick cuts from scene to scene. The railroad scenes bristle with reality, from the back-breaking labor to the section gang's rides aboard a flat car as they head to their next destination. It's a ride worth sharing. For the first time ever the night sky will be illuminated by the bobbing glow of 1 7 balloons and a pack of NiteRiders who've decked out their flotilla with flashing strobes, high powered spotlights and safely signal systems, providing a remarkable vision from 1 0-20 miles away.

faces a world populated by whites and blacks alike who are not quite ready for an African-American who refuses to be treated like a second-class citizen. Not that Dixon's character is a belligerent rebel. On the contrary, Duff is a quiet man who chooses his words with care. But Duffs honesty is misunderstood as insolence, and the rejection and alienation he experiences form his growing pains. Duff is a worker on a section gang, a railroad construction crew constantly on the move.

His search for stability leads him to Josie (Abbey Lincoln), the daughter of a stern minister (Stanley Greene) in a small Alabama town. But after Duff and Josie marry, that stability is shaken by Duffs refusal to conform. He finds himself at odds with his father-in-law, who has maintained his How to Make Love to a Man (safely) ALEXANDRA PENNEY collaborator, Robert Young, are white. pair, who had worked to-' -gLthcr on TV documentaries and 'would later make the acclaimed "The Plot Against Harry" (1969) betray that background the attention to detail, ftenctic camera pans and lingering closcups that give their film its unshakable sense of realism. Ivan Dixon, who segued into the role of Sgt.

Kinchloe on TV's "Hogan's Heroes" a year after "Nothing But a Man, brings a sense of quiet desperation to the character of Duff Anderson, who struggles to maintain his self-con-. trol and sense of self-worth as he Sponsored in part by PRM1I93 ''Atf published by CAROL SOUTHERN BOOKS For more information please call 1-800-303-4386 or 217-442-2096 A tiwmhM or '111 (ruwii I'urtlivliiiijl Oroup.