Dupuytrens Contracture And
"A Man Whose House Is On Fire"

Here's a little story that expresses some of the thoughts and frustrations of someone with Dupuytrens contracture:

A man came home one day to find his house was on fire. He ran to his neighbor's house and yelled, “Hurry, call the fire department. My house is on fire!”

The neighbor came to the widow and replied in a professional voice, “Be calm, and try not to worry. Research shows that a fair number of house fires never really get to be all that bad. Perhaps you can just learn to live with the partial use of the house you will be left with, and leave it at that. So in my opinion you should just watch the fire for a while and see how bad it is going to be before you bother the guys at the firehouse. I suggest you just wait and see if you will be one of the lucky ones.”

The first man replied, “Are you kidding? What if it gets so bad I can’t live in what is left of my house after the fire stops. And why should I settle for just part of a house? I can’t take a chance like that. The fire is small now and it’s on the first floor, so maybe I can do something to take care of it. If you won’t call the fire department for me, then I'll just use a garden hose to help myself.”

The neighbor casually replied, “I advise against it. There have been no double-blind or cross-over scientific studies to show that a man with a single garden hose can consistently put out a small house fire. Some studies have shown that it works, but then again there are other studies that show that it doesn’t work. There is so much controversy about this subject that the experts advise against doing anything but waiting to see if the fire goes out by itself. I think we need more studies in this area. I really can't explain why some indicate that it does help, and others show it does not, but that’s just what the studies are showing right now. I hope you understand that I don't want to go out on a limb and recommend something that might not actually work. With no official government agreement how to handle your situation, to protect my reputation for always being right, and to prevent you from suing me for giving you false hope that you can put out your own fire, I am going to suggest you do nothing right now. That’s about the safest advice for me I can give to you. Can't you just wait a while longer for more research to actually prove your garden hose idea is correct? Research is being done right now to develop a new chemical that can be used to put out small house fires. Of course, any new chemical will be expensive and will only be available through authorized outlets that will have to charge a lot of money for the product, but in time, it could be helpful in a situation like this.”

The first man shouted back in a panic, “Are you crazy? My house is on fire right now, and it is getting worse by the minute. I need help right now. I can’t wait for your studies and your research to prove anything, and I can’t wait for any new chemical. If some of the studies show that the garden hose will put out a house fire, or control it to some degree, then why shouldn't I give it a try? Maybe in time this will be the group that will be proven correct. I would be a fool to not give it a try because it might be just the right thing to do. I know -- maybe I can get a few garden hoses going and even increase the odds it will work. Maybe it will completely put out my fire. If it works, look at what I have gained – if it doesn’t work, who cares, at least I tried.”

The neighbor then explained to the worried and agitated man, “Not to worry: Be patient. You know, you are really getting worked up. If your home is destroyed – and becomes useless to you – you can always get a contractor to fix it. Think of it as your back-up solution. If your house becomes useless, just get it repaired. I've heard that some of the houses turn out pretty good.”

The first man snapped back, “You are nuts! Why should I let this fire get so bad that I even need a contractor? Some contractors are better than others; what if I get a bad one? I’ve heard horror stories about dealing with a bad contractor. What if there are problems with the contractor's work? What if my house isn’t as good after his repair work as before the fire started? Even good contractors sometimes have problems with their work that even they can’t explain. I could be stuck for the rest of my life with bad results. No, common sense tells me the best thing I can do now is to protect what I have and try to avoid dealing with any contractor if I can.”

The neighbor leaned against his doorway and told the frustrated man, “I guess the garden hose idea could do no real harm. But you could be wasting water, you know. Be careful that you do not use more water than you actually need. Now, I've read some studies about using too much water to put out a fire, and... ”

The first man didn’t hear the neighbor’s last bit of logic. He was now running back to his burning house and the garden hose. He shouted back to the neighbor, “Maybe you would feel differently if this was your house on fire. I’ve got to get busy and try to help myself if you can't offer me better help than that. I have to do what makes sense to me, even if there is no research to prove me right.”

The man whose house was on fire hooked up all the hoses that he could find, to increase his chances for success. He felt less stressed as he got busy doing all he could in a bad situation. Who knows, maybe he even put the fire out.

Do all that you can, as early as you can, to allow your body the best opportunity to “put out the fire” of Dupuytrens contracture.

For ideas and suggestions to organize an effective Alternative Medicine treatment plan, click Create Dupuytrens Treatment Plan.