11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑
11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑
11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑
11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑
11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑
11.The Water Cure in Chronic Disease.By James M. Gully, M.D. London: Churchill.
2.The Water Cure.By James Wilson, M.D. London: Trubner and Co.
3.Hydropathy.By Ed. Wm. Lane, M.D. London: Churchill.
4.Confessions of a Water Patient.By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Bart, M.P. London: H. Baillière.
5.An Address to the Public on the Prevention and Treatment of Cholera on rational principles.Cork: Geo. Purcell and Co.
6.A few Facts forgotten by the Faculty.By S. B. Birch, M.D. London: H. Baillière.↑
2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑
2Because either they disapprove of whatever is not practiced by themselves, or they are ashamed to follow new opinions, and to acknowledge when old, the errors they had imbibed in youth.↑
3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑
3The ganglionic nerves are those which cover the stomach, and regulate the digestive organs: they are also called the “Solar Plexus.”↑
4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑
4The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O’Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect. We cast no imputation whatever on the attendant physician in this case, as we believe the treatment pursued by him was strictly that enjoined by the orthodox school. Yet, if one wished todestroylife, could they take a surer means of doing it?↑
5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑
5“The generality of men are not so much accustomed to pursue this or that course, in consequence of their previous conviction that it is right, as to believe that it is right, because they have been accustomed to pursue it.”—Archbishop Whately.↑
6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑
6We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable whenORGANICdisease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease isperfectly curablein its incipient stages, though not by drugs nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it, unless byaccident, when of a very mild form.↑
7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑
7Thetemperatureandvitalityof our bodies depend upon the continued and rapid combination of oxygen with theoxidizableproducts of the blood; if the necessary supply of oxygen be interfered with, thevitalityof the system flags, and disease results.↑
8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑
8The very name of scrofula points to the origin of the disease, it being derived from the LatinScrofa, a pig (quod sues præcipue hoc morbo vexantur. Cels. 5, 38), in allusion to the condition of the skin in those persons in whom a scrofulous habit has been engendered. It has been proved beyond contradiction that the partial closure of the pores, which every one suffers from in some degree, is the chief source of scrofula in all its hideous forms.↑
9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑
9When blood is overloaded with carbon, and deprived of its necessary supply of oxygen, the term “veinous” is applied to it.↑
10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑
10Where consumption has been relieved by residence abroad, the benefit derived must be attributed to the action on the skin produced by the hot climates to which the patient is usually ordered, but recovery in this way has been confined to very mild forms of the disease, and cannot be looked upon as a scientific mode of treatment; the improved action of the skin deserving to be considered rather as inducedaccidentallythan by design; as otherwise more attention would have been paid to so important a matter, and there would have been no necessity for ordering the patient abroad, as similar results could have been obtained much more easily and effectually by keeping him at home; the use of the Turkish bath conferring all the benefits of increased temperature, followed by the tonic effects of cool air and water, by which the debilitating effects ofcontinualresidence in a warm climate are obviated.↑
11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑
11Dr. Hufeland remarks—“The more active and open the skin is the more secure will the people be against obstructions and diseases of the lungs, intestines, and lower stomach; and the less tendency will they have to gastric (bilious) fevers, hypochondriasis, gout, asthma, catarrh, and varicose veins.”↑
12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑
12The wearing of flannel close to the skin has a two-fold injurious effect:—First, by driving the blood from the surface, whereby the activity of the skin is seriously impaired; and secondly, by shutting out the air, and so preventing it from having access to the blood, to aerate and purify it.↑
13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑
13By healthy waste, we mean waste accompanied by corresponding renewal.↑
14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑
14We have seen consumptive patients arrive at Blarney shivering with cold though swathed in flannels, who before leaving it were able to wear clothing in winter, under which they previously would have shivered in the hottest day of summer.↑
15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑
15The great mortality which has attended the Allopathic treatment of cholera, ought to make us have little compunction in trying something new. There is no fear, in this case, of our “jumping from the frying-pan into thefire;” we are already init—let us quench it.↑
16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑
16Dr. Russell, a well-known Homœopathic author, appears to give the palm to Hydropathy in some rheumatic cases. He thus writes: “In regard to rheumatism, I am inclined to think that there are some varieties of this complaint which utterly defy all Homœopathic medicines, from the deeply morbid condition of the blood; and that in these cases a thorough water course, by effecting a rapid and total renovation of this fluid, might enable our remedies to act more beneficially.” Contrast this liberality with that of the Allopathic physician.↑
17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑
17We were told by our physician that the water system would kill us, as we had “not sufficient reaction to stand it.” Had he, however, understood anything of its working, he could not have made this observation, as Hydropathy impliescoldwater only in those cases to which cold water is suited; and if he had asked Dr. Barter, he would have told him that the chief thing he had to guard against in practice, wasexcessivereaction, instead of the want of it. We ran the gauntlet, however, and can truly say we never knew what real health was until we did so, and forswore the use of drugs.↑
18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑
18The administering of poison tocuredisease, is nothing short of a contradiction of terms; for the word poison, if it means anything, means somethinginjuriousto bodily health, and thereforeincompatiblewith its welfare. We might as well try to strengthen a man by bleeding him.↑
19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑
19To those who desire a detailed and scientific account of the water cure in a popular form, we recommend “The Confessions of a Water Patient,” by Sir Bulwer Lytton; “The Water Cure,” by Dr. Wilson; and “Hydropathy,” by Dr. Lane; whilst to those desiring a learned, lucid, and most able scientific treatise, we would suggest “The Water Cure in Chronic Disease,” by Dr. Gully; and “Domestic Hydropathy,” by Dr. Johnson.↑
20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑
20A friend of ours was told by a physician in whom many place confidence, that if he opted to take the Turkish bath, it wouldKILLhim. Having, however, read something on the subject, he went to Blarney, tried the bath, luxuriated in it, and derived the greatest benefit from its use. We can tell the reader that this physician at the time he prophesied, had never visited the Blarney bath, nor could he have known any thing about it, as no description of it had been published at the time. Under suchcircumstancesan unsophisticated mind would think it more becoming for him to have said—“I cannot advise you in this matter, as I have not studied the subject; what you do must be on your own responsibility.” It is such illiberality of mind as the above—such a want of pursuing truth for its own sake—which has brought discredit on the medical profession, and loosened its hold on the public.↑