5. Diarrhea, Spice Poultice for.—"Make a poultice of all kinds of ground spices, heat whisky and wet the poultice, apply to the stomach and bowels."
6. Diarrhea, Blackberry Root Tea for.—"One-half ounce blackberry root boiled in one pint water fifteen minutes, strain. Dose.—One teaspoonful every hour or two until relieved."
7. Diarrhea, Hot Milk, for.—"A glass of sweet milk that has been boiled well. Drink hot; use several times daily until checked."
8. Diarrhea, Castor Oil for.—"Castor oil. Dose.—One to four teaspoonfuls according to age. Wrap warm flannel around abdomen."
9. Summer Complaint, Former Canadian's Remedy for.—"Eat one blossom of the May weed every hour or two until relieved. This remedy came from Port Huron and has been used by my father with success."
10. Summer Complaint, a Goderich Lady Found this Good for.—"Powdered rhubarb, cinnamon, baking soda (one tablespoonful of each), dissolve in one pint of boiling water, add one tablespoonful of peppermint; take every hour one teaspoonful in water."
11. Summer Complaint, Inexpensive Remedy for.—
"Paregoric 2 ouncesBrandy 1 ounceJamaica Ginger 1 ounce
Have used this and found it excellent." Dose: 1/2 dram every 3 hours.
12. Summer Complaint, Fern Root Good to Relieve.—"A decoction is made with two ounces of the sweet fern root boiled in one and one-half pints water to one pint. Dose.—A tablespoonful several times a day as the case requires. Most useful in diarrhea," This may be purchased at any drug store and will be found a very good treatment for diarrhea.
13. Summer Complaint, Milk and Pepper a Common Remedy for.—"Sweet milk and black pepper once or twice a day. Dose.—Three or four swallows. Mother used to use this for us children." The milk should be warmed, for in this way it relieves the diarrhea while the pepper is stimulating.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Diarrhea.—1. Rest in bed is the best. Abstain from food, especially at first, and then only give a little milk and boiled water or milk and lime water every two hours for two days. Cracked ice is good for the thirst.
2. A dose of one-half to an ounce of castor oil to an adult is of great benefit, as it removes all the irritating matter from the bowels. This often cures a light diarrhea. Follow by a blackberry wine or blackberry cordial if it is more severe.
3. For children.—An infusion of path weed is an excellent remedy for this trouble in children; after castor oil in one to two teaspoonful doses has been given. If castor oil is too bad to take, you can use what is called "spiced syrup of rhubarb," one to two teaspoonfuls to a child one to two years old, and then follow with blackberry wine.
4. For infants.—An infusion of chamomile is good for the green diarrhea of teething babies.
5. Another for infants.—For infantile diarrhea the root of geranium maculation or cranesbill, boiled in milk in the proportion of one or two roots to the pint, will be found of great service and is tasteless.
6. Ginger tea is frequently of good service, especially when the stomach needs "toning."
7. Infants of six months.—Chalk and bismuth mixture by Dr. Douglass, of Detroit.
"Subnitrate of Bismuth 2 dramsParegoric 2 fluid dramsChalk mixture 2 fluid drams
Mix and shake bottle. Give one-half to one teaspoonful for loose bowels in a child six months old, every two to four hours as needed."
DIET IN DIARRHEA.—From the Head Nurse of a Large Hospital.
May Take—
Soups.—Milk soup well boiled, clam juice, beef tea.
Meats.—Scraped fresh beef or mutton well broiled, sweetbread, beef juice from freshly broiled steak (all sparingly).
Eggs.—Lightly boiled or poached on dry toast.
Farinaceous.—Rice, sago, macaroni, tapioca, arrowroot, dry toast, milk toast, toasted crackers.
Desserts.—Milk puddings, plain, with sago, rice, tapioca or arrowroot (no sugar).
Drinks.—Tea, toast water, boiled peptonized milk, Panopepton.
Must Not Take—
Oatmeal, wheaten grits, fresh breads, rich soups, vegetables, fried foods, fish, salt meats, lamb, veal, pork, brown or graham bread, fruits, nuts, pies, pastry, ice cream, ice water, sugars, sweets, custards, malt liquors, sweet wines.
Infants.—Bottle-fed infants should stop milk and use egg albumen, etc. This is prepared by gently stirring (not to a froth) the white of one egg in a cup of cold water and one-fourth teaspoonful of brandy and a little salt mixed with it. Feed this cold.
If it causes foul or green stools it must be stopped. Dr. Koplik, of New York, recommends stopping the feeding of breast and bottle-fed infants in severe diarrhea or cholera infantum and to use the following:—Albumin water, acorn cocoa, or beef juice expressed and diluted with barley water. The white of one egg is equal in nourishing value to three ounces of milk and is well borne by infants. The albumin water can be used alternately with the solution of acorn cocoa or beef juice or barley water. Liebig's soup mixture is better liked by older children. Meat juice is made from lean beef, slightly broiled, then cutting it in squares and squeezing these in a lemon press. Rice or barley water can be added to this if the meat juice causes vomiting. Add only one or two teaspoonfuls of barley or rice water and increase, if it agrees well, in a day or two.
CHOLERA MORBUS (Acute Inflammation of Stomach and Upper Bowel).—This is most common in young people in late summer, after indiscretion in eating.
Symptoms.—Sometimes the patient feels tired, then nausea, etc. The attack though is usually sudden, with nausea, vomiting, and cramp-like pains in the abdomen. The contents of the stomach are vomited. The bowel discharge at first is diarrhea and later like rice water. Repeated vomiting and purging, with severe cramps. It looks like true cholera.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES, Cholera Morbus.—Castor Oil for.—"Castor oil one tablespoonful for an adult, one-half tablespoonful for children." This is an old, tried remedy and very good.
2. Cholera Morbus, Blackberry Root and Boiled Milk for.—"Steep the root of the long blackberry, give in one-half teaspoonful doses; alternate with teaspoonfuls of well boiled sweet milk, one-half hour apart."
3. Cholera Morbus, Blackberry Cordial for.—"Take a quantity of blackberries, strain out all of the juice. To each pint of juice add a pint of sugar. Then put in a little bag or cloth one-half ounce of cinnamon, one-fourth ounce of mace, two teaspoonfuls of cloves. Place this little bag with spices in the berry juice and boil for about two minutes, after which remove bag of spices and add one large cup of brandy or whisky to each pint of juice."
4. Cholera Morbus, Tincture Cayenne Pepper for.—"Tincture cayenne pepper, five to ten drop doses in a little hot water. Before giving this medicine it is well to drink a quantity of tepid water and produce vomiting. This can be made more effective by adding five or ten drops of camphor."
5. Cholera Morbus, Nutmeg and Jamaica Ginger for.—"Grate one teaspoonful nutmeg, put few drops Jamaica ginger in three or four tablespoonfuls of brandy, add little water." The writer says this is one of the finest remedies she has ever known for summer complaint.
6. Cholera Morbus, Home Remedy for.—"To a pint of water, sweetened with sugar, add chalk one-half dram, anise, two drams, cayenne pepper, ten grains; boil this down to one-half pint. Give a teaspoonful every hour or two until relieved. Kerosene may be applied to the abdomen with cloths. This is a very good remedy and easily prepared."
7. Cholera Morbus, Old Reliable Remedy for.—
Tincture Rhubarh 4 ouncesSpirits Camphor 2 ouncesParegoric (Tinct. opii camph.) 3 ouncesSpirits Ammonia 4 ounceEssence Peppermint 1 dram
Take a half teaspoonful every two hours. This is a tested recipe; have known of its being used the last fifty years."
The camphor and paregoric will relieve the pain, while the rhubarb and pepper are stimulating and laxative.
8. Cholera Morbus, Common Remedy for.—"To check vomiting and purging, the following mixture is excellent:
Essence of Peppermint 1 ounceWater 1 ounceCarbonate of Potash 20 grainsParegoric 1 teaspoonfulWhite Sugar or Honey 2 teaspoonfuls
Mix and shake well. Dose.—One teaspoonful every ten or twenty minutes until the patient becomes quiet. If necessary keep up bodily heat by means of hot flannels or bricks to extremities. Keep the patient quiet."
This is an excellent remedy for this trouble and may be used by anyone.The above mixture is for an adult.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Cholera Morbus.—l. Heat to the bowels and to the extremities. Give plenty of hot water to aid vomiting and to wash the stomach. It is always well to keep on drinking hot water and frequently the vomiting stops. If not, the camphor, laudanum and water can be given.
2. Morphine by hypodermic method. A doctor must give this.
3. Tincture of Camphor 15 dropsLaudanum 15 drops
Mix in one-third of a cup of hot water. This is a good remedy. Mustard poultice to the stomach and bowels benefits.
CHOLERA INFANTUM, Symptoms.—Usually begins with a diarrhea, which is often so mild as to attract but little attention, but should be a warning. If a weakly baby has a diarrhea which persists, or is foul smelling and especially if there is a marked loss of flesh and dullness of mind, there is ground for worry. If a bright child loses interest in things and has diarrhea something is wrong. The two essential features are vomiting and diarrhea, and the vomiting is persistent. First it vomits food, then the mucus and bile. The thirst is great, but anything taken to relieve it is instantly thrown up. The stools are frequent, large and watery. They may be painless and involuntary. They may look like dirty water, but later they loose all color. They are sometimes so thin and copious as to soak through the napkin and saturate the bed. They may be without odor, and again the odor is almost over-powering. The prostration is great and rapid. The fontannelles, openings in the head, are depressed, the face becomes pale and pinched, and the eyes are sunken. It occurs usually during the summer months, oftener in babies under eighteen months and still more under a year old.
Cautions.—This book will probably find its way into homes many miles from a drug store and possibly a long distance from a physician. Should a child in that home show symptoms of cholera infantum it would be imperative for that mother to begin at once home treatments. We, therefore, give below a number of remedies which a mother can either prepare in her home or can take the precaution to have filled at some convenient time and keep constantly at hand, properly labeled so she can turn to them at any moment. On the other hand, should you have to wait even three or four hours for a physician begin one of the treatments below until he comes; you may save the child's life by doing so. Cholera infantum and pneumonia claim so many of our little ones each year, and in many cases snatch them away within a few hours of the first noticeable symptoms that we must advise you to call a physician as soon as you suspect it is serious. Cases vary and only a trained eye can detect the little symptoms and changes that may weigh in the balance the life of baby.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Cholera Infantum.—l. Castor oil and warm applications for.—"Give the child one teaspoonful of castor oil, then wring woolen cloths out of warm whisky and apply to the abdomen. This will most always give relief, especially after the castor oil has acted upon the bowels."
2. Cholera Infantum, First Thing to Do.—"The first thing to do is to give a teaspoonful of castor oil, so as to thoroughly clean out the bowels. Then add one tablespoonful of turpentine to one quart of hot water and wring cloths out of this and apply to the bowels to relieve the pain that is always present in this disease. The turpentine is especially good for the bowels when they are bloated and have much gas in them."
3. Cholera Infantum, White of Egg and Cathartic for.—"One teaspoonful castor oil every two hours, until the movements are natural. Give no food except albumen water, which is composed of the white of one egg (slightly beaten) and a small pinch of salt in a glass of cold water which has been previously boiled. Feed this by spoonfuls."
4. Cholera Infantum, Olive or Sweet Oil for.—"One teaspoonful sweet or olive oil three times a day and an injection of one tablespoonful of the oil at night, to be retained in the bowels. If continued this will completely cure."
5. Cholera Infantum, Spice and Whisky Poultice for.—"Take all kinds of ground spices, make a poultice. Heat whisky and wet the poultice. Apply to the stomach and bowels."
6. Cholera Infantum, Cabbage Leaf Poultice for.—"Take a cabbage leaf, hold it over the stove until warm as can be stood on back of hand; lay it across the child's abdomen. Repeat if necessary."
7. Cholera Infantum, Herb Remedy for.—"Strawberry root, blackberry root and raspberry root, equal parts, steeped together. I have used this remedy and found it good, but it should be used in time." Make a tea of these roots and take one teaspoonful every hour until relieved. This is a mild astringent.
8. Cholera Infantum, Tomatoes Will Relieve.—"Make a syrup of peeled tomatoes well sweetened with white sugar. Give one teaspoonful every half hour." This syrup is very soothing and the tomatoes are especially good if there is some ulcerated condition of the bowels. This preparation should always be strained before using.
9. Cholera Infantum, Injection for.—"For infant one year old inject into the bowels one pint of thin starch, in which is mixed from three to five drops of laudanum; cool, repeat night and morning. Plenty of water or cold barley water may be given and the food for a time may consist of egg albumen with a few drops of brandy. When the symptoms first appear apply a spice plaster or hot application over the abdomen; and keep child as quiet as possible." This is a remedy recommended and used by a number of physicians and has cured many severe cases.
Diets and Drinks.—Stop ordinary feeding at once. A little cream and water, or barley water and cream may do. If the breast milk excites the stomach and the bowels, stop it for a few hours. You can give a few drops of raw beef juice or a little brandy and water. To satisfy the thirst, wrap up a small bit of ice in a linen cloth and let the baby mouth it. Dilute the milk or stop entirely and give only water, or lime water and milk, barley water. Give all the water the child can drink boiled and cooled.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Cholera Infantum.—1. Washing out of the bowel frequently by injection controls the diarrhea. Use water of a temperature of 107. Elevate the tube about two feet above the bed, use one-half pint at one time. As the half pint flows in disconnect the funnel attached to the tube and the contents of the bowel are allowed to escape. Then allow another one-half pint to flow in. Some may escape and this is not an unfavorable sign. Keep on until a quart is given. This treatment is to wash and clean out the gut and stimulate the heart. The salt solution should be used, if necessary. Give only two daily.
2. For Vomiting.—Wash out the stomach through a tube or by giving a great deal of water.
3. Subcarbonate of bismuth for the vomiting and straining; two or three grains in powder every two or three hours. If there is much colicky pain, add one-half grain of salol to the bismuth powder.
4. Castor oil; one teaspoonful may be needed if the bowels have any fecal matter in them.
5. Mustard poultice or spice poultice on the belly is useful.
Vomiting.—This is simply a symptom; many diseases cause it, as scarlet fever, tuberculosis, meningitis, acute dyspepsia, biliousness, chronic dyspepsia, indigestion, neuralgia of the bowels, appendicitis, ulcer and cancer of the stomach, pregnancy, etc. Many persons with dyspepsia vomit their food.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Vomiting.—1. Spice Poultice to Stop.—"Make a poultice of one-half cup of flour and one teaspoonful of each kind of ground spice, wet with alcohol or whisky. Apply over the stomach." This acts as a counter irritant and has the same action on the system as a mustard plaster, only not so severe and can be left on for hours, as there need be no fear of blistering. This kind of a poultice should always be used when it is necessary to leave one on any length of time.
2. Vomiting, Mustard Plaster to Stop.—"Plaster of mustard on pit of stomach." Be very careful not to allow the plaster to remain on too long, as it will blister, and this would be worse to contend with than the vomiting.
3. Vomiting, Parched Corn Drink to Stop.—"Take field corn and parch it as brown as you can get it without burning. When parched throw in boiling water and drink the water as often as necessary until vomiting is stopped."
4. Vomiting, Peppermint Leaves Application for.—"Bruise peppermint leaves and apply to the stomach." This can be found in any drug store in a powder form, and is easily prepared by crushing the leaves and applying to the stomach. If you have the essence of peppermint in the house, that will answer about the same purpose taken internally and rubbed over abdomen.
5. Vomiting, to Produce, Mustard and Water for.—"To produce vomiting take two tablespoonfuls dry mustard, throw luke warm water over it and let stand a minute, then drink." This is an old, tried remedy that we all know about.
6. Vomiting, to Produce, Warm Water for.—"Drink a quart of warm water and you will easily find relief at once." The warm water remedy is very good as the water helps the patient by removing all decomposed food.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Vomiting.—The only way to treat it is to treat the disease that causes it. Here I may mention a very simple remedy; a tea made from wood soot is frequently helpful. It is the creosote in the wood soot that gives it its medical virtue.
2. For nervous vomiting; two to five drops of garlic juice is good. Dose of syrup for a child [is] one teaspoonful. Dose of syrup for an adult is four teaspoonfuls.
3. A little brandy on cracked ice is often good.
4. Oil of cloves, one-half to one drop, helps in some cases.
5. Lime water added to milk is good in babies.
6. Vinegar fumes, saturate a cloth and inhale the fumes.
7. Seidlitz powder often settles the stomach, soda also.
8. Mustard plaster over the stomach is good in all cases.
9. One-tenth of a drop of ipecac is good for nausea and vomiting.
10. One-half of a drop of Fowler's solution every two hours is useful in nausea following a spree. So also one drop dose of nux vomica every half hour.
APPENDICITIS.—Inflammation of the vermiform appendix is the most important of acute bowel troubles. Sometimes the appendix may contain a mould of feces, which can be squeezed out readily. Sometimes foreign bodies like pins are found there; in about seven per cent of cases foreign bodies are found.
It is a disease of young persons. Fifty per cent occur before the twentieth year. It is most common in males. Persons who do heavy lifting are quite subject to the disease. Some cases follow falls or blows. Indiscretions of diet are very apt to bring on an attack, particularly in those who have had it before. Pain in the appendix in such persons, frequently follows the eating of food hard to digest. Gorging with peanuts is also a cause.
Symptoms.—In a large proportion of cases the following symptoms are present:—Sudden pain in the abdomen, usually referred to the right groin region. Fever often of moderate form or grade. Disturbances of the stomach and bowels, such as nausea, vomiting and frequently constipation. Tenderness or pain in the appendix region. The pain in fully one-half of the cases is localized in right lower part of the abdomen, but it may be in the central portion, scattered, or in any part of the abdomen. Even when the pain is not in the region of the appendix at first, it is usually felt there within thirty-six or forty-eight hours. It is sometimes very sharp and colic-like; sometimes it is dull. The fever follows rapidly upon the pain. It may range from 100 to 102 and higher. The tongue is coated and moist usually,—seldom dry. Nausea and vomiting are commonly present. It rarely persists longer than the second day in favorable cases. Constipation is the rule, but the attack may start with diarrhea.
Local Signs.—Tenderness of the rectus muscle (to the right of the centre of the abdomen) and tenderness or pain on deep pressure. The muscle may be so rigid that a satisfactory examination cannot be made. Sometimes there is a hardness or swelling in the appendix region. Tenderness, rigidity and actual pain on deep pressure; with the majority of cases, a lump or swelling in the region of the appendix.
[Illustration: Vermiform Appendix.When Affected by Inflamation and GangreneNecessitating an Operation.]
[Illustration: Vermiform Appendix.Showing Different Types.]
Recovery.—Recovery is the rule. It frequently returns. General peritonitis may be caused by direct perforation of the appendix and death in appendicitis is usually due to peritonitis.
Surgeons have declared that sudden pain in the region of the appendix, with fever and localized tenderness, with or without a lump almost without exception means appendix disease. Rest in bed, take measures to allay the pain; ice bag applied to the part is very effective.
Operation.—Dr. Osler, of Oxford, England, says.—"Operation is indicated in all cases of acute inflammatory trouble in this region, whether the lump is present or not, when the general symptoms are severe, and when by the third day the features of the case points to a progressive (condition) lesion. An operation after an acute attack has disappeared is not fraught with much danger."
Diet.—All food should be withheld for a few days if possible. Liquids, such as egg albumen, weak tea, thin broth, barley or rice water, or milk diluted with lime water may be given in small quantities if necessary. When the acute symptoms have subsided, milk may be taken undiluted, and eggs may be added to the broth. When the pain and fever have disappeared entirely, gruels made of rice or barley, soft-boiled egg, scraped beef, stewed chicken, toast, and crackers may be added to the list; still later, mashed potatoes and vegetables, finely divided and strained, may be allowed and, finally, when well, usual diet resumed.
APPENDICITIS, Mothers' Remedies.—Home Treatment Found Good for.—"To allay the pain and stop the formation of pus in appendicitis it is recommended that a flannel cloth be saturated with hot water, wrung out, drop ten to fifteen drops of turpentine on it and apply to the affected parts as hot as the patient can bear. Repeat until relief is obtained. Then cover the bowels with a thin cotton cloth, upon which place another cloth wrung out of kerosene oil. This sustains the relief and conduces to rest and eventual cure. It is an essential part of the absorbent cure for appendicitis, and since its adoption doctors do not resort to a surgical operation half so often." The above is a standard remedy and will most always give relief.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Appendicitis.—The bowels should at first be moved by an enema, The patient should be perfectly quiet in bed. The ice-bag should be applied to the part, but wrapped in flannel and flannel also on the skin, It must not be allowed to make the flesh too cool. This coolness relieves the inflammation of the part. Small doses, from one-tenth to one drop, of aconite can be given for the fever and inflammation the first twenty-four hours. Dose every one to three hours. But little medicine is now given in appendicitis.
Caution.—Keep the bowels regular, especially if you have ever had appendicitis before, also be careful of your eating. This disease will attack high livers, hearty eaters and those with constipated bowels more quickly than others.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. Mothers' Remedies.—1.—Inflammation of the Bowels, Excellent Remedy for.—"First bathe the abdomen with warm salt water, then lay over the navel a piece of lard the size of black walnut. Hold the hand over this until it softens; then rub well into the bowels. This often relieves when pills and powders fail." The massaging brings about action of the bowels without a cathartic usually. Sweet oil or olive oil instead of lard, will do as well.
2. Inflammation of the Bowels, Red Beet Poultice for.—"Take red beets; chop up, put in bag, warm a little and put across the stomach. This will draw out the inflammation quickly and makes a very good poultice."
3. Inflammation of the Bowels, Hop Poultice for.—"Take hops, strain them and put in a sack. Lay across the stomach and bowels."
4. Inflammation of the Bowels, Griddle Cake Poultice for.—"Apply hot griddle cakes on bowels. This acts as a poultice, and should be replaced as soon as cold." This remedy saved my life when I was seventeen years of age. Am now fifty. This remedy will be found very good, but care should be taken not to burn the patient.
5. Cold or Pain in the Bowels, Spice Poultice for Child or Adult.—"Take a cloth sack large enough to cover abdomen; take all kinds of ground spices, put in the bag and tie up, sprinkle bag lightly with alcohol, just enough to dampen spices; lay this on abdomen." This serves as a poultice and is an excellent remedy for this trouble. This may be used for a child as well as an adult.
6. Inflammation of the Bowels, Simple Remedy Always at Hand for.—"Apply hot woolen cloths to abdomen as hot as can be wrung out, change every few minutes. My life was saved twice when I was several hundred miles from a doctor by this treatment." This simple but never failing remedy is easily prepared and, as we all know, heat is the most essential thing for this trouble, especially moist heat.
7. Inflammation of the Bowels, a Rather Unique Remedy for.—"Cut the head off of a hen, cut open down the breast, take out the inwards, pound flat and roll with rolling pin and apply to the bowels. This will draw out all inflammation, but must be done in as little time as possible." The above remedy can do no harm. Many people use it. Perhaps other poultices would be easier to prepare, just as effective and save the hen.
8. Inflammation of the Bowels, Marshmallow Leaves, a Canadian Remedy for.—"Green marshmallow leaves (dry will do). Wet flannel and apply hot." Make a strong tea of the marshmallow leaves and while hot dip flannels and apply to abdomen.
9. Inflammation of the Bowels, Syrup of Rhubarb for.—"Add to three pints of simple syrup one and three-fourths ounces of crushed rhubarb, one-fourth ounce each of crushed cloves and cinnamon, one dram of bruised nutmeg, one pint of diluted alcohol, evaporate liquid by a gentle heat to one-half pint. Excellent in bowel complaint in one-half dram (one-half teaspoonful) doses every hour until it operates." The rhubarb moves the bowels and casts out all irritating matter. The oil of cloves stimulates the membranes of the bowels and the cinnamon and nutmeg are astringents.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Toothache, Dry Salt and Alum for.—1. "Equal parts. Take common salt and alum. Mix and pulverize these together, wet a small piece of cotton and cause the mixture to adhere to it and place in the hollow tooth. At first a sensation of coldness will be produced, which will gradually disappear, as will the toothache. This is an excellent remedy and should be given a trial by any person suffering with this trouble."
2. Toothache, Oil of Cloves Quick Relief for.—"If the tooth has a cavity take a small piece of cotton and saturate with oil of cloves and place in tooth, or you may rub the gum with oil of sassafras." These are both good remedies, and will often give relief almost instantly.
3. Toothache, Home-Made Poultice for.—"Make a poultice of a slice of toast, saturate in alcohol and sprinkle with pepper and apply externally. This will give almost instant relief."
4. Toothache, Clove Oil and Chloroform for.—"Clove oil and chloroform, each one teaspoonful. Saturate cotton and apply locally."
5. Toothache, Sure Cure for.—
"Peppermint water 1/2 ounceNitre 1/4 ounceChloroform 1 dramEther 1 dramOil of mustard 10 drops
Remark: This remedy will give relief where all others fail. Not onlyfor toothache, but for neuralgia pains in any part of the body, applywith cloth moistened and lay on the parts affected. Continue untilrelieved."
6. Toothache, Salt and Alum Water for.—"Fill a bottle of any size half full of equal parts of pulverized alum and salt, then fill up the bottle with sweet spirits of nitre. Shake and apply it to the tooth and gums. Apply it freely, as there is nothing to hurt or injure you."
7. Toothache, Oil of Cinnamon for.—"A drop of oil of cinnamon will frequently relieve very serious cases of toothache. Apply to the tooth with a little cotton. This will at least give temporary relief until you can see your dentist and have the tooth treated."
8. Toothache, Reliable Remedy for.—"Chloroform, clove oil, alcohol, one half ounce of each. Mix together and saturate a piece of cotton and place it in the tooth. This is sure to give relief."
9. Toothache, From Decayed Teeth.—"If the tooth is decayed take a small piece of raw cotton, saturate with chloroform and place in cavity."
MOTHERS' TOOTH POWDERS.—1. "The ashes of burnt branches of the common grape vine make a very superior tooth powder. It will clean the blackest of teeth, if continued for a few mornings, to that of pure white."
2. Tooth Powder.—"Precipitated chalk four ounces, powdered orris root eight ounces, powdered camphor one ounce; reduce camphor to fine powder moistening with very little alcohol, add other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and sift through fine bolting cloth." Have used this with great success.
3. Tooth Powder.—"All tooth powders, or anything that has a grit will, with the friction of the brush, scour loose from the enamel of the teeth; and this is far superior to any of them in every respect.
Soap tree bark 1 poundTurpentine 2 ouncesPowdered orris root 2 ouncesAlkanet root 1/2 ounce
Diluted alcohol, half water, sufficient to make the whole into one gallon. Let it stand in an earthen jar to macerate for fourteen days; stir occasionally, then strain and filter through filtering paper. The alcohol will have no injurious effect. This is an excellent tooth remedy."
4.—Tooth Wash.—"One teaspoonful of boracic acid in a pint of boiling water.
Tincture Myrrh 1/2 teaspoonfulSpirits of Camphor 1/2 teaspoonfulEssence of Peppermint 1/2 teaspoonful
Use in the water in which you brush your teeth. Let boracic acid water cool, then add last three ingredients."
5. Tooth Powder.—"Precipitated chalk four ounces, pulverized sugar two ounces, powdered myrrh one ounce, pulverized orris root one ounce. Mix and sift through fine bolting cloth. This is fine."
6. Tooth Powder, Commonly Used.—
"Precipitated Chalk 12 dramsRose Pink 2 dramsCarbonate of Magnesia 1 dramOil of Rose 5 drops
Mix all well together and after using it you will find the following mouth-wash fine for rinsing out the mouth."
Antiseptic Mouth Wash.—
"Boric Acid 10 grainsResorcin 4 grainsSalol 2 grainsThymol 1/2 dramGlycerin 1/2 dramPure water 1 ounce
This sweetens and cleanses the mouth."
7. Tooth Powder, Simple and Unsurpassed.—
Cream of Tartar, powdered 3 ouncesCochineal 1 dramAlum, powdered 4 dramsMyrrh 1 dramCinnamon 1 ounceSugar 1 ounce
Mix and pass through a sieve. This is a preparation that has no superior for cleaning, preserving and whitening the teeth.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Toothache.—1. Chloretone dissolved in oil of cloves and applied on a cotton wad is very good for toothache.
2. Creosote.—Put on a piece of cotton and put this in the hollow tooth.
3. Toothache in an ulcerated or hollow tooth, caused from wet feet, etc. Take a hot foot bath and drink a hot lemonade, hot ginger, or hot pennyroyal tea, and go to bed and take a good sweat. Aching tooth needs the care of a dentist. It pays to retain your natural teeth in good shape.
INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION.—Causes.—This may be caused by strangulation, telescope (intussusception) of the bowels, twists and knots, strictures and tumors, abnormal contents.
1. Strangulation is the most frequent cause; this is caused by adhesions and bands from former peritonitis, or following operations. The strangulation may be recent and due to adhesion of the bowels to the abdominal cut or wound, or a coil of the bowel may be caught between the pedicle of a tumor and the wall of the pelvis. These cases are rather common after some operations.
2. Intussusception.—This means that one portion of the bowel slips into an adjacent portion. These two portions make a cylindrical lump varying in length from one-half inch to a foot or more. Irregular worm-like motion of the bowel is a cause of intussusception.
3. Twists and knots.—Most frequent between thirty and forty. (There is an unusually long mesentery.)
4. Strictures and tumors.—These are not very important causes.
5. Abnormal contents.—Fruit stones, coins, pins, needles, false teeth, round worms rolled in a mass. Coins rarely cause inconvenience.
Symptoms of Acute Obstruction.—Constipation, pain in the bowels, and vomiting are the three most important symptoms. Pain sets in early, and may come on abruptly when walking or more commonly when working. It is at first colicky, but soon becomes continuous and very intense, vomiting soon follows and is constant and very distressing. First the stomach contents are vomited, and the greenish bile-stained material, and soon the material vomited is a brownish-black liquid, with a bowel odor. This peculiar vomiting is a very characteristic symptom. Constipation may be absolute, without the discharge of either feces or gas. Very often the contents of the bowel below the obstruction are discharged. The abdomen is usually distended and when the large bowel is involved this is extreme. If it is high up in the small intestine, it may be very slight. At first, the abdomen is not tender, but later it becomes very sensitive and tender. The face is pale and anxious and finally collapse symptoms intervene. The eyes are sunken, the features look pinched and a cold, clammy sweat covers the skin. The pulse becomes rapid and weak. There may be no fever, and it may go below normal. The tongue is dry, parched, and the thirst is incessant.
Recovery.—The case terminates as a rule in death in three to six days, if aid is not given.
Treatment.—Purgatives should not be given. For the pain, hypodermics of morphine are needed. Wash out the stomach for distressing vomiting. This can be done three to four times a day. Thorough washing out of the large bowel with injections should be practised, the warm water being allowed to flow in from a fountain syringe and the amount carefully estimated. Hutchinson recommends that the patient be placed under an anesthetic, the abdomen kneaded, and a copious enema given with the hips placed high or patient in inverted position. Then the patient should be thoroughly shaken, first with the abdomen held downward and subsequently in the inverted position. If this and similar measures do not succeed by the third day surgical measures must be resorted to.
For bloating, turpentine cloths should be used, and other hot, moist applications.
Diet.—Should be very light, if any, for a day or so.
RUPTURE (Hernia).—Hernia means a protrusion of an organ from its natural cavity, through normal or artificial openings in the surrounding structures. But by the term hernia, used alone, we mean the protrusion of a portion of the abdominal contents through the walls, and that is known by the popular term of "rupture."
The most common forms of rupture protrude through one of the natural openings or weak spots in the abdominal walls, as for instance, the inguinal (groin) and femoral canals. The femoral canal is located at the upper and inner part of the thigh, and this place is a seat of rupture, especially in women. Rupture may also occur at the navel, when it is called umbilical hernia or rupture. The contents of a hernia are bowel and omentum (a covering of the bowel) separately or together. The bowel involved in a rupture is usually the lower portion of the small bowel, but the large bowel is sometimes affected. A sac covers the bowel or omentum in a rupture. This sac consists of the protruded portion of peritoneum, which has been gradually pushed through one of the canals (inguinal or femoral) or of the process of peritoneum, which has been carried down by the testicle in its descent, and the connection of which with the peritoneum of the abdomen still continues, not having been obliterated, as it usually is before birth. The former is called an acquired rupture sac; the latter is a congenital rupture sac, and it is found only in groin (inguinal rupture).
Causes.—Rupture is more common in men than in women. It may occur at any time of life. The majority of cases occur before middle age, and the largest number during the first ten years of life, owing to the want of closure of the peritoneum which is carried down by the testicles before birth. Rupture is most frequently strangulated between the ages of forty and fifty.
Location.—The great majority of cases of rupture are groin or inguinal rupture.
Symptoms.—A fullness or a swelling is first noticed in the groin, which is made worse in standing, coughing and lifting. This disappears on lying down and reappears on rising in many cases, even at first; coughing makes the lump or swelling harder. It may come on both sides, when it is called double rupture or hernia.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES.—Rupture, Poultice for.—"Take equal parts of lobelia and stramonium leaves; make a poultice and apply to the parts. Renew as often as necessary. This combination makes a very effective poultice and is sure to give relief."
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.—A person should wear a truss (support) that fits perfectly, and this should not cause any pain or discomfort. The truss should be worn all day, taken off at night after going to bed and put on before rising, when still lying down. If it is put on after rising a little of the gut may be in the canal and pressed down by the support. There are many kinds of supports.
Operations now performed for rupture are very successful if the patient takes good care for months afterwards until the parts are thoroughly healed. The operation simply closes a too large opening. The testicles descending through the groin canal from the abdominal cavity before birth and in congenital rupture, left too big an opening. In acquired rupture, these natural openings were enlarged by lifting, falls, etc. The round ligament of the womb goes down through this canal and sometimes there is too large an opening left or acquired by accident.
Irreducible Rupture.—This is when the rupture cannot be returned into the abdominal cavity, and it is without any symptoms of strangulation. They are of long standing and of a large size. This condition is often due to carelessness of a patient in not keeping in a reducible rupture with a proper support. Adhesions form, holding the rupture. Even if it is small, it gives rise to much discomfort and the patient is always in danger of strangulation of the rupture.
Operation for radical cure is generally a success.
Strangulation Hernia or Rupture.—This means the rupture is so tightly constricted that it cannot be returned into the abdominal cavity, and its circulation is interfered with; then there is not only obstruction to the passage of the feces, but also an arrest of circulation in the protruded portion of bowel which, if not relieved, results in gangrene and death. This occurs more often in old than in recent ruptures and more often in congenital than in acquired rupture.
Symptoms.—Sudden and complete constipation with persistent vomiting. The lump may be tense, hard and irreducible. Then there is faintness, collapse; severe abdominal pain, complete constipation, with no gas passing, then vomiting, at first of food, then of the bile-stained fluid and finally of fluid with a bowel odor. All these symptoms increase and the patient gradually sinks from exhaustion in eight or nine days, though in very acute cases the patient may die within forty-eight hours.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES.—Strangulated Hernia, Hop Poultice for.—"A large warm poultice of hops over the abdomen will be found one of the best known means of relieving strangulated hernia."
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.—It must be reduced or an operation must be performed and soon.
To reduce.—The patient is put under an anesthetic and placed on his back with the hips (pelvis) raised and the thigh of the affected side flexed, bent up and rotated inward if the rupture be inguinal or femoral. This motion relaxes the parts. The neck of the sac is then seized with the thumb and fingers of one hand, and thus fixed, while with the other hand, the operator endeavors to return the strangulated gut by gentle pressure in the proper direction. In femoral rupture, this is at first downward, to bring the gut opposite the opening then backward and then upward. In groin (inguinal) rupture it is usually slightly upward and outward. It must be coaxed, kneaded and squeezed carefully. Care must be taken. If it cannot be returned in from five to ten minutes no further time should be wasted, but an operation should be performed immediately. This consists in cutting down to the constriction and through it, thus allowing the rupture to be reduced.
The patient should be kept in bed and treated the same way as for other abdominal operations.
Caution.—Persons with rupture must be very careful not to lift or fall.If a support is worn it must fit perfectly and be worn with comfort.
INTESTINAL COLIC. (Enteralgia).—Causes.—Predisposing; poor general condition, worry, over-work, nervous disposition. Exciting causes; exposure, gas in the bowels, mass of feces, undigested or irritating food, cold drinks, green fruit, ice cream when a person is very warm.
Symptoms.—Intermittent pain usually in the umbilical (navel) region, moving from place to place, dull or sharp pain, relieved by pressure or bending forward. Abdomen is distended or drawn back. It lasts a few minutes or many hours, ending gradually or suddenly, after a passage of gas or movement of the bowels.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.—1. Remove cause first if possible. Mild cases; put heat to the abdomen by hot water bag, wring cloths out of hot water and put in them ten drops of turpentine and place over the bowels hot. Give dose of peppermint water or ginger tea.
2. Severe case.—Morphine hypodermically, if necessary, in a severe case; mustard poultice is good, also a spice poultice.
3. Tincture of Colocynth (bitter cucumber) is an excellent remedy for this trouble. I have often used it with great success. Put five drops of it in a glass half full of water and give two teaspoonfuls every fifteen minutes until relieved. A few doses generally relieve the patient.
THE LIVER.—The liver is the largest gland in the body, and is situated in the upper and right part of the abdominal cavity. The lower border of the liver corresponds to the lower border of the ribs in front and to the right side. It weighs fifty to sixty ounces in the male; in the female, forty to fifty ounces. It is about eight to nine inches in its transverse measurement; vertically near its right surface it is six to seven inches, while it is four to five inches thick at its thickest part. Opposite the backbone from behind forward it measures about three inches. The left lobe, the smallest and thinnest, extends to the left, over what is called the pit of the stomach.
BILIOUSNESS.—This condition presents different symptoms in different cases, but it always includes languor, headache or dizziness, perhaps some yellow color of the skin and conjunctiva, and a general sense of want of tone, depression of spirits and discomfort.
Causes.—The liver does not perform its function well, or there is a retention of bile in the bile ducts. Most of the symptoms do not depend directly upon the changes in the bile, but upon failure of proper digestion in the stomach and intestines. Certain poorly prepared foods or improper food for stomach digestion, quickly cause the development of active fermentation and its results irritate the stomach mucous membrane bringing about a faulty stomach secretion of mucus, which causes further trouble. It may end in a sick headache.
TREATMENT. Prevention.—Normal, easily digested food, open bowels. Active exercise, horseback riding, massage of the liver region. Stooping over and bending from side to side and bending back with feet close together are good aids.
Diet.—Do not over-eat. Avoid alcohol in any form. Stimulating foods such as spices, mustard salads, concentrated meat extracts and meat broths, pepper, horseradish are not to be used. Do not use too much salt; strong coffee and tea are harmful. In severe cases milk either diluted with water or lime water or peptonized should alone be used.
Gruels, albumen water, kumiss, buttermilk and oyster broth may be allowed. Orange juice as well as lemonade may generally be given. Fasting is good in biliousness. No one will starve in a few days of fasting.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES.—1. Biliousness, Lemons for.—"One lemon squeezed in a glass of water with a very little sugar, repeat for several days." Lemon is a very good medicine, and it is surprising to know how few people realize what medical properties the lemon contains. This is a good, simple, but very effective remedy.
2. Biliousness, Salt and Water for.—"Take a teaspoonful of salt to a cup of water and drink before breakfast for a few mornings." It is a well-known fact that a little salt in warm water before breakfast is laxative and also cleanses the system and bowels on account of its purifying action.
3. Biliousness, (chronic) Dandelion Tea for.—"Dandelion root is highly recommended for this." The root should be collected in July, August or September. Dose:—A strong tea may be taken freely two or three times a day, or the fluid extract may be purchased at any drug store.
4. Biliousness, a cheap and very safe plan.—"Drink plenty of cold water and exercise freely in the open air." Following the above advice is often better than medicines and spring tonics, also unless doing hard physical labor, cut down on the meat eating. In fact, eat less generally for a time.
5. Biliousness, Salt Lemonade for.—"Hot salt lemonade night and morning. Juice of one lemon and teaspoonful salt to as much hot water as you can drink."
6. Biliousness, Boneset Tea for.—"Pour hot water on boneset and let stand until it is cold. Take a swallow occasionally." This is very good.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT. Medicines.—1. Nitro-hydrochloric acid three drops three times a day in half a tumblerful of water is valuable.
2. Twenty drops of fluid extract of Queen's root three times a day.
3. The following combination forms a good pill to be taken every night:
Extract of Chirata 40 grainsPodophyllin 4 grainsWahoo 8 grainsCulver's root 8 grainsCreosote 10 grains
Mix and make into twenty pills. Take one every night.
4. For the Attack.—Take calomel one-sixth grain tablets; one every fifteen minutes until six are taken, and then follow with two to four teaspoonfuls of epsom salts.
JAUNDICE (Icterus).—A symptom consisting in discoloration by bile pigment of the skin, whites of the eyes, other mucous membranes and secretions.
Causes.—Obstruction of the gall ducts, from gall stones, inflammation, tumor, strictures, from pressure by tumors, and other enlarged abdominal organs.
Symptoms.—The skin and the conjunctiva (red membrane of the eyes) are colored from a pale lemon yellow to a dark olive or greenish black. The itching may be intense, especially in a chronic case. The sweat may be yellow. The stools are a pale slate color, from the lack of bile, and are often pasty and offensive. The pulse is slow. Recovery depends upon the cause. Plain, simple jaundice cases recover in a few days or weeks.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES.—1. Jaundice, Sweet Cider Sure Cure for.—"New cider before it ferments at all. Drink all you can." This is a very simple remedy, but a sure one if taken in the early stages of jaundice. It causes the bowels to move freely and carries off any impurities in the system.
2. Jaundice, Lemon Juice for.—"Take a tablespoonful of lemon juice several times a day." This disease is produced by congestion of the liver, and as lemon is excellent as a liver tonic it is known to be an excellent remedy for jaundice.
3. Jaundice, Peach Tree Bark for.—"Take the inner bark of a peach tree, and make a strong tea, and give a teaspoonful before each meal for five days, then stop five days, and if the patient's indications do not warrant a reasonable expectation that a cure is effected repeat the medicine as above. I never knew of a case in which the above medicine failed to cure. Keep the bowels open with sweet oil."
MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Liver Complaint. Mandrake Root for.—1. "Dry and powder the mandrake root (often called may-apple) and take about one teaspoonful." This dose may be repeated two or three times a day, according to the requirements of the case. This is a stimulant, a tonic and a laxative, and is especially good when the liver is in a torpid and inactive condition.
2. Liver Trouble, Dandelion Root Tea for.—"Steep dandelion root, make a good strong tea of it; take a half glass three times a day." This is a very good remedy as it not only acts on the liver, but the bowels as well. This will always cure slight attacks of liver trouble.
3. Torpid Liver, Boneset Tea for.—"Drink boneset tea at any time during the day and at night. It is also good for cleansing the blood." This is a very good remedy, especially for people who live in a low damp region.
4. Liver Trouble, Mandrake Leaves for.—"A very good remedy to use regularly, for several weeks, is to use from one to three grains of may-apple (mandrake) seed, night and morning, followed occasionally by a light purgative, as seidlitz powder or rochelle salts." This is sure to give relief if kept up thoroughly.
5. Liver Trouble, Mullein Leaf Tea for.—"Mullein leaves steeped, and sweetened. Drink freely." This acts very nicely upon the liver.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Liver Trouble.—1. For the itching, hot alkaline baths with baking soda in water, or dust on the following:—
Starch 1 ounceCamphor, powdered l-1/2 dramsOxide of Zinc 1/2 ounce
Mix and use as a powder, or use carbolic vaselin locally. Move the bowels with salts and do not give much food for a few days. Use nothing but milk.
2. The following is good to move the bowels when the stool is yellow and costive in a child one year old:
Sulphate of Magnesia 2 ouncesCream of tartar 2 ounces
Mix and give one-half teaspoonful in water every three hours until the bowels move freely. Phosphate of soda in one dram doses every three hours is good.
3. Severe Type and Epidemic Form.—Give one to two drops of tincture myrica cerifera (barberry) every two hours for an adult. This I know to be very good.
4. The common simple kind of jaundice will get well readily by moving the bowels freely and keeping the patient on light food.
CATARRHAL JAUNDICE. (Acute catarrhal angiocholitis).—Jaundice caused by obstruction of the terminal portion of the common duct, by swelling of the mucous membrane.
Causes.—This occurs mostly in young people. It follows inflammation of the stomach or bowels, also from emotion, exposure, chronic heart disease. It may be epidemic.
Symptoms.—Slight jaundice preceded by stomach and bowel trouble. Epidemic cases may begin with chill, headache and vomiting. There may be slight pain in the abdomen, the skin is light or bright yellow, whites of the eyes are yellowish, pain in the back and legs, tired feeling, nausea, clay colored stools. Pulse is rather slow, liver may be a little enlarged. It may last from one week to one to three months.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Catarrhal Jaundice.—1. Restrict the diet if the stomach and bowels are diseased. Sodium phosphate may be given one teaspoonful every three hours to keep the bowels open. Drink large quantities of water and with it some baking soda one-half to one teaspoonful in the water.
2. If you have calomel you may take one-tenth of a grain every hour for four hours, and then follow with the sodium phosphate in one-half teaspoonful doses every two to three hours, until the bowels have fully moved, or epsom salts, two to four teaspoonfuls. Keep in bed if there is a fever or a very slow pulse say of forty to fifty.
GALL STONES. (Biliary Calculi, Cholelithiasis).—Cases of gall stones are rare under the age of twenty-five years. They are very common after forty-five, and three-fourths of the cases occur in women. Many people never know they have them. Sedentary habits of life, excessive eating and constipation tend to cause them. They may number a few, several, or a thousand, or only one.
Symptoms.—There are usually none while the stones are in the gall bladder, but when they pass from the gall bladder down through the (channel) duct into the bowel they often cause terrific pain, especially when the stone is large. Chill, fever, profuse sweating and vomiting, which comes in paroxysms or is continuous. The pain may be constant or only come on at intervals. The region of the liver may be tender, the gall bladder may be enlarged, especially in chronic cases and very tender. In some cases the pain comes every few weeks and then may be scattered, sometimes seeming to be in the stomach, and then in the bowels, or in the region of the liver. When a person has such pains and locates them in the stomach or bowels, and they come periodically, every week or two or more, he ought to be suspicious about it being gall stones, especially if the symptoms do not show any stomach trouble. If the stone is large and closes the common duct, jaundice occurs; the stools are light colored; the urine contains bile. The attacks of pain may cease suddenly after a few hours, or they may last several days or recur at intervals until the stone is passed. The stones may be found in the bowel discharges after an attack. Death may occur from collapse during an attack.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES.—1. Gall Stones, Sweet Oil for.—"Massaging the part over the region of the liver lightly night and morning is very good, following by drinking a wineglassful of sweet oil at bedtime." The patient should take some good cathartic the next morning, such as a seidlitz powder or cream of tartar. Teaspoonful in glass of water each morning. This treatment should be continued for several weeks and is very effective.
2. Gall Stones, Tried and Approved Remedy for.—"Drink about a wineglass of olive oil at bedtime followed in the morning by a cathartic, as seidlitz powder, or cream of tartar and phosphate of soda; teaspoonful each morning in wineglass of water. This treatment to be pursued several weeks. Massage the part over the liver lightly night and morning. If the suffering is intense use an injection of thirty drops of laudanum to two quarts of water." In many cases the cathartic may not be needed as the olive oil will move the bowels freely. Massaging the parts over the liver will cause it to work better and has proven successful in many cases.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Gall Stones.—1. For the pain. Morphine must be used and by the hypodermic method; one-fourth grain dose and repeated, if necessary, and chloroform given before if the pain is intense, until the morphine can act. Fomentations can be used over the liver.
2. Soda.—The bowels must be kept open by laxatives, Sodium Phosphate or Sodium Sulphate, (Glauber's) salt.
3. Olive Oil.—Olive oil is used very extensively. I do not know whether it does any good; some people think it does. From two to ten ounces daily, if possible. The phosphate or sulphate of sodium should be taken daily in one to two teaspoonfuls doses each day. Some claim these salts prevent formation of gall stones.
4. Powder for the Itching.—For the intolerable itching you may use the following powder, dust some of it over the skin:
Starch 1 ounceZinc Oxide 1/2 ounceCamphor 1-1/2 drams
Mix into a powder.
Diet.—This must be thoroughly regulated. The patient should avoid the starchy and sugar foods as much as possible. He or she should also take regular exercise. If a person afflicted with gall stones keeps the stomach and bowels in good condition, they will be better. Pure air, sunshine, exercise, and diet are big factors in the treatment of chronic diseases. A woman so afflicted should not wear anything tight around the stomach and liver, corsets are an abomination in this disease; olive oil if taken must be continued for months.
Surgery.—The operation is indicated when the patient is suffering most of the time from pain in the liver region or when the person is failing in health, or during an acute attack. When there are symptoms of obstruction or when there is fever, sweating shows that there is pus in the gall bladder. Also an operation is then necessary, and in most cases it results satisfactorily.
CANCER OF THE GALL BLADDER, AND BILE DUCTS. Causes.—It usually occurs between forty and seventy years of age. The cases that originate here show no percentage in either sex; but those that appear here as secondary cancers are three times as frequent in women as in men. Chronic irritation by gall stones is an important cause. They are hard to diagnose and, of course, fatal in the secondary kind. For the primary kind early complete removal may cure if you can get at them.
CIRCULATORY DISTURBANCES OF THE LIVER. (Acute Hyperemia or Congestion).—This occurs normally after meals, and in acute infections, diseases, etc.
CHRONIC CONGESTION OR NUTMEG LIVER.—This is due to an obstruction of the blood circulation in the liver by chronic valvular heart disease with failure of heart action. Lung obstruction in the trouble called Emphysema, Chronic Pneumonia, etc., may cause it. The cut section of a liver shows an appearance like a nutmeg, due to a deeply congested central vein and capillaries. In a later stage the liver is contracted, central liver cells are shrunk and the connective tissue is increased.
ACUTE YELLOW ATROPHY. (Malignant Jaundice).—This is fortunately a rare disease. There is rapid progress, and it is fatal in nearly all cases. The liver is very small and flabby. The symptoms are many and are hard to differentiate. You must depend upon your physician. The only thing for him to do is to meet the symptoms and relieve them if possible.
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER. (Sclerosis of the Liver, Hobnail Liver, Gin Drinkers Liver, Hard Liver).—This occurs most often in men from forty to sixty years old. It is not uncommon in children.
Cause.—It is usually due to drinking of alcohol to excess, especially whisky, brandy, rum or gin. The liver is small and thin; hard, granular, white bands run through it and press on the liver cells and destroy them.
Symptoms.—These are few as long as proper circulation in the heart is maintained. Fatty cirrhosis is often found in post-mortems. The first symptoms are the same as those accompanying chronic gastritis, dyspepsia, They are:—Appetite is poor, nausea, retching and vomiting, especially in the morning; distress in the region of the stomach, constipation or diarrhea. These increase and vomiting of blood from the stomach may occur early and late. Bleeding from the stomach and bowels, etc., cause the stools to look like tar. Nosebleed and piles are common and profuse; bleeding may cause severe lack of blood. The epigastric and mammary veins are enlarged. Ascites (dropsy in the abdomen) usually occurs sooner or later and may be very marked, and it recurs soon after each tapping. The feet and genital organs may be oedematous (watery swelling), jaundice is slight and does not occur until late. During the late stage the patient is much shrunken, face is hollow, the blood vessels of the nose and cheeks are dilated, abdomen is greatly distended. Delirium, stupor, coma or convulsions may occur at any time.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Cirrhosis of the Liver.—It is usually fatal; sometimes even after temporary improvements. No coffee or alcohol; simple diet, bitter tonics, keep bowels open, A physician must handle such a case.
ABSCESS OF THE LIVER. Hepatic Abscess: Suppurative Hepatitis.—This is a circumscribed collection of pus in the liver tissue. If there is only one abscess it is in the larger lobe in seventy per cent of the cases. The amount of fluid contained in such an abscess may be two or three quarts and its color varies from a grayish white to a creamy reddish-brown; when the abscess is caused by a type (amebic) of dysentery, there is generally only one abscess, occurring more often in the right lobe, whereas other forms due to septic infection give rise to many abscesses.
Causes.—This disease is rare even in tropical climates. When it is excited by gall stones, it is invariably septic in character and the infecting material reaches the interior through the liver vessels or bile passages. Stomach ulcers, typhoid fever, appendicitis, may bring on such an abscess. Pus wounds of the head are sometimes followed by a liver abscess. The most common method of infection is through the portal vein. Other causes that may be mentioned are foreign bodies traveling up the ducts, as round-worms and parasites.
Symptoms.—Hectic temperature, pain, tenderness, and an enlarged liver, and often slight jaundice. In acute cases the fever rises rapidly, reaching 103 or 104 in twenty-four hours. It is irregular and intermittent, and it may be hectic, that is, like the fever of consumption. Shakings or decided chills frequently are present with the rise of fever and when the fever declines there may be profuse sweating. The skin is pale and shows a slight jaundice, the conjunctiva being yellowish. Progressive loss of strength with disturbance of the stomach and bowels is present. The bowels are variable and constipated and loose. Dropsy of the abdomen (Ascites) may develop, on account of pressure on the big vein, inferior vena-cava. Lung symptoms, severe cough, reddish-brown expectoration are often present.
THE ABSCESS.—May break into the pleural cavity, bronchial tubes, lungs and stomach, bowels, peritoneum or through the abdominal wall.
Recovery.—The result is unfavorable as it generally goes on to a rapid termination. The abscess should be opened and evacuated when its location can be detected. The death rates ranges from fifty to sixty per cent.
Treatment.—Open it if you can, Sponge liver region with cool water. For the pain, mustard poultices, turpentine stupe or hot fomentations prove beneficial. Keep up strength by stimulation and quinine.
Diet in Liver Troubles sent us from Providence Hospital (Catholic),Sandusky, Ohio:
May Take—
Soups—Vegetable soups with a little bread or cracker, light broths.
Fish—Boiled fresh cod, bass, sole or whiting, raw oysters.
Meats—Tender lean mutton, lamb, chicken, game, (all sparingly).
Farinaceous—Oatmeal, hominy, tapioca, sago, arrowroot (well cooked), whole wheat bread, graham bread, dry toast, crackers.
Vegetables—Mashed potato, almost all fresh vegetables (well boiled), plain salad of lettuce, water-cress, dandelions.