Case 795,590.INCONTINENCE OF URINE—CURED BY SPECIAL HOME TREATMENT.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: Miss Richman.Miss Richman.
Dear Sir—I consider myself duty-bound to you and suffering humanity to acknowledge the benefit that I have received from your treatments. From babyhood till I was twenty years old I was continually bothered with a weakness of the muscles of the bladder, that gave me much trouble, both by night as well as day. I doctored with several physicians and tried all patent medicines, but could not get any relief until I took your medicine about six months, and now I am sound and well. It has been over two years since I quit taking your medicine, and have had no symptoms of the disease returning.
Yours most gratefully.Miss MOLLIE RICHMAN.North Cove,Pacific Co., Wash.
Yours most gratefully.Miss MOLLIE RICHMAN.North Cove,Pacific Co., Wash.
Case 4A-2,226.BRIGHT'S DISEASE AND GRAVEL CURED BY SPECIAL HOME TREATMENT.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: J.W. Thompson, Esq.J.W. Thompson, Esq.
Dear Sir—You have my thanks and best wishes for your success, as you cured me of what the doctors here called Bright's Disease and Stone in the Bladder. They did me no good, so I concluded to write to you, which I did, and am happy to say your medicine worked like a charm. God and myself only know how I suffered. I lost fifty-six pounds of flesh in six weeks and I thought my time had come, but when I commenced taking your medicine, in three days I saw a change for the better was taking place, and in one month I considered myself cured. I am still in good health and can do as hard a day's work as any man. Again I thank you. Your charges were reasonable and any one suffering as I was should write you at once.
Any person writing to me must send stamped addressed envelope if wanting an answer.
J.W. THOMPSON,St. John, Whitman Co., Wash.
J.W. THOMPSON,St. John, Whitman Co., Wash.
Case 2A-223.INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. RETENTION OF URINE.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: E.A. Brown, Esq.E.A. Brown, Esq.
Gentlemen—I had been a terrible sufferer for many years with Bladder trouble. I had experienced the greatest discomfort, and tried in vain to find relief. I was persuaded to go to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, I went and while there submitted to a course of treatment that gave me relief, and was entirely satisfactory. Three years have elapsed and I continue well. I take the greatest pleasure in making public my cure. No sufferer going there can fail to receive all the benefit to be derived from medical treatment. The staff of physicians are skillful and of large experience; the attendants kind and attentive, and the Institution, in all its appointments, not to be excelled in the country. I had been told by other physicians, Jealous at your success, not to go to your place, but I am now more than pleased that I disregarded their advice.
E.A. BROWN,Corfu, N.Y.
E.A. BROWN,Corfu, N.Y.
By the termHernia, we mean a tumor, which is formed by the displacement of the intestines, the omentum (covering of the bowels), or both, and which protrudes from the abdominal cavity. The most common varieties areumbilical, inguinalandfemoralhernia. Children are most subject to umbilical, males to inguinal, and females to femoral, hernia.
Illustration: Fig. 1. Indirect Inguinal Hernia.Fig. 1. Indirect Inguinal Hernia. Sketched from a case subsequently cured by our improved method of treatment.
Causes. These are eitherpredisposingorexciting. Any thing which occasions general or local muscular debility, as dropsy, pregnancy, abscesses, wounds, obstructions to natural evacuations, etc., is a predisposing cause of hernia. The exciting cause is pressure applied to the contents of the abdomen, as straining in evacuating the bowels and bladder, lifting heavy weights, or violent physical exertion.
Symptoms. The only characteristic symptom of hernia is the presentation of an elastic, or doughy tumor of variable size, which either gradually or suddenly makes its appearance. There is flatulence, uneasiness, and sometimes pain in the abdomen.
Sharp and dull pains frequently recurring and confined to the locations where ruptures appear should receive attention. Examination will not infrequently reveal a small enlargement. If a hernia, this will usually disappear after a night's rest and may not be again noticed until the next day, or for several days. Oncoughing, with the finger applied to the enlargement, a sensation of an impulse (succussion), or slight additional protrusion will be felt
The trouble appears at any time of life, an analysis of seventy thousand cases indicating that it is most common in debilitated persons, and that there is a constant decrease in the frequency of the affection from the first to the thirteenth year, after which rupture is more and more frequently met with as age advances.
Illustration: Fig. 2. This figure illustrates a case of Femoral HerniaFig. 2. This figure illustrates a case of Femoral Hernia which was radically cured by our improved method. This tumor is a little lower on the thigh than in cases of inguinal hernia. Femoral Hernia is most common to females, and inguinal in males.
Inguinal Hernia(see Fig. 1) is more common than all other forms of rupture. It is more frequently met with in men, and when severe there is usually a mass of intestine which falls into the scrotum and has an evil effect, by pressing upon the testicle. The protrusion follows the spermatic vessels and hence it usually appears low down in the abdomen and on one or both sides of the pubic bone.
Femoral Hernia(see Fig. 2), most common in women of mature life, is felt as a lump below the strong ligament in the groin which forms the line of separation between the thigh and the abdomen. On its outer side and close to it can be felt the beating or pulsation of the large artery of the thigh.
Umbilical Hernia(see Fig. 3) appears at or near the navel and is most common in children. It may be present from birth, or it may result from fretting and crying at any period of childhood.
Illustration: Fig. 3. UMBILICAL HERNIA.Fig. 3. UMBILICAL HERNIA. Sketched from a case subsequently cured by our new method.
Sufferers from any form of rupture are constantly subject tothe danger of strangulation. This occurs when, from any cause the free return of the contents of the protruded part of the intestine is prevented. It is an accident of a serious nature, inasmuch as nearly fifty per cent. die if not carefully operated upon, and with the most skillful treatment, one in four cases terminates in death.
Every individual should guard against rupture by maintaining, by proper exercise, diet, and rest, a condition of vigor and tonicity of the muscular system.
When debilitated, all strains and exertions should be care fully avoided until the health is built up, and the relaxation overcome.
Treatment. The palliative treatment of hernia is byreductionandretention. Reduction consists in returning the protruding intestine to its proper place through the opening by which it escaped. This is accomplished either by manipulation or by a surgical operation. Retention is effected by wearing a mechanical appliance called atruss.
As soon as the tumor protrudes, or the "bowel comes down," the patient should assume the recumbent posture, with his shoulders and feet elevated. The patient or an attendant should grasp the hernia, and with gentle, but gradually increasing pressure upon the tumor attempt to replace it. At the same time let the patient knead the bowels upward by pressing upon the integument, so that the intestine may, as far as possible, be pushed away from the point of protrusion. Sometimes the contraction of the muscular fibres at a point where the hernia makes its exit is so great that the tumor cannot be replaced. In this case the system should be relaxed with lobelia (not given in dosesto produce vomiting), and as soon as the patient is thoroughly under its influence, the manipulations may be resumed. When there is any difficulty experienced in putting back the "breach," or rupture, professional assistance should be promptly summoned. After the reduction of the rupture, a truss should be properly adapted, applied, and constantly worn, to prevent the protrusion of the intestine.
Illustration: Fig. 4. The above cut fairly illustrates a case of Double Inguinal Hernia, complicated with Hydrocele, cured at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute.Fig. 4. The above cut fairly illustrates a case of Double Inguinal Hernia, complicated with Hydrocele, cured at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute.
Of the latter instruments there are several hundred varieties for sale throughout the country. With the exception of about one-half dozen forms, which embody the true principles of a proper truss, they are, without exception, harmful. Unless proper support be given to the walls of the abdomen, and that without constant pressure, a truss does harm; then, too, the shape of the pad must be such as to avoid pressure where it is not required; otherwise, as in the case where a small ring is worn upon a finger, there is a gradual loss of strength and a depression formed in the healthy tissue, which can be plainly seen and felt. In this way trusses do harm, and such evil consequences may follow theimproperapplication of agoodtruss.
Surgical Treatment. When the hernia has become strangulated and cannot be returned by manipulation, a surgical operation is necessary. Whenever the necessity for such a procedure is apparent, it should be performedimmediately,for the greater the delay the greater the liability to fatal results. The operation consists in cutting down upon the strangulated bowel, thus relieving it of its constriction and facilitating its replacement. It is a delicate operation, and must be skillfully performed. After the operation, the patient requires appropriate hygienic treatment.
Illustration: Fig. 5. This figure illustrates a Double Inguinal HerniaFig. 5. This figure illustrates a Double Inguinal Hernia, of large size, which was permanently cured by our improved method of treatment. The left side (b) shows thedirectdescent of the bowel into (c) the scrotum, while on the right side (a) the rupture is indirect, the bowel descending through the internal ring and inguinal canal.
The Radical Cure. A small percentage of cures will follow the proper use of a good truss, and the advertisements of the so-called rupture cures are founded upon such cases. These impostors pretend that the use of some vaunted salve, ointment, or styptic lotion, applied on the outside, will heal and cure the deep-seated separation of the muscular fibres. The truss in these cases is the curative means in the small number that are relieved, and for it but few dollars should be charged instead of the exorbitant prices demanded by these impostors.
Improvements in surgery in this age of wonders, have kept apace with the advances in electricity and other branches of science. Diseases and deformities which only a few years ago were considered incurable are now overcome and cured with certainty and without risk or suffering. Especially is this true with reference to hernia or rupture.
Our specialists have devoted much attention to the radical cure of rupture, or breach, with the most gratifying results. Formerly we employed and advocated the use of the injection treatment only. This method was tested and brought to a most efficient and practical stage, so that we now apply it in the treatment of over eighty per cent. of the cases that are presented at our Institution. This plan of cure, as used by us,is a great advance over that of any similar one in use, throughout the country. Our fluid is much more safe in its effects, never gives rise to the troublesome abscesses and inflammation that is common to the use of the injection fluids that have been advised on the Heatonian method. The fluid we use is a bland and healing agent, which produces an exudation behind the cords that surround the inguinal rings, and forms a well defined truss pad of moderate size in such position that the rupture cannot pass by it and appear externally. It causes also an adhesive inflammation limited to the hernial sac, that completely closes it.
This treatment is renderedentirely painlessby the use of a solution which is injected underneath the skin with a fine hollow needle attached to a small syringe, and which tends to produce complete local anæsthesia, or loss of feeling so that the procedure is thoroughly and carefully carried out without any risk or discomfort.
The needle used by us for the treatment of the hernia is so perfected that any possible injection of the fluid into the abdominal cavity, or upon the coating of the intestine, is an impossibility, and in no way can an injection be made into a blood vessel or nerve so as to produce any discomfort or trouble. We thus avoid all the risks that pertain to the usual plan of injection.
There is a small percentage of cases, as before stated, in which this form of treatment is not likely to give a permanent cure, from the fact that the omentum or intestine has become adherent externally, to the sac, or in the scrotum, to the coverings of the testicle. This makes the complete replacement of the rupture without cutting an impossibility, and in such cases even where the hernial opening is closed, treatment by injection only would not result in a permanent cure.
Our aim is to treat all cases of rupture that we undertake in such a manner thatby no possibility can the deformity return. We therefore have for the cure of these cases another method, by which with our local anæsthetic fluid, we are able to perform a surgical operation without any distress whatever to the patient. The greatest risk of the old operation for rupture was the danger of general anæsthesia with chloroform or ether, orsome similar agent. The great majority of individuals cannot bear the inhalation of the large quantities of these anæsthetics necessary to secure loss of feeling without consequent nausea, and at times an effect upon the heart that often results seriously. The risk from the anæsthetic is much greater than from the surgical procedure. By our method, this risk is entirely done away with. The pain dispelling fluid enables our operator to pursue his methodwithout giving the patient any pain or discomfort whatever. During the operation he is in full possession of all his faculties, and can assist in any way desired by coughing, or straining, in order, at any time, to complete the protrusion of the rupture and show its entire extent of surface when the sac is laid bare. We then replace the rupture completely; suture the sac so that the rupture will have no pocket into which to descend, and then firmly unite the rings by a plan that we have invented, andby which they are made more strong and firm than in their original state.
Early in our experience, and while using the plan of treatment that is usually employed for the radical cure of rupture, we had occasional relapses of the difficulty, but since using our improved method we have had no such trouble. We can assure our patients that there is less risk of the appearance of the rupture at the point where the operation is performed than there is of a new breach forming. The success of this treatment has been invariable. None of the plans of treatment that we pursue for the cure of rupture tend to keep the patient in bed more than a few hours. There is little or no pain, after either of our plans of treatment, and out of the many hundreds which we have treated and perfectly cured, in no instance have we had any inflammation or serious manifestation—there being no fever or general reaction. It is a matter of great surprise to our patients, who undergo our treatment for the radical cure of rupture, that by our varied methods, the object is accomplished with so little discomfort and with no pain whatever.
From two to three weeks' personal attention of our specialist, is usually all that is required even in the worst cases.
No truss is needed after our treatment. We consider a case cured only when the patient is able to do without a truss or support in all the usual walks and vocations of life.
The testimonials that we append are but a small number out of the great mass that we have received. A very large percentage of individuals who have been treated by us for rupture desire that their disability be held a matter of sacred confidence and with all such we take pleasure in guarding their confidence with the greatest care. Others are quite willing that their experience may be made public in this manner for the benefit of similar sufferers.
If the following letters had been written by your best known and most esteemed neighbors they could be no more worthy of your confidence than they now are, coming, as they do, from well known, intelligent and trustworthy citizens, who, in their several neighborhoods, enjoy the fullest confidence and respect of all who know them.
Testifies to His Cure of Rupture. The Constant jar of a Locomotive is one of the Severest Tests that can be Applied to a Recently Cured Case.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: F.W. Frost, Esq.F.W. Frost, Esq.
Gentlemen—After suffering a number of years from a painful Rupture, I went to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, at Buffalo. While there, I submitted to an operation which was not painful. It was done without chloroform, ether or any dangerous anæsthetic. Under the skillful treatment of your specialists and the very close and kind attention of your nurses, in less than a month, I left the Institution feeling like a new man. I have every reason to believe that the Hernia will never return, and that I am permanently cured. It it a great relief to go without a truss.
Very respectfully,F.W. FROST,Rotterdam June, Schenectady Co., N.Y.
Very respectfully,F.W. FROST,Rotterdam June, Schenectady Co., N.Y.
Advice to Sufferers from Rupture. The Constant jar of a Locomotive is one of the Severest Tests that can be Applied to a Recently Cured Case. Throw away Trusses.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: F.S. Auchenpaugh, Esq.F.S. Auchenpaugh, Esq.
Gentlemen—I am an engineer—running an engine on the Western Division of the Fitchburg Railroad. I had a severe case of double Hernia; still, have always worked along with them until this winter. One side was of twenty-five years' standing—the other of about eight years. This winter I was laid up sick with pneumonia; in coughing so much, which of course was made necessary by that terrible disease, I strained myself so that after getting up from my sick-bed, I was not able to go to work, as I could get no truss that would hold the rupture. I was talking with Brother Stagg one day. He asked me "why I did not go to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, at Buffalo, N.Y., and get cured?" I went, and in three weeks was cured, so that I could dispose of my truss entirely.
I wish to say this comes from me direct; it was my own proposition that this letter be made public.
Yours respectfully,F.S. AUCHENPAUGH,Rotterdam, N.Y.
Yours respectfully,F.S. AUCHENPAUGH,Rotterdam, N.Y.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: A. Sauvain, Esq.A. Sauvain, Esq.
Gentlemen—I am glad to say that I was cured at the World's Dispensary Medical Association after suffering from boyhood until the age of twenty-five from a hernia, or rupture, by a treatment of twenty days. It is now five years since I was cured, and can say that I was permanently cured. You have my most sincere gratitude for your skillful operation and the good care received in your Institution while there. I can recommend your nurses and physicians most highly, and I think your Institution unequaled in this country.
Yours truly,ALBERT SAUVAIN,Silverton, Marion Co., Oreg.
Yours truly,ALBERT SAUVAIN,Silverton, Marion Co., Oreg.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: A.J. Kidder, Esq.A.J. Kidder, Esq.
Gentlemen—I take greatest pleasure in making public the most wonderful cure I received at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute of Buffalo.
I had suffered severely for eight years with a left inguinal hernia; had tried many physicians and medicines, but found only temporary relief. I was greatly run-down, and my nervous system considerably shattered. My friends persuaded me to go to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute. While there I was operated on by their specialist, and in a few weeks began to gain strength and energy so that I could return home, and have since felt entirely well.
Words could not do justice to my feeling in regard to this institution. There is no place like it for medical aid, and I would urge all invalids to go there, feeling confident that they could no where receive more skillful treatment or more kind attention and care.
Respectfully,A.J. KIDDER,North Yam Hill, Yam Hill Co., Oreg.
Respectfully,A.J. KIDDER,North Yam Hill, Yam Hill Co., Oreg.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: J.H. Riemer, Esq.J.H. Riemer, Esq.
Dear Sirs—Your favor received and found that you would like to have me give you a testimony of my case I will say in reply that I was treated at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, for Hernia on the left side. It was not large but it gave me severe pain while working. I wore a truss but it did not relieve the pain very much. I read in the paper one night your advertisement and a week after I started for the Invalids' Hotel, and took the treatment for rupture and went home sound and happy, like a new man, and I can work harder than ever and can assure anyone interested that it is no humbug.
With the best wishes,JOHN H. RIEMER,Zion, Wis.
With the best wishes,JOHN H. RIEMER,Zion, Wis.
P.S.—If any one would like to inquire about my case give them my full address and I will inform them about it, if they enclose return stamped and addressed envelope for reply. J.H.R.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: B.F. Hook, Esq.B.F. Hook, Esq.
Gentlemen—Am greatly pleased to report that the operation for the radical cure for rupture received at your Institution in May, 1889, has proved entirely successful. I am sound as a dollar. My case was an extremely troublesome and dangerous one. Many times I required the assistance of a surgeon to reduce it. No truss would hold it a whole day. My two weeks' stay with you was worth thousands of dollars to me. Will gladly answer any inquiry and would advise any one suffering from hernia to take the radical cure.
Very truly yours,B.F. HOOK,Holmesville, Holmes Co., Ohio.
Very truly yours,B.F. HOOK,Holmesville, Holmes Co., Ohio.
Illustration: A.N. Kingsley, Esq.A.N. Kingsley, Esq.
The following is from the widely-known and popular proprietor of the Kingsley House at Ashuelot, N.H.: "It may seem useless to add testimony to the overwhelming mass already given of the many remarkable cures performed at your Institution, but I deem it a pleasure and a duty to add mine to your long list asvery remarkable. I had a rupture of twenty-seven years' standing, with hemorrhage of the kidney for six months, preceding my visit to your Institute, and was also troubled badly with indigestion, all of which ailments had reduced me in strength and flesh to a mere skeleton. Had been treated by many local physicians, who failed to do me any good. I could walk but a very short distance when I left my home on the 8th of July, 1892, for treatment at your Institution, with but little faith or hope of ever being any better. But through your skillful treatment I was able to return to my home on the 9th of August, 1892, and consider myself permanently cured, having had to take no medicine since. Considering my casealmost a miracle, I cannot speak too highly of your Institute and skillful treatment, to which I feel that I am indebted for my continued existence. You are at liberty to refer to me, and to use this as you see fit.
Very respectfully,A.N. KINGSLEY,Ashuelot, Cheshire Co., N.H.
Very respectfully,A.N. KINGSLEY,Ashuelot, Cheshire Co., N.H.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: H. Keifer, Esq.H. Keifer, Esq.
Gentlemen—About four years ago, when working on a scaffold it gave way, and I fell a few feet and the strain and jar caused a rupture in the right side. I did not pay very much attention to this until I noticed that it was enlarging. It finally grew so that I could not work. I used several kinds of trusses that did me no good.
I went to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, and submitted to an operation which was entirely painless and proved most satisfactory in every respect. Since then I have been well and able to do hard work for a man of my age (72). I feel no inconvenience from the rupture.
I take pleasure in recommending the Institute to all who are in need of help. I can highly recommend the physicians and nurses and the kind attention I received while there. I am now well and sound as ever.
Yours truly,HENRY KEIFER,Spring Green, Sauk Co., Wis.
Yours truly,HENRY KEIFER,Spring Green, Sauk Co., Wis.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: J.J. App, Esq.J.J. App, Esq.
Gentlemen—I have been successfully treated at your institution for piles and also rupture of the left side.
Your institution is all it claims to be, and the treatment of my case was accomplished without pain and apparently any risk. Your method of using locally cocaine as an anæsthetic is such a decided improvement. I did not have to take any dangerous ether or chloroform, but had a small quantity of medicine injected that made the operation as painless as though it was being done on some one else. At the same time I knew everything and could see what was being done.
You have my kindest thanks for the good care and many attentions given me. Your nurses and physicians all give kind and skillful care.
Yours very truly,J.J. APP,Bolivar, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio.
Yours very truly,J.J. APP,Bolivar, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio.
Large Protrusion of Sixteen Years' Standing.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: M.G. Hartzell, Esq.M.G. Hartzell, Esq.
To the afflicted: For sixteen years I was troubled with Hernia, caused by heavy lifting. It was on the right side and the protrusion sufficient to extend into the scrotum. I purchased trusses, but none of them could be worn with comfort, and I suffered very much. I concluded to go to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute and see if I could not obtain relief. While there I submitted to an operation. The result was entirely satisfactory. The pain in my back subsided; my general health began to tone up, and in a short time, thanks to the skill of their specialist and the kind attention of their nurses, I felt like a new man. I take pleasure in highly recommending the Institution to all the afflicted. I feel confident that all the benefit to be derived from medical or surgical treatment is to be received at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute.
Yours respectfully,M.G. HARTZELL,Deadwood, So. Dakota.
Yours respectfully,M.G. HARTZELL,Deadwood, So. Dakota.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Gentlemen—It is with much pleasure that I write you this testimonial of the wonderful cures you have performed for me.
Illustration: D. Hartley, Esq.D. Hartley, Esq.
In the year 1883, I became ruptured on theleftside. I immediately wrote you (having heard of your fame in curing all kinds of diseases) for your terms of treatment which I received by return mail, you also stating you were positive you could cure me. Through unavoidable circumstances I was unable to come to your Institution until December, 1886. During this time I had tried wearing a truss, which only made it worse, and very much aggravated my complaint as it was impossible to hold the rupture in its place. However I arrived at the Invalids' Hotel on December 8th, 1886. On being examined by one of your staff, I was pronounced a bad case, but by your mode of treatment you could cure it. I was therefore, operated upon by one of your specialists, without any cutting however and comparatively little pain, by your scientific method, and in thirty days returned home cured. The time I had to remain there, I believe, was much longer than most persons treated for the same complaint.
Since then I have worked very hard sometimes (my occupation being that of a farmer,) so much so that I became ruptured on therightside three years ago,—the other side remaining perfectly sound without any protection. I considered myself very unfortunate in being in this position again, fortunate in knowing where to go for relief, and very soon was back in your Institution where I was successfully treated and perfectly cured and am to-day a sound man and able to do any kind of work on my farm.
I write this testimonial for the sake of suffering humanity, and wish you to use it in any way that the greatest number of persons may read it. As for myself, I would not be in the condition I once was and not know of your Institution for all I could see. I not only recommend your Institution for the complaint of which I was cured but for all chronic diseases or anything requiring a skillful surgical operation, believing your Staff of Physicians and Surgeons to be second to none anywhere. Your nurses and attendants, and every accommodation, also, being all that is necessary to make your Institution everything that its name implies—a complete Invalids Hotel and Surgical Institute.
Respectfully yours,DAVID HARTLEY,P.O. Box 84, Wyoming, Out.
Respectfully yours,DAVID HARTLEY,P.O. Box 84, Wyoming, Out.
P.S.—I have also received much benefit from taking your "Golden Medical Discovery" for dyspepsia and liver complaint, and being broken down generally. A few bottles worked wonders, and I have been well ever since, and that was quite a number of years ago.
D.H.
D.H.
A Grateful Patient's Words of Praise.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 663 Main Street, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: W. Henkel, Esq.W. Henkel, Esq.
Gentlemen—Having been in your Institution as a sufferer from two distinct chronic diseases of years' standing, and having been placed under the charge of your specialists, I was speedily relieved of my afflictions. The Invalids' Hotel is a place as much like home as it is possible for such an institution to be. The physicians and surgeons are all expert specialists and thoroughly efficient; the nurses are very competent, attentive and kind; and, in fact, the wholepersonnelof the Invalids' Hotel endeavor to do their best to make the patients feel like being at home. I always felt while there as if I was one of the family. I gladly recommend your Institution to all persons who are afflicted with any kind of chronic disease, for from my own experience Iknowthe professional staff will do all which they promise to do. Please accept my thanks for the speedy benefits and perfect cure of my diseases, and I think your Institution is worthy of the highest endorsement.
Yours truly,WILLIAM HENKEL,No. 1917 Congress Street,St. Louis, Mo.
Yours truly,WILLIAM HENKEL,No. 1917 Congress Street,St. Louis, Mo.
In a Child Two Years Old, Cured.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 663 Main St., Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: Rev. R. Krause, Esq.Rev. R. Krause, Esq.
Dear Sirs—Our boy is, since the operation, quite well and healthier than ever before, so that I presume, the rupture, or a part of it, may have existed since his birth. Even that small lump in the groin has, as much as I can feel by touching, completely disappeared. I take this opportunity of expressing my heart-felt thanks for the kind and christian-like treatment my wife and boy experienced from you and the nurses. God bless you and let you live long for the welfare of suffering men. Dr. Pierce's Invalids' Hotel of Buffalo, N.Y., deserves to be recommended to every sufferer of whatever disease. Eight years ago I underwent a successful operation, saving my body a member. The dangerous outgrowth, which made the operation a necessity, never returned. In regard to your specialist, I wish to remark, that his skillful way of performing operations reminded me very much of Bernard von Langenbeck, professor of surgery in the University of Berlin, where I was a student. He is just as tender and sympathetic with his patients as that famous director of the Prussian Royal Clinical Hospital has been. As to the medicines of Dr. Pierce, I recommended them to members of my congregation, who told me that they did them good. Dr. Bastian, of Dansville, N.Y., a druggist, told me that your medicines are bought by the same persons again and again. I consider this to be the best recommendation. A medicine which is of no effect will not be bought a second time by the same person.
Yours, REV. RICHARD KRAUSE, Portway, N.Y.
Yours, REV. RICHARD KRAUSE, Portway, N.Y.
Illustration: Mrs. Krause.Mrs. Krause.
Illustration: Master H. Krause.Master H. Krause.
Mrs. Mary Krause, the mother of the little boy whose case is above reported, writes: "In respect to your medicines I can only say that they have done me and others much good, especially when I suffered with chronic catarrh and doctored with your physicians. I shall never forget the kind treatment I received from your physicians and nurses during the time I had to stay in your house, while our Herman had to go through that dangerous operation which was necessary to cure his strangulated rupture. I can recommend your Institute and medicines to all suffering people."
Illustration: B. Galland, Esq.B. Galland, Esq.
Of Fourteen Years Cured "Sound as a Dollar."
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Dear Sirs—In reply to yours of the 29th ult., in which you kindly make inquiry in regard to my physical condition, I would say, that I am now, I think, as sound as a dollar, and consider that after I had bad fourteen years of suffering with Hernia, and being cured as I was last winter at your Institute, makes me under great obligations to the science and skill of the World's Dispensary Medical Association.
Very respectfully yours,ROBERT GALLAND,Orangeville Mills, Barry Co., Mich.
Very respectfully yours,ROBERT GALLAND,Orangeville Mills, Barry Co., Mich.
Present from Boyhood—Protrusion of Enormous Size.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: D. Nitschke, Esq.D. Nitschke, Esq.
Gentlemen—I take pleasure in reporting that I have not worn the truss for a long period, and that I have been at work steadily at my business of binding and printing, running a large establishment, for over four years, without any trouble whatever from the rupture. It has remained permanently and perfectly cured. You will remember my case as a most severe one. I am a man of sixty years of age, and the disease had been the source of serious discomfort to me since childhood. The protrusion was the size of a man's head, and could not be replaced. I was forced to give up all exercise, and suffered much at my daily work from inconvenience and pain. Any injury upon the protrusion, which could not always be protected, was followed with much discomfort, and my general health was seriously affected. The passage of the food through the confined intestines was a painful process often times, and kept me in great misery. I am thankful to state that since your operation the rupture has remained sound and well, and I have been relieved of all difficulty of the kind. I now enjoy excellent health, and am at my business daily from twelve to sixteen hours, and on my feet constantly, yet without any manifestations whatever of the re-appearance of the rupture. You have my most sincere gratitude for the skillful operation and the good care received in your Institution while there. I can recommend your nurses and physicians most highly, and think your Institution is unequaled in this country.
With many good wishes, I am,Very truly yours, DANIEL NITSCHKE,2067 Franklin Ave., Toledo, Ohio.
With many good wishes, I am,Very truly yours, DANIEL NITSCHKE,2067 Franklin Ave., Toledo, Ohio.
Illustration: A. Holes, Esq.A. Holes, Esq.
Without solicitude or hope of pecuniary reward, with heart-felt gratitude and a desire to aid my fellow-man to health and happiness, allow me to state, that as an inmate for more than a month of the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute at No. 663 Main Street, Buffalo, N.Y., I feel warranted in its highest recommendation. While there I saw and talked with a great number of people who came there as a last resort, to be cured of almost every chronic disease to which flesh is heir, and they were unanimous in their praise of the Institution and the skilled specialists who constitute its professional staff.
ANDREW HOLES,Moorhead, Minn.
ANDREW HOLES,Moorhead, Minn.
Illustration: L. Crist, Esq.L. Crist, Esq.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Gentlemen—Allow me to express my thanks to you for the attention and benefits received at the hands of your skillful staff of surgeons and nurses. I had been a sufferer from Hernia for eleven years and tried everything, but was no better. I finally went to the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, and am now entirely cured and enjoy splendid health. I heartily recommend yours to be the most skillful treatment of the age.
With best wishes,LEWIS CRIST,No. 67 Frankston Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
With best wishes,LEWIS CRIST,No. 67 Frankston Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Aggravated by Occupation as a Locomotive Engineer—Could not be Held in Place—After Treatment Subjected to the Trying Test of the Constant jar of the Locomotive yet Proves Reliable.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, NO. 663 Main Street, Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: J.M. Keach, Esq.J.M. Keach, Esq.
Gentlemen—It has long been my desire to make a statement of my cure for the benefit of all those persons who have suffered in like manner. I had a rupture that was very large and difficult to hold in place. Trusses of all kinds were tried. They were painful and would not hold it. The rupture would come down constantly when at my engine and give me fearful pain. I was cured at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, Buffalo, N.Y., by a treatment that is safe and certain. My cure has been permanent, although I have worked steadily.
Yours sincerely, JAMES M. KEACH.No. 68 Bissell Ave., Buffalo, N.Y.
Yours sincerely, JAMES M. KEACH.No. 68 Bissell Ave., Buffalo, N.Y.
Illustration: Miss M.V. Thomas.Miss M.V. Thomas.
This patient, aged thirty-four years, was always delicate; suffered from malarial fever each year for ten years past. The hernia was caused by lifting her father, who was on his sick-bed, during five different times, causing terrible suffering. The hernia was treated by our Specialist, and in eighteen days the lady was able to return home.
She reports:
Gentlemen—I am grateful to you for a permanent cure of the hernia, and happy to inform you that I have felt no signs of rupture since I was at your Institution.
Respectfully yours,Miss MATTIE V. THOMAS,Albion, Noble Co., Ind.
Respectfully yours,Miss MATTIE V. THOMAS,Albion, Noble Co., Ind.
WORLD'S DISPENSARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 663 Main St., Buffalo, N.Y.:
Illustration: H. Wood, Esq.H. Wood, Esq.
Gentlemen—In the hope that some sufferer from hernia may be induced to take your treatment for that disease, I send you this certificate, containing a synopsis of my case and cure of the same. My life was a living death for years. I had almost lost all hope of ever being cured, and was plunged in despair, as I had tried so many trusses, appliances and remedies, each one in successive repetition, a failure. In January and February of the year '89, I entered your Institution for treatment, my malady being an inguinal hernia on the right side, of twenty years' standing—from childhood. I was then impressed with the feeling that it was my last chance, and that it would be my last effort, and to be candid I had very little hope that a cure would be effected. To me my condition seemed appalling, as I dare not eat, drink, laugh, exercise or perform any of the functions of life without having to reduce my rupture, frequently as often as forty or fifty timesper diem, while on occasions the reduction would occupy hours of untold agony. No truss or appliance that I could get would retain the rupture, and I had tried all sorts as fast as they came to my knowledge. Marvelous as it may appear to all sufferers from this distressing affliction, I was discharged from your Institute in thirty days, a well and sound man, and only from memory and the record do I know that I was ever ruptured. I have at times since performed some of the hardest kinds of work for long periods, but no sign of weakness has ever appeared. I do not consider the necessary operation performed as attended withany danger; it is no comparison to the chances a person takes who in the daily walks of life is tortured with a rupture.
While an inmate of your Institution, I was accorded the kindest and most considerate treatment from all members of your staff and employees with whom I came in contact. I consider the appointments and cuisine of the establishment as perfection. You are at liberty to make the fullest and freest use of this testimonial you may see fit in your judgment, and I will cheerfully answer any communication from any sufferer referred to me for more explicit testimony.
I am, Sincerely yours, HENRY WOOD.Mason Valley, Nev.
I am, Sincerely yours, HENRY WOOD.Mason Valley, Nev.
Illustration: Fig. 1. False Membrane in Croup. From a specimen in Dr. Gross' cabinet.Fig. 1. False Membrane in Croup. From a specimen in Dr. Gross' cabinet.
Every family should be made acquainted with the symptoms and treatment of this disease. Especially is this true in the case of those living remote from a physician. From the lack of this knowledge on the part of parents, many a little one has perished before medical assistance could be obtained. In some of its forms its progress is very rapid, and, unless relief is obtained in a few moments, or hours at the most, death ensues.
There are several quite distinct pathological conditions of the vocal and respiratory organs which have, in popular parlance, been designated as croup. But two of these are worthy of consideration here. These aretrueormembranouscroup, in which a false, semi-organized membrane is formed, andspasmodic croup. Both may result fatally, but the former is much the more dangerous.
Membranous Croupis supposed to originate in the trachea, from which, as it progresses, it often extends upward to the larynx, and downward to the bronchial tubes. It is the result of severe inflammation of the mucous membrane, and is characterized by the formation of a false membrane, which covers or lines the inner surface of the true structure (see Fig. 1). It is formed of a coagulable, semi-fluid exudation from the mucous membrane. On being brought to the surface and into contact with the inspired air, this substance grows thick and tough, or leathery, as we find it. It is the obstruction in the respiratory canal which this foreign matter causes that gives rise to the labored breathing, and the ringing, brassy cough, together with the crowing or whistling inspiration characteristic of croup. Before recovery can take place this membrane must be detached and expelled. The cough is nature's effort to accomplish this work.
The formation of this adventitious membrane in the larynx is attended with more danger than when it is confined to the trachea. In most cases in which the disease has had a very speedily fatal termination, an examination has shown that the larynx was its chief seat.
Symptoms. True croup is generally preceded by what is known as "a cold." The child coughs, sneezes, and is hoarse. It is the hoarseness and the peculiarcharacterof the cough which indicate the tendency to croup. This has been already described. In addition, thechild is restless, fretful and feverish. The disease makes rapid strides. Finally the cough ceases to be loud and barking, and is very much suppressed; the voice is almost gone; the face is very pale; the head thrown back; the nostrils dilated and in perpetual motion, the pulse at the wrist very feeble, great exhaustion, more or less delirium, and, finally, death comes to the relief of the little sufferer. Convulsions sometimes occur in the last stages, and soon terminate fatally.
Treatment. No time should be lost in commencing treatment. Hot fomentations should be applied to the throat and upper portions of the chest. The free inhalation of steam should be employed early. The following treatment has been found very effectual in membranous croup, and is recommended by the highest authorities: Yellow subsulphate of mercury, or turpeth mineral, three to five grains, depending upon the age of the child, for one dose. If it does not cause vomiting in fifteen minutes, give a second dose. This, however, is seldom necessary. If the turpeth mineral cannot be obtained, sulphate of copper or sulphate of zinc may be given instead, as directed under the head of Emetics, in Part III, Chapter II. If there be a quick pulse, hot skin, a hurried breathing, and an occasional ringing cough, the child should be kept in bed, comfortably covered, but not overloaded with clothes, and the tincture or fluid extract of veratrum viride administered as follows: Take fluid extract of veratrum, five drops; sweet spirits of nitre, one teaspoonful; pure water, twenty teaspoonfuls; mix, sweeten with white sugar, and give a teaspoonful of the mixture every half-hour to two hours, according to the age of the child and the severity of the case. If there be great prostration, with cold extremities, the carbonate of ammonia should be administered, in doses of from one to two grains, every second hour, in gum arabic mucilage. Quinine is a valuable remedy, and is tolerated in large doses. The patient's body should be frequently sponged with warm water in which a sufficient quantity of saleratus or ordinary baking-soda has been dissolved to render it quite strongly alkaline. If the bowels be constipated they should be moved by an injection of starch-water. Beef tea and other concentrated, supporting diet should be administrated. In those cases in which there is a tendency to croup, the Golden Medical Discovery, together with iron and the bitter tonics, should be given to build up the system and counteract such tendency. The treatment which we have advised has been put to the severest tests in the most severe forms of the disease, and has resulted most successfully. If, however, in any case it does not give prompt relief, our advice is to lose no time in summoning a physician who is known to be skilled in the treatment of diseases of children.
Spasmodic Croup. In this affection no false membrane is formed. It seems to have a nervous origin. Most frequently the child is awakened in the night by a sense of suffocation. He may cry out that he is choking. The countenance is livid, the breathing is hurriedand each respiration is attended by a crowing sound. The child has fits of coughing or crying, and makes vehement struggles to recover his breath. This complaint, unlike croup, is unattended by fever, it being of a purely spasmodic character with no inflammation.
Apply hot fomentations to the throat, and give frequent small doses of tincture or fluid extract or syrup of lobelia, to produce slight nausea; or, better still, an acetic syrup of blood-root, made by adding one teaspoonful of the crushed or powdered root to one gill of vinegar and four teaspoonfuls of white sugar. Heat this mixture to the boiling point, strain, and administer from one-fourth to one teaspoonful every half-hour or hour. Slight nausea should be kept up, but it is unnecessary to produce vomiting. This is usually all the treatment that is required.
This is primarily a disease of the nervous system, involving the respiratory organs through the medium of the pneumogastric nerve. It is considered a disease of childhood, though we have met with it inold age. It is eminently a contagious affection, and occurs generally but once during life.
Symptoms. It is at first manifested by a catarrhal cough, gradually developed. After a while it becomes paroxysmal, generally worse at night. The cough is severe, and long-continued; when a prolonged inspiration occurs, it is accompanied by a peculiar shrill sound, the characteristicwhoop, which, when once heard, is never forgotten. The cough is attended by a copious secretion of glairy mucus, which is brought up at the latter part of the paroxysm. During, or at the end of the paroxysm, vomiting frequently occurs, and sometimes nosebleed. The cough is so severe at times, that the patient turns purple, gasps for breath, and presents all the symptoms of suffocation. Bronchitis sometimes is a troublesome complication. Immediately preceding a paroxysm of coughing a sense of impending danger appears to seize the child, and it runs to its mother, or grasps some support, as if for protection. Until the paroxysmal character and peculiarwhoopis developed, the disease is diagnosed with difficulty.
Treatment. We have found the Golden Medical Discovery to modify the disease and cut it short. The philosophy of its action can be readily understood by its effect on the pneumogastric nerve, as explained under consumption and bronchitis. Jaborandi, described under the head of diaphoretics, often speedily arrests this disease. The employment of an infusion of red clover blossoms, in small doses, is of undoubted value in modifying the irritation of the air-passages, and may be used to good advantage with, or in alternation with the Golden Medical Discovery. Exposure to cold and wet should be avoided.
Hemorrhage from the nose is commonly the result either of a catarrhal or an inflammatory condition of the nasal mucous membrane. Individuals are susceptible to it who are oppressed by fever or constitutional diseases that reduce the strength. There is also a condition of the nervous system in which there is congestion of the nerve centres which favors manifestations of this somewhat troublesome difficulty.
Causes. In some instances an examination of the nose will reveal the presence of a small point of congested vessels, usually about the size of a split pea. Upon this portion of the mucous membrane small scabs form, and at any time when they may be dislodged, by accident or otherwise, a hemorrhage will ensue.
The constitutional conditions that produce the tendency to hemorrhage are most important. In individuals of a debilitated condition, it results from the lack of a proper amount of fibrin in the blood. Where the blood becomes thin, or loses a large share of its red corpuscles, the individual is pale, and hemorrhages are frequent from the mucous surfaces of any portion of the body, the nasal mucous surface being especially liable to such attacks.
Treatment. This is local and constitutional. Where there is constitutional imperfection, it should be remedied. Usually in young women there is some difficulty with the ovarian or uterine circulation, and the attack of hemorrhage from the nose is reflex in its character, appearing just before or at the time of the menstrual flow, accompanied with troublesome headache. The correction of this form is by the use of the "Favorite Prescription" and "Golden Medical Discovery," using of each a teaspoonful three times a day, taking the "Prescription" before meals and the "Discovery" after meals. If the bowels are constipated, the "Pellets" should be employed, in order to overcome any congestion of the liver which favors the manifestation of nosebleed. In children there is usually a debilitated state of the system, which is best remedied by the use of a half teaspoonful dose of the "Discovery," taken three times a day, after meals, with sweetened water. This treatment should be continued for a month or six weeks. By this means the blood-making organs rapidly improve in their activity and functions, the blood becomes rich in corpuscles and fibrin, thus strengthening the walls of the blood-vessels and tending to prevent a hemorrhage following undue excitement or injury. With men the use of laxatives is of great importance. One or more of the "Pellets," taken on retiring at night, are most beneficial. Where the blood is not up to the standard of purity, even though the individual be fleshy, the "Discovery" should be used, a teaspoonful or two, three times a day, after meals, in conjunction with plenty of outdoor exercise and the best of food. Where the hemorrhages occur in those having too much blood, the diet must be corrected by the use of vegetables and fruit,diminishing the amount of meat and pastries to a minimum. The amount of fibrin should also be increased by the use of the "Golden Medical Discovery."
Local Treatment. Of those applied directly to the membrane, Dr. Sage's Catarrh Remedy, used according to the directions which wrap the bottle, is excellent in bringing about a normal condition of the mucous surfaces. Following this, a small amount of Subnitrate of Bismuth may be snuffed into each nostril. Usually the amount required to cover a three-cent silver piece is sufficient. The powder dries the surface and favors the speedy formation of a coagulum, or clotted covering, which effectually checks any further hemorrhage. The application of a firm compress to the upper lip will also diminish the flow of blood through the arteries that run to the anterior portion of the mucous surface. Good effects often follow the use of a small piece of ice applied to the nape of the neck. This, with a reclining posture, will cause contraction of the blood-vessels. If the Subnitrate of Bismuth is not to be readily obtained, the use of any other powder such as starch, finely divided and baked so as to be free from a tendency to form starch paste when applied to a mucous surface, is equally good. Well-browned flour is also serviceable. The use of the contents of a puff-ball, which contains many millions of fine spores, has been employed from time immemorial. The use of such drying powders tends to favor the speedy formation of clots. Where the small points of engorged vessels are to be readily reached, use a solution of the Tincture of Chloride of Iron, one part in four of water, applying with a small pledget of soft cotton wrapped about, or fastened to, the end of a pencil or stick. In this way the solution may be applied in very small amount to the spot where the hemorrhage appears, and will give immunity from future attacks. Any of the styptics (see pages320-325) can be called into service. Those who have the advantage of the city drug store may use a solution of basic ferric sulphate (Monsell's solution), or the spray of a three or four per cent. solution of cocaine. The latter is one of the most pleasant and effective remedies in these emergencies. Before its administration the nasal cavity should be cleansed by snuffing up the nostrils salt and warm water. When washed, immediately apply the spray. If the constitutional condition which led to the hemorrhage continues, the general remedies—of which the "Golden Medical Discovery" is the most efficacious—should be administered. This agent increases the number of red blood corpuscles, and enriches the blood in fibrin, so that the relief obtained is absolutely permanent.
Gastritis is generally defined as an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach. However, the cellular, muscular, and serous tissues are all liable to be more or less affected. Gastritis may beeitheracuteorchronic. Either form is a distinct modification of disease, manifesting peculiar symptoms and requiring special remedies.
Acute Gastritisgenerally occurs as a result or complication of other diseases. It is an occasional feature In scarlatina, serious cases of bilious fever, and in cutaneous affections of every description. The mucous membrane of the stomach is placed in intimate communication with all the vital organs, by means of the nerves of the solar-plexus, hence the sympathy between the stomach and skin, and the morbid condition of the stomach occasioned by disease of other organs.
The Early Symptomsof acute gastritis are a burning sensation in the stomach, accompanied by nausea and frequent vomiting. The respiratory movements are rapid and shallow, the pulse is hard and short, and as the disease progresses, becomes small, frequent, and thready. The tongue usually retains its natural appearance, but it is sometimes dry and tinged with a vivid scarlet at the tip and edges. Intense thirst and hiccough are occasional symptoms. The facial expression is haggard, and indicative of the most intense suffering. The stomach will not retain the mildest liquids. In the early stages of the disease, the ejections consist of chyme and mucus, streaked with blood. As it progresses, the vomiting becomes a sort of regurgitation, the contents of the stomach being ejected without any apparent nausea or effort. The ejections then consist of a dark-colored granular matter, resembling what is known in yellow fever asblack-vomit.
Causes. Formerly it was supposed that this was a very common disorder, and the termacute gastritiswas applied to every development of symptomatic fever. But late clinical and pathological investigations clearly indicate that acute gastritis is of rare occurrence. It may be caused by the excessive and habitual use of alcoholic drinks, especially if taken without food, by copious draughts of cold water, or by intense emotions. But itsgeneralcause is the ingestion of irritating and corrosive poisons.
Where the former causes are known not to exist, the presence of poison should always be suspected. As the cause sometimes becomes a matter of legal investigation, it is very important that the practitioner should be able to determine therealorigin. If caused by poison, the disease is very suddenly developed, the patient complaining of a very intense burning sensation in the throat and the lining membrane of the mouth, which will generally show the action of the poison. A diarrhea is also more apt to accompany the disease. If inorganic or vegetable poisons are known or suspected irritants, the appropriate antidotes should be promptly administered. For a list of the principal poisons and their antidotes, with practical suggestions for treatment, the reader is referred to the article in this volume, on Accidents and Emergencies.
Treatment. The inflammation should be allayed, and a tea made of peach-tree leaves is very serviceable. Small pieces of ice, swallowed,will generally allay the thirst and vomiting, and a mucilage of slippery-elm is very soothing to the inflamed mucous membrane. This is an important disease, and its management should be entrusted to a skillful physician.
Chronic Gastritisis sometimes mistaken for dyspepsia or gastralgia. It is very necessary to discriminate between these diseases, as the appropriate remedies of the latter will often only aggravate and augment the former.
A chronic inflammation of the stomach is a very common affection and has many phases, but the term chronic gastritis is applied only to that species of inflammation occasioned and accompanied by irritation. It is seldom a result of theacuteform.
The Symptomsof chronic gastritis are various and sometimes vague. Among those which are prominent we may mention an irregular appetite. At times it is voracious and the patient will consume every available article of diet, while at others he will experience nausea and disgust at the sight of food. Even when very hungry, one mouthful of food will sometimes produce satiety and cause vomiting. The appearance of the tongue is variable, sometimes natural, at others thickly coated. The desire for drink is capricious, varying from intense thirst to indifference. Another prominent symptom is a sense of heaviness and heat in the epigastric region, after partaking of food. Often a small quantity, as a teaspoonful of milk, will produce a sensation of weight, as a heavy ball lying at the pit of the stomach. This symptom is frequently accompanied by a frontal headache, and a small and wiry pulse. Dull or shooting pains are experienced in the stomach and between the shoulders, and the patient becomes weary, melancholy, and emaciated.
Causes. The general cause of chronic gastritis is excess in eating or drinking, and the use of alcoholic liquors. We have known it to be produced by drinkinghardcider. Great mental excitement predisposes the system to this affection. Occasionally it is a result of febrile diseases, as scarlatina, typhoid fever, etc. In some families there is a constitutional tendency to its development.
Treatment. All medicines which tend to irritate the stomach, should be studiously avoided. The bowels should be kept regular, and the skin clean by frequent bathing. Stimulants of all kinds must be avoided. As a principle article of diet, we would recommend milk and farinaceous articles. If these precautions be observed, nature will sometimes effect a cure. Lime water and the subnitrate of bismuth, in twenty-grain doses three or four times a day, are useful to allay irritation. Other suggestions applicable to its domestic management,maybe found under the hygienic and medicinal treatment of dyspepsia, to which we refer the reader.