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ENGLISH NAMES. 1 Aconitum napellus......................................3 ...............Monk's Hood. 2 Antimonium tartaricum..............................3 ...............Tartar Emetic. 3 Arnica montana..........................................3x...............Leopard's Bane. 4 Arsenicum album.........................................3x...............Arsenic. 5 Belladonna.................................................3x...............Deadly Nightshade. 6 Baryta carbonica.........................................6 ...............Carbonate of Baryta. 7 Bryonia alba,.............................................3x...............AVhite Bryony. 8 Calcarea carbonica......................................6 ...............Carbonate of Lime. 9 Carbo vegetabilis.........................................6 ...............Vegetable Charcoal. 10 Chamomilla................................................3x...............AVild Chamomile. 11 China.........................................................lx...............Peruvian Bark. 12 Cimicifuga racemosa...................................3x...............Black Snake Root. 13 Cina.............................................................3x................Mug wort of Judea. 14 Coffea.........................................................3x.................Mocha Coffee-Berries. 15 Cclocynthis...................................................3x...............Bitter Cucumber. 1G Drosera......................................................lx................Sundew. 17 Dulcamara.......................................................3x...............Bitter-Sweet. 18 Ferrum muriaticum....................................3 ...............Perchloride of Iron. 19 Gelsemium seinpervireus.............................lx...............Yellow Jessamine. 20 Hamamelis.................................................1 ...............AVitch Hazel. 21 Hepar sulphuris..........................................3 ...............Liver of Sulphur. 22 Ignatiaamara.............................................Dx...............St. Ignatius's Bean. 23 Ipecacuanha...............................................lx...............Ipecacuanha. 24 Kali bichromicum.......................................i ..............Bichromate of Potash. 25 Lycopodium...............................................G ...............Common Club Moss. 26 Mercurius.................................................'i ..............Mercury. 27 Nux vomica................................................3x...............Yomit Nut. 28 Phosphorus................................................3x...............Phosphorus. 29 Podophyllum..............................................3 ...............Mandrake. 30 Pulsatilla...................................................3x...............AVind Flower. 31 Rhus toxicodendron....................................3 ...............Creeping Poison Oak. 32 Silicea........................................................6 ..............Pure Flint. 33 Spongia tosta..............................................3x...............Burnt Sponge. 34 Sulphur......................................................3 ...............Sulphur. 35 ATeratrum album.........................................3x...............White Hellebore. Also the strong Tincture of Camphor, to be kept separately. The Twelve Tissue Remedies: Calcarea fluorica. Kali muriaticum. Natrum sulphuricum. Calcarea phosphorica. Kali phosphoricum. Natrum phosphoricum. Calcarea sulphurica. Kali sulphuricum. Magnesia phosphorica. Ferrum phosphoricum. Natrum muriaticum. Silicea. External Remedies. — Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis, and Rhus tox- icodendron. For information respecting the properties and uses of the medicines iu the above list, and a few others occasionally prescribed, consult the Materia Medica. ALTERNATION OF MEDICINES. 53 Hours.—The most appropriate times for taking medi- cines, as a rule, are on rising in the morning, at bed- time, and, if oftener prescribed, about an hour before, or two or three hours after, a meal. The Dose.—In determining the quantity and strength of doses, several circumstances should be considered, such as age, sex, habits, nature of the disease, etc. As a general rule, Avithout reference to individual peculiar- ities, the following may be stated as the proper dose in domestic practice: For an Adult—One drop of Tinct- ure, six Globules, or one grain of Trituration, or about a poavder size of a pea. For a Child—About one-half the quantity. For an Infant—About one- third. A drop is easily divided into two doses by mixing it with two spoonfuls of water, and giving one spoonful for a dose. Repetition of Doses.—The repetition of doses must be guided by the acute or chronic character of the malady, the urgency and danger of the symptoms, and the effects produced by the medicines. In violent and acute dis- eases, such as cholera, croup, pleuritis, convulsions, etc., the remedies may be repeated every ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes. In less urgent cases of acute disease, the remedy may be repeated every two, three, or four hours. In chronic maladies, the medicine may be ad- ministered every six, twelve, or twenty-four hours. In all cases, Avhen improvement takes place, the medicine should be taken less frequently, and gradually relin- quished. Alternation of Medicines.—To avoid the confusion resulting from mixing different drugs in one prescrip- tion, and to ascertain the pure action of each, Homoeo- paths do not mix several together; but in acute dis- 54 NURSING, DIET, ETC eases, where the symptoms of the malady are not covered by a single remedy, and a second one is indi- cated, the two are sometimes given in alternation; that is, the one medicine is followed by the other at certain intervals of time, and in a regular order of succession. But the alternate use of medicines should, as much as possible, be avoided. CHAPTER IV. 4.—Nursing, Diet, Baths, and Other Accessory Treatment. On Nursing.—The following hints on the nursing of the sick generally, and persons in fever particularly, should receive special attention: 1. The Apartment.—If practicable,the patient should be placed in a spacious well-ventilated room, which allows an uninterrupted admission of fresh air and the free escape of tainted air. Fresh air can only be insured from an open windoAv or door, or both. In severe and prolonged fevers, there should be tAvo beds in the room—one for the day and the other for the night. This allows the beds to be made and aired, and the fever- poison immediately around the body changed. It is generally desirable to have a blazing fire kept burning night and day, both in summer and winter; this also assists ventilation; but the patient's head should be protected from its direct effects. In contagious diseases, and in blood-poisoning, thorough ventilation is imperatively required ; for only when the CLEANLINESS. 55 poison of the disease is sufficiently diluted with atmos- pheric air, does it lose its power and become inopera- tive. The room should also be divested of all super- fluous furniture—carpets, bed-hangings, etc. The light from the windows should be subdued, noise shut out, and unnecessary talking forbidden. 2. The Bed.—A spring-mattress, or a frame, made of fine chain-work, Avith a horse-hair mattress over it, is the best kind of bed ; it is sufficiently soft, and the heat may be regulated by the coverings. In a sanitary point of view, a feather-bed is most objectionable, for after being slept upon from year to year, even by a person in health, it becomes foul and impure. But if the body be diseased, especially if the disease be an infectious one, the feathers imbibe the poison, and may become the means of further dissemination. Feather-beds should be everywhere superseded by mattresses, or, at least, the feathers should be purified at regular intervals, and after every case of infectious disease. Feathers may be purified by exposing them to the highest degree of heat they will bear without scorching. Such instances as the following are far from uncommon: A severe and fatal case of smallpox, typhus, or scarlet fever occurs in a family; and there properly arises a strong preju- dice against the bed on which the patient died. The correct course would be to burn it; but too frequently it goes to the broker, who, after, perhaps, renovating its exterior a little, sells the pest-laden bed to carry con- tagion and, perhaps, death to its future owners. 3. Cleanliness.—The personal and bed-linen, includ- ing the blankets, should be frequently changed, and all matters discharged from the body immediately removed. The patient's body should be sponged over as com- 56 NURSING, DIET, ETC pletely as possible at suitable intervals Avith tepid or cold water, as may be most agreeable to his feelings, and quickly dried with a soft towel. Vinegar and water may now and then be substituted for simple Avater. Vinegar is often very grateful to fever patients. One part of dilute acetic acid to six parts of hot Avater makes an excellent lotion. It may be used thrice daily in fever, and is very refreshing, if used in the morning, for patients in consumption. Rapid sponging of the whole surface of the body should never be omitted in fever; it reduces the excessive heat, soothes the uneasy sensa- tions of the patient, and is indispensable in maintaining that cleanliness which is so desirable in the sick-room. Frequently washing with soap and Avater also tends to prevent the occurrence of bed-sores, by keeping the skin in a healthy condition. The mouth should be fre- quently wiped out with a soft wet towel, to remove the sordes which gathers there in severe forms of fever. 4. Beverages.—As a beverage,especially in mild cases of disease, and at the commencement of all fevers, pure Avater, toast-and-water, gum-water sweetened with a little sugar,* or barley-water, lemonade, soda-water and other effervescing drinks, or grape-juice, orange-juice or jelly is nearly all that is necessary. Tea and coffee, of ordinary strength, are often pleasant stimulants, and may be given in moderate quantities. If given in too large or frequent doses, they may prevent sleep. But to relieve thirst, cold water is best and most pleasant, * Gum-water is prepared by adding one ounce of gum-Arabic, and about half an ounce of loaf-sugar, to one pint of hot water. Gum is a mild nutritive substance, admirably adapted to inflammation of the mucous membranes, as in catarrh, bronchitis, inflammation of the bladder, etc. DIET. 57 and no patient ought to be refused this. In acute fever, cold water is like the " Balm of Gilead." Both inter- nally and externally, it is an agent of supreme impor- tance, and acts favorably by lowering the excessive tem- perature, and also as a tonic, giving vigor and tone to the relaxed capillaries in Avhich the morbid action prob- ably chiefly goes on. The use of water will prove a A'aluable adjunct to the medicinal treatment prescribed, and will accelerate those favorable changes Avhich are hoped for. 5. Diet.—In most cases of acute disease, no solid food is admissible: simple Avater, or milk-and-water, gum-, rice-, or barley-water, grape or orange:juice, or jelly, together with Liebig's extract of beef, being quite suf- ficient. This extensively used and extremely valuable article of the invalid's dietary is the extracted juice of meat, and, by the addition of hot water, instantly makes agreeable and nutritious beef-tea. There are many varieties. Under other conditions the diet is varied as folloAvs: * Milk Diet.—This includes all kinds of light puddings, made Avith milk. Arrowroot, gruel, tapioca, rice or sago, boiled in milk ; milk-and-bread, etc.; also tea or cocoa, and bread-and-butter. Meat Diet.—When this is ordered, meat should be taken twice daily; but for breakfast eggs may sometimes be substituted. In many hospitals, the daily allowance of meat is fib., including bone. In other respects ordinary diet may be taken. Extraordinary Diet.—In hospitals, this includes meat, fish, poultry, etc.; also Avine, brandy or porter, as speci- * See " Essentials of Diet," by Dr. Ruddock. 58 nursing, diet, etc ally ordered by the doctor. The quantity of spirits wine or beer to be taken by a patient should be regu- lated by the special order of a medical man, and none taken unless so ordered. Stimulants should also always be discontinued when the cause for Avhich they were prescribed ceases to exist. Different diseases and different constitutions, how- ever, require varied kinds of food. Thus, in case of diarrhoea, fruits and vegetables should be avoided, while a confined state of the bowels is sometimes bene- fited by the free use of these articles; also Avhen febrile symptoms are present, meat, eggs, butter and other stimulating food should be omitted, and the diet re- stricted more particularly to fruits and farinaceous arti- cles, or, as before stated, to water and mucilaginous drinks alone. For further remarks on diet, see the ar- ticle " Dyspepsia." 6. Regularity of Feeding.—Another point of great importance is, that nourishment should be administered with strict regularity; in very extreme cases of prostration, every half hour or hour, both day and night. Fre- quently the functions of digestion and assimilation are so greatly impaired that a large quantity of nourish- ment must be given to sustain the patient till the dis- ease has passed through its stages. " Little and often " is the golden rule for a patient's diet. 7. Food not to be kept in the Sick-room.—Do not keep the food, drink or delicacies, intended for the patient, in the sick-room, or within his sight. The air of the apartment is liable to deteriorate them, and the con- tinuous sight of them to occasion disgust. Rather take up for him, at the fitting time, and, by way of surprise, two or three teaspoonfuls of jelly, several segments of baths, etc 59 an orange, or as many fresh grapes as he may consume at once. Or, if it be appropriate to his condition, a small cup of beef-tea, coA'ered with one or two narrow slips of toasted bread, is very much preferable to in- viting him to swallow even a less quantity from a ba- sinful that has been kept for hours Avithin the reach of the patient's hand and eye. Serving daintily is often as important as the food it- self for many invalids. Have everything pertaining to food for the patient immaculately clean, and remove the tray at once after he has had sufficient. 8. Moderation in Convalescence.—Relapses are very liable to occur from indulging the appetite too freely during convalescence; and, therefore, toast and black tea, jellies, light bread-puddings, white fish, mutton- broth, extract of meat, a small quantity of tender chicken, broiled mutton, etc., may only be allowed in great moderation, but never to the capacity of the ap- petite till the tongue is clean and moist, and the pulse, skin and temperature have become natural. Even then, extreme moderation should be exercised, as the appetite is often excessively craving. 5.—Baths, etc. Warm or Hot Bath.—The patient should be im- mersed in warm water up to the neck, and directly af- terward a towel or sponge, squeezed out of cold water, applied to the head; the cold toAvel or sponge may be applied for about three minutes, but the patient kept in the bath for ten or fifteen minutes. The tempera- ture of the water for a hot bath should be about 98° F. to 102° F., or what can be agreeably borne by the bared 60 nursing, diet, etc elbow, and for a warm bath about 95° F. A thermom- eter is, however, the best guide to the heat; and as they are not expensive, one should be kept in every family. The temperature should he fully maintained, by additions of hot water carefully poured down the side of the bath, till the patient is taken out. The bath should be given in front of a good fire, and a warmed blanket be in readiness to Avrap the patient in directly he leaves the bath. The hot bath is of great service in convulsions, tetanus, etc.; it draws the blood from the overloaded brain to the general surface of the body. It is also useful in simple or severe febrile diseases; in spasmodic affections of the bowels, or bladder; in prurigo, etc. The Hot Foot Bath.—The following will often ar- rest colds and fevers in their incipient stages, and im- mediately relieve congestive headaches, etc.: On re- tiring to bed, the feet should be put in hot Avater, the water rising nearly to the knees ; the patient should be undressed, but abundantly and Avarmly covered; the temperature of the water should be maintained and in- creased by fresh additions of hot water for ten, twenty, or thirty minutes, according to the strength of the patient, or until perspiration breaks out about the face. The patient should then get into a Avarm bed, be Avell covered with clothes, and the perspiration encouraged by drinking cold Avater freely. On rising in the morning the cold plunge bath should be taken, or the whole surface of the body quickly sponged or rubbed over Avith a wet towel or sheet, followed by vigorous friction with a dry one. The hot foot bath should not be used too often. The Wet Pack.—A mackintosh sheet or stout blanket or quilt should be spread on a mattress, and over it, throat compress. 61 leaving a margin at the head, a thick linen sheet, wrung out of cold water. In fevers, the colder the water is the better; for very delicate persons with feeble reaction, water at 68° may be used. The patient is to be extended on his back, naked, on the wet sheet, so that the upper edge comes to the top of the back of the neck, while the lower edge projects beyond the feet; holding up the arms, one side of the sheet is to be thrown over the body and tucked in: the arms are now placed by the sides, and the other part of the wet sheet is thrown over all and tucked rather tightly in, turning in the projecting ends under the feet. The mackintosh or blanket is then to be brought over all the sheet, and well tucked in round the neck, at the sides, and over the feet, so as completely to exclude the air. A stout quilt or extra blanket is to be put over all. In a short time the patient will become warm; the sen- sation is most agreeable, especially in fevers. The pa- tient may remain in the pack three-quarters of an hour to an hour, then be put into a shallow bath of water at 64°, well washed, dried and put to bed. It may be re- peated once, twice or thrice a day, according to cir- cumstances and the violence of the attack. Perspira- tion may be encouraged by frequent sips of cold water. If the head becomes congested, or the face flushed while in the pack, a cold compress should be applied over the forehead. The wet pack is invaluable in the early stages of all fevers; and in scarlatina, measles, smallpox, etc., it assists in bringing out the eruption. Throat Compress.—This is an excellent domestic application in various affections of the throat, and may be used preventively or remedially in the following manner: A piece of linen or flannel should be wrung 62 nursing, diet, etc out of water, not necessarily cold, and wrapped in two or three thicknesses around the throat; this should be covered with oiled silk or gutta-percha tissue, and then two or three thicknesses of flannel to maintain the warmth. When this is applied, the patient should re- tire to bed, and he will generally have the satisfaction of finding his throat difficulty much relieved in the morning. In obstinate cases, the compress should be worn day and night, and rewetted as often as it be- comes dry. When the compress is taken off, the throat and chest should be bathed with cold water, fol- lowed by a good rubbing with a towel. However often repeated, the wet compress never relaxes the throat. Abdominal Compress.—This consists of two folds of linen, or a napkin, wrung out after immersion in cold water, and applied over the front of the abdomen, cov- ered with oiled silk and secured by a flannel bandage around the body over a^- PART II. DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. CHAPTER I. GENERAL DISEASES, -(a) BLOOD DISEASES. 6.—Smallpox (Variola). Varieties.—This highly contagious disease is termed discrete when the pustules are separate, and confluent when they are run into each other, and form contin- uous suppurating surfaces. Symptoms.—The attack commences like most other fevers, and about twelve or fourteen days after the re- ception of the poison. There are chilliness, heat, head- ache, a thickly furred, white tongue, a deep flush upon the face, a feeling of bruised pain all over the body, but es- pecially in the back and loins; more or less pain or ten- derness at the pit of the stomach, and sometimes vomiting. When the pain in the back and vomiting are violent, they may be regarded as the precursors of a severe form of the disease. On the third day the eruption appears in the form of red spots, or small hard pim- ples, Avhich feel as if they were shot in the skin. It first comes out on the forehead and on front of the wrists, is gradually extended over the body, and may also be seen upon the palate. The eruption being com- pleted, the fever subsides, the pustules begin to fill like boils, are depressed in the center, and are surrounded by (63) 64 blood diseases. a circular inflamed ring. The eyelids, face and hands are swollen, and often the features obliterated. A pe- culiar disagreeable odor now begins to emanate from the patient, which, once smelt, cannot easily be forgot- ten. In about eight days from the first appearance of the eruption, the pustules break and discharge their contents; scales then form, which dry up, and, in a healthy state of the constitution, fall off in the course of four or five days, leaving purplish spots, which do not fade away before the sixth or eighth week. Diagnosis.—In the early stage, smallpox is chiefly distinguishable from the other eruptive fevers by se- vere pain in the back and vomiting ; also by the sensa- tion which is given by the dots to the finger, as if small shots were imbedded in the skin; this latter is a most useful sign by which to determine smallpox from scarlatina and measles. Dangers.—The greatest danger arises from the sec- ondary fever, about the ninth to the twelfth day, when the pustules are ripening; for then the fever is likely to return, after the vital strength has already been much exhausted. Treatment.—Antimonium tart.—This is a prominent remedy in the disease, and often strikingly relieves the spasmodic retching, nausea and hoarse cough, which are often very distressing. Ant. tart, should, therefore, be given directly smallpox is suspected, either alone or in alternation Avith one of the following remedies: Aconitum, every third hour, for fever, headache and restlessness ; if the pulse be not lowered or the skin moistened, Veratrum vir. (lx), in hourly drop doses, should be resorted to if there be much sickness with the fever and very rapid pulse. See also Belladonna. SMALLPOX. 65 Belladonna.—Stupor or delirium, severe headache, or ophthalmia. Bell, has a direct action upon the brain; it also tends to retain the eruption upon the surface. Apis.—Considerable swelling of the face and eyelids. If the swelling be attended with hoarseness and pain in swalloAving, Apis and Bell, should be alternated. Mercurius.—Ulcerated throat, enlarged glands, saliva- tion and diarrhoea, the stools being bloody. Carbo veg.—Low typhoid symptoms, with a ten- dency to putrescence. Calcarea phos. should be given as a tonic during con- valescence. A dose three times a day. Accessory Means.—As soon as the eruption appears, the patient should be placed in a moderately dark room, in which there is ample provision made for the uninterrupted admission of fresh air, and the free es- cape of tainted air; if possible in a room with opposite windows, and these should be kept open day and night in all seasons. If the weather is very cold, a good fire should be kept in the room, and the windows left open, the patient having an extra blanket to avert cold ; if the weather is mild, the patient should be ab- solutely treated in the open air. Nothing is of so much importance as pure air, and that in unlimited quantities. The patient should be kept cool, and the sheets and linen be frequently changed. The posture of the patient in bed should be frequently changed, so as to avoid constantly lying on his back, or on partic- ular parts, otherwise troublesome bed-sores will be formed. The diet should be liberal, as the disease is an exhausting one, but it must be given in such a form as to be readily digested and absorbed; it should in- clude a liberal allowance of milk diluted with about o 66 blood diseases. one-third soda-water, raw eggs beaten up with milk (cold), beef-tea, arrowroot, sago, etc. Tea or coffee, in moderation, is often grateful and useful; but to quench thirst, nothing is more pleasant and refreshing than pure cold water. Any objection to cold water on the part of nurses or friends is to be firmly combated. Lemonade, soda-water and other effervescing drinks may also be allowed. As soon as the eruption is well out, the whole surface should be smeared over with bacon fat, the anointing being repeated tAvice or thrice daily. A piece of boiled bacon cut horizontally, leaving about a quarter of an inch of fat adhering to the skin, may be used to anoint the eruption. It completely prevents pitting and allays irritation. As the pimples begin to ripen into pustules, and before they break, the skin should be sponged with glycerine and rose-water, in equal parts, and directly afterward, by the aid of a soft puff, the skin covered with a powder prepared by mixing one part of the 1st trituration of Tart, emetic with eight of violet powder. The glycerine water causes the powder to adhere, and pitting is effectually prevented. The process should be repeated as often as necessary. If the patient is a child, his hands should be muffled to keep him from scratching, which might lead to ulceration. Two or three times a day, when- ever the skin becomes hot or irritable, great relief will be afforded by sponging it with tepid water, in which carbolic acid has been mixed in the proportion of one to sixty. Tepid sponging adds much to a patient's comfort; it also hastens convalescence. AVhen the pustules have burst, powdered starch should be freely applied, to absorb the matter. vaccination. 67 7.—Vaccination. This is the process by which the disease—vaccinia — is artificially introduced into the body for the purpose of protecting it against smallpox. In performing vaccination there are four precautions to be observed: (1) The vaccine lymph should be taken direct from the calf, and only when this cannot possibly be obtained, from a child free from scrofula or any con- stitutional taint. (2) The lancet employed should be absolutely clean. (3) The matter should be inserted in the left arm, or whichever arm comes least frequently in contact with the nurse's body, or in the thigh. Much care should be taken to avoid rubbing or irritating the vesicles. If the operation is successful, well-marked scars will be left. (4) It should be repeated at the age of puberty, the great changes which take place at this period of life rendering its repetition necessary, and during an epidemic. 8.—Chickenpox ( Varicella). On the second day of a slight fever an eruption ap- pears similar to that of smallpox, for which it may be at first mistaken. But it differs from smallpox (1) in the mildness of the fever which attends it; (2) in the appearance of the eruption on the trunk first, on the face afterward; (3) in the rapid appearance of the spots—twenty-four hours; (4) in the spots having no inflammatory ring around them in the first stage; (5) in the vesicular character of the eruption, the spots of which become filled with a watery fluid about the second or third day, which is rarely converted into yel- low matter; (6) in the absence of hardness to the touch; 68 blood diseases. (7) in the absence of odor; and (8) in the rapid course of the complaint. Generally on the third day the pus- tules dry up, forming crusts or scabs, but no pits. Treatment.—It generally requires little else than attention to diet and warmth, unless the fever be con- siderable, when a few doses of Aconitum may be given. For headache and disturbance of the brain, two or three doses of Belladonna. Hepar may be given to hurry the healing process. 9.—Measles (Morbilli). Measles is a disease of childhood, usually unattended with danger, unless improperly treated; but in adults it is often a severe or even dangerous malady. Like scarlatina and smallpox, it is highly contagious, often epidemic, and generally attacks the same patient only once, although there are exceptions to this rule. Symptoms.—About eight days after the reception of the poison the disease is ushered in with the symptoms of a common cold—sneezing, running from the nose, red, swollen, and watery eyes, frontal headache, aching in back and limbs, shivering, a hoarse, harsh cough, and fever. On about the fourth day from the commencement of the illness, the eruption appears on the face and neck, and soon after on the whole body. It is in the form of minute raspberry-colored pimples, which multiply and coalesce into blotches of a more or less crescentic form, slightly raised above the surrounding skin, particularly on the face, which is often a good deal swollen. In four or five days the fever abates and the eruption de- clines, a bran-like scurf being afterward thrown off the skin. MEASLES. 69 Measles differs from scarlatina m several respects. The eruption is rough, so that on passing the hand over the skin considerable inequalities may be detected, and it is of a darkish-scarlet color; in scarlet fever the rough- ness is absent, and, in simple cases of the disease, the rash is of a bright-scarlet color. The sneezing, lachryma- tion and other catarrhal symptoms which characterize the primary stage of measles are usually absent in scarlet fever. Treatment.—Ferrum phos. may be given as the first remedy, and continued so long as the patient seems to be doing Avell, or alternated with any of the other remedies that may seem to be indicated. Whenever chest symptoms show themselves—cough, pain, etc.—it will be the surest remedy. Dose: A powder, size of a pea, dry on tongue, or a larger powder dissolved in a tumbler half full of water—teaspoonful doses every hour. In mild forms Ferrum phos. is all that is needed, though in severer cases one or more of the following remedies may be required: Aconitum.—Patient is very restless. Febrile symp- toms, either at the outset or during the progress of the disease. A dose every hour or two, as long as neces- sary. Gelsemium.—If the eruption is slow to appear, the patient is drowsy and languid. Pulsatilla.—Almost specific when symptoms of cold, derangement of the stomach and much phlegm in the chest are present. It is most useful after the fever has been modified by Aconite or Ferr. phos.; in the absence of fever it may be given alone. Dose every two or three hours. It is also useful as a preventive measure. Belladonna.—Considerable affection of the throat, dry, 70 blood diseases. barking cough, etc.; restlessness and tendency to deli- rium. A few doses, at intervals of two or three hours. Bryonia.—Imperfectly developed or suppressed erup- tion; stitching pains in the chest, difficult breathing, cough, etc. In addition to this remedy, a sudden reces- sion of the eruption might necessitate a hot bath. Antimonium tart.—Complicated with bad congestive bronchitis. Sulphur.—After the eruption has completed its natu- ral course, and the other remedies are discontinued. A dose morning and night for several days. After-effects(Sequel.e).—Measles is often succeeded by diseases of the lungs, eyes, ears, bones or some affec- tion of the skin. These are often far more serious than the malady itself, and generally require professional treatment. They may generally be prevented by the ad- ministration of Sulphur as just directed. Sequelae are very infrequent after homoeopathic treatment, unless constitutional evils are latent. If Sulphur is.not sufficient, give Kali mur., a small powder size of a pea, morning and evening for a week. Measles and Consumption.—Tubercular disease of the lungs, or more often of the bowels, is by no means an infrequent sequel in delicate or strumous children. Cases of this nature are often under our care, and from long observation we have reason to believe that such a connection is far from uncommon. Whenever, there- fore, a child makes but a slow or imperfect recovery after an attack of measles, more particularly if there be a high temperature, tenderness, pain or enlargement of the abdomen, diarrhoea or irregular action of the bowels, a grave constitutional disease may be suspected, and no time should be lost in obtaining professional homoeo- SCARLET FEVER—SCARLATINA. 71 pathic assistance. Until such is obtained, give Calcarea phos., a dose morning and evening. Diet and Regimen.—The general directions in the chapter on Nursing should be carried out—sponging thrice daily with a mixture of one pint of dilute acetic acid to six pints of hot water. The wet pack is useful at the commencement of the fever. It is especially necessary, while securing efficient ventilation, to guard the patient from cold, and, except during the very height of summer, a fire should be kept burning in his room. Exposure to strong currents of air may cause the eruption to recede, and bring on bronchitis or pneu- monia. But a constant supply of fresh air may be secured without exposing the patient to draughts of cold air. The patient should be kept warm in bed. The room should be equally warmed, well ventilated, light, but the eyes protected from strong light. The diet should be light and not stimulating. Preventive Measures.—Measles is contagious, but may generally be prevented, or modified, by giving children who have not had the disease a dose of Pulsa- tilla, morning and night, during the prevalence of the disease. 10.—Scarlet Fever—Scarlatina (Febris Rubra). This is a contagious disease, the poison of which is only second in virulence to that of smallpox. The sec- ond, third, fourth and fifth years of life are those in Avhich it is most prevalent; after the tenth year its fre- quency rapidly declines. The opinion that the disease does not attack children under two years of age is erro- neous; as also is the idea that there is a difference 72 BLOOD DISEASES. between scarlatina and scarlet fever; for the terms are synonymous. The increasing prevalence of scarlatina during the present century leads us to assign to it that pre-emi- nent rank among the causes of the mortality of child- hood which was formerly occupied by smallpox; in- deed, the mortality from it often exceeds that from measles and smallpox combined. The mortality in towns is double that in the country. Its fatality during the epidemics of 1869-70 was again very great, and for many weeks during the latter part of 1870 the mortality averaged 108 per week in London alone. In 1884 the mortality from the disease in England was 10,863, and, in London, 1,530. Symptoms.—Scarlatina has a latent period of about five days. The disease commences with the ordinary precursors of fever—shivering, hot skin, frequent pulse, thirst and sore throat, headache, backache, and, often, vomiting. On the second or third day, after these symptoms, the eruption appears, first on the neck and breast, and then over the great joints and body gener- ally, as a scarlet efflorescence, minutely point-shaped, but not raised above the surrounding skin so as to be felt; and somewhat resembles a boiled lobster-shell. On the fourth or fifth day the eruption generally begins to de- cline, and gradually goes off, the outer skin desquamat- ing in large flakes. The distinctive characters of scar- latina are—(1) the scarlet rash, just described ; (2) the high temperature of the skin and blood, which becomes higher than in most other fevers, rising often to 105°, from 98°, the normal standard; (3) the papillae of the tongue are red and prominent, and may be first seen pro- jecting through a white fur, or, as this fur clears away, SCARLET FEVER—SCARLATINA. 73 on a red ground, suggesting the term—" the strawberry- tongue ; " (4) the sore throat. The throat is congested and swollen round the soft palate and tonsils, and the mucous membrane of the mouth and nostrils is gener- ally involved. For points of difference between scarlatina and measles, consult the description of measles. Degrees of Intensity.—There are three recognized degrees of intensity, viz.: Scarlatina simplex, in which the skin only appears to be affected; scarlatina an- ginosa, in which both the skin and throat are in- volved ; and scarlatina maligna, Avith extreme de- pression of the vital strength, super-added to the affection of the throat and the skin, the fever assuming a malignant character. In this form, the tongue is brown, there is low delirium, the eruption is imperfect, darker than usual, and appearing and disap- pearing alternately. The throat is dark, livid and even sloughy. Often this form of the disease terminates fatally on the third or fourth day, and is always one of such extreme danger that none but patients of very vig- orous constitutions, with whom skillful treatment is com- menced early, survive it. Dangers.—(1) Exhaustion from virulence of the poison; (2) inflammation of the heart and brain; (3) ulceration of the throat, suppuration through the ear, and consequent deafness; (4) disease of kidneys and dropsy; (5) rheumatic fever, consequent on exposure during convalescence. (See also After-effects.) Scarlatina is more prone to assume a malignant form than any other of the eruptive fevers, and sometimes prevails as an epidemic in low, ill-drained districts. Epitome of Treatment.—Scarlatina Simplex.—Bell., Aeon.; Ferrum phos. 74 BLOOD DISEASES. Scarlatina Anginosa.—Merc, (ulceration of the throat); Apis (excessive swelling) and Kali mur. Scarlatina Maligna.—Kali phos. and Baptisia. If possible, this disease should always be under the care of a homcepathic physician, as the mildest forms, neglected, have often led to the worst results. Leading Indications. — Belladonna. — Immediately scarlatina ia suspected, and especially when the rash begins to appear, the swallowing becoming difficult, and the throat inflamed, Bell, should be given every first or second hour, according to the severity of the symptoms, and as long as the eruption is bright-red. In the simple form of the disease, scarlet fever will frequently yield to its action without the aid of other medicines. Aconitum.—If the fever be severe and the patient is very restless and anxious, a few doses may precede. Ferrum phos. may follow Aconite if the fever does not soon lessen, and it can also be advantageously alternated with Bell, and continued so long as the patient appears to progress favorably. Dissolve a powder, the size of a lima bean, in ten teaspoonfuls of water, and give one teaspoonful every two hours in alternation with Bell. The Bell, will be best prepared, also in water, by dis- solving five drops in ten teaspoonfuls and giving spoon- ful doses. Gelsemium.—In simple cases when the eruption is not clear, when the symptoms are remittent, and there are much drowsiness and gi'eat languor. Face looks darkly flushed. Rhus tox.—When rheumatic symptoms appear, and the patient cannot bear to be still. Mercurius.—Inflamed, swollen or ulcerated throat. If there is a predominance of the throat symptoms, SCARLET FEVER—SCARLATINA. 75 especially malignant sore throat, Merc, is most Araluable. This may be alternated with Kali mur. Terebinthina.—Disorder of kidneys; urine smoky and dark. Arsenicum. — Great prostration of strength; cold clammy sweats; frequent, weak pulse; threatened dropsy. Ars. is also valuable during convalescence; it expedites desquamation and tends to prevent sequelae. Sulphur.—When the disease is on the decline, to pre- vent secondary complaints. A dose morning and night for several days; then follow in the same way with Kali mur. For the remaining debility, give a dose of Calcarea phos., a small powder dissolved in a tumbler of milk, morning and evening. General Measures.—The hints on Nursing should, so far as possible, be strictly carried out. The surface of the body should be sponged thrice daily with vine- gar or alcohol and hot water to moderate the great heat and allay restlessness. Sucking and swallowing small pieces of ice are both useful and grateful. A wet band- age to the throat, when it is affected, is a sovereign rem- edy, and seldom fails to relieve. It should be fastened both at the back of the neck and at the top of the head, so as to protect the glands near the angles of the jaws. Inhalation of steam from hot water is useful when the throat is sore and painful. Also the wet pack. Prevention.—During the prevalence of scarlatina, a dose of Bell. (6 pellets) should be given morning and night to children who have not had the disease. Should the disease occur notwithstanding this treatment, its severity will be much mitigated. Daily out-of-door exercise. 76 BLOOD DISEASES. After-effects (Sequels).—There are several sequelae that may follow scarlatina, especially in unhealthy pa- tients or districts, or when the disease has not been skillfully treated. (1) Inflammation and swelling of the glands of the neck, which in scrofulous children attain a large size, often suppurate, and burrow under the muscles of the neck. Merc, should be administered immediately any swelling is observed; and after several days, if the improvement be not rapid, follow with Calc. phos. (2) The inflammation of the throat may be ex- tended along the Eustachian tubes (small canals Avhich extend from the throat to the ear), producing deafness by their obstruction, or by the suppuration of the tym- panum (drum of the ear), or some other mischief of the ear. The remedies recommended are Ferrum phos. and Kali mur. (3) But the most frequent and dangerous sequel is anasarca (dropsy), which takes place about the twenty-second day from the commencement of the fever. Dropsy is more frequent after a mild than after a severe form of scarlatina, owing probably to the disease not having expended all its force, and some of the poison remaining in the system; or it may be due to the want of caution in such cases during convalescence. Can- tharis, when there is suppression of urine, and Arsenicum when there is no suppression, are the chief remedies re- quired. When there is blood in the urine, the urine appearing smoky, give Terebinthina, a dose three times a day. 11.—Enteric or Typhoid—Typho-Malarial Fever. Symptoms.—The most characteristic are—Great debil- ity, gradually coming on; dizziness; weariness and typhoid and typhoid-malarial fevers. 77 restless anxiety; ringing noises in the ears; and often deafness; black spots before the eyes; low mutter- ing delirium; stupor; gray-colored watery stools are a decided symptom, followed often by bloody and of- fensive stools; tongue coated at first with a gray fur, then brown and dry, gums and lips covered with a darkish matter, called sordes; face yellowish; eyes dull; loss of appetite and great prostration; gradual rise of temperature, with marked morning remissions. Fever lasts from tAvo to six weeks. Epitome of Treatment.—First Stage.—Baptisia. Great Prostration.—Ars., Verat., or Rhus tox. Involvement of the Lungs.—Ferrum phos. and Bry. Involvement of the Brain.—Bell., Rhus. Involvement of the Bowels.—Ars., Bapt., Carbo veg. Nervous Debility following.—Ferrum phos., Kali phos., China. Leading Indications.—Gelsem.—Rapid pulse, severe headache, Amounting, and even delirium. Very tired and drowsy. Baptisia.—Follows Gelsem. after a few days, and when typhoid is strongly suspected. Tongue coated, marked gastric disturbance, dullness and headache. Bryonia.—Bitter taste, brown-coated, rough tongue, bilious derangement, nausea, confined bowels, stupefying headache, cough, stitches in the chest, and irritable dispo- sition. When there are furred tongue, rheumatic pains, and restlessness, Bry. may be alternated with Rhus eArery third hour. Belladonna.—Violent headache, redness and conges- tion of the face; a wild, red and fiery appearance of the eyes; throbbing and distension of the bloodvessels of the temples; wakefulness and nocturnal delirium, and other cerebral symptoms. 78 BLOOD DISEASES. Mercurius.—Copious debilitating perspirations ; thick- coated tongue, foul mouth, throat, breath, etc.; diar- rhoeic evacuations, greenish or yellowish ; tenderness at the pit of the stomach. Arsenicum.—Extreme debility, prostration, rapid sink- ing, with very small, thready pulse; burning thirst; dark, offensive diarrhceic discharges; cold perspira- tions ; symptoms worse at night. Rhus tox.—Foul discharges from the bowels; livid color of the skin; paralytic symptoms; extreme weak- ness and prostration; Ioav muttering delirium ; picking of the bed-clothes; offensive, putrid, or bloody diar- rhoea; dry, cracked tongue; great thirst, and scanty urine. Carbo veg.—Offensive smells from the patient; invol- untary putrid evacuations; deep-red urine; pinched, sunken countenance; burning in the abdomen and pit of the stomach ; cold extremities ; rapid sinking, and scarcely perceptible pulse. Administration.—Of the selected remedy, put ten drops in a tumbler containing twenty spoonfuls of boiled, cooled water, and give the patient a spoonful every two or three hours. Do not give the remedy in pellets dry on the tongue, as the patient sickens of it very soon. Accessory Treatment.—Offer frequently sips of pure cold, previously boiled water. Watching Patients.—Fever patients should never be left alone, but attended and watched day and night. Their urgent and incessant wants require this, and their safety demands it. Instances have occurred of patients, in the delirium which so frequently attends fever, get- ting out of bed, and even out of the window, during simple fever. 79 the absence of the nurse, and losing their lives from injury. 12.—Simple Fever (Feverishness). Simple fever is the mildest form in which a feverish attack occurs, and as it generally disappears in from twelve to thirty-six hours, it is termed an ephemeral disease. Symptoms.—A feverish attack usually commences in the afternoon or evening, with alternate chills and flushes, followed by heat and dryness of the skin; hard, full, quick pulse; dry coated tongue; thirst; hurried, anxious breathing; and highly colored and scanty urine. Also, often, pain in the loins, headache, deranged bow- els, and loss of appetite. As these symptoms may be precursors of serious diseases, they require prompt attention. Causes.—Suppressed perspiration, exposure to damp or cold, sudden changes of temperature, wearing damp clothes ; errors in diet; injuries, internal or external; fatigue, etc.; or it may be a modified variety of one of the forms of fever described in the preceding sections. Treatment.—Aconitum is found to be the chief rem- edy for all such symptoms as those above indicated, when there is no toxaemia (blood-poisoning) ; and it will most effectually calm the arterial excitement; it has been termed the homoeopathic lancet. Perspiration fol- lowing its administration is the welcome indication of its beneficial action. A dose every two or three hours, or, in urgent cases, every half-hour or hour, till perspira- tion breaks out, when this remedy may be discontinued. Ferrum phos. may follow Aconitum or may be alternated with it, especially if there are symptoms of a cold on the chest, cough, pain, etc. 80 BLOOD DISEASES. Gelsemium is often called for in children, when they have feverish attacks, often in the afternoon—the dry heat increasing toward night, and then passing off with- out perspiration. The little patient is drowsy, dull, stupid, tired, and has no appetite. Camphor.—Sudden seizure of chilliness ; shivering, with lassitude, and general indisposition which has come on rapidly. Two drops of the strong tincture on a small piece of loaf-sugar, or half a dozen pellets, repeated three times, at intervals of fifteen or twenty minutes, may precede Aconitum, or it may be alone sufficient if taken promptly at the onset. Accessory Treatment.—For ephemeral attacks, cold Avater is generally the only beverage required. If the attack continues a day or two, a milk diet should be adopted. 13.—Ague—Intermittent Fever. Intermittent fever is so named because the febrile symptoms return in paroxysms, between which they entirely pass off. It is not infectious. Symptoms.—A typical paroxysm of ague has three stages—the cold, the hot and the perspiring. The first stage commences with chilliness and rigors, chattering of the teeth, aching of the back and limbs, oppression of the chest, yawning and sighing. The face and lips are pale, the features and skin contracted, the pulse frequent and small, the tongue white, and the urine scanty and frequently passed. In the second stage flush- ings come on, until the entire body becomes hot, with thirst, bounding pulse, throbbing headache and rest- lessness, the urine being still scanty, but high-colored. AGUE—intermittent fever. 81 At length the third or perspiring stage succeeds, and the patient feels much relieved. Thirst diminishes, the pulse declines in frequency, and the appetite returns: at the same time there is a red deposit of urates in the urine. A paroxysm usually lasts about six hours, allowing two hours for each stage. The period between the paroxysms, as already explained, is called the intermission ; but by an interval is meant the whole pe- riod or cycle between the beginning of one paroxysm and the beginning of the ne Types.—There are three chief types of ague: 1st— The quotidian has a paroxysm daily, coming on in the morning from 7 to 9 a.m., and an interval of twenty- four hours. 2d—The tertian has a paroxysm every other day, coming on from 10 to 12 o'clock at noon, and an interval of forty-eight hours. 3d—The quartan has a paroxysm every third day, coming on from 2 to 4 p.m., and an interval of seventy-two hours. The tertian is the most frequent and has the most marked hot stage; but the quartan is the most obstinate, and chiefly oc- curs in the autumn. There is still another type, in which, though there is an attack every day, those only resemble each other which occur on alternate days. Effects.—From the recurrence of internal conges- tions in each cold stage the functions of the liver and boAvels become disordered, the patient is salloAV, his limbs waste, but his abdomen is distended, and his bowels constipated. The spleen is especially liable to be enlarged, sometimes to a great extent, so as to be felt externally. This condition is popularly called ague-cake. Causes.—The exciting cause of ague is marsh miasma, which is probably a microscopic fungus (bacillus malaria) 6 82 BLOOD DISEASES. growing on decomposing vegetable matter, and most rife when the land is drying after having been pre- viously soaked with water. It is, therefore, most fre- quent in the spring and when the rains have fallen upon the decaying leaves in autumn, and Avhere the ground is dug up. Laws.—Malaria obeys the following laws, which, practically, are worth nothing: 1st—It spreads in the course of prevailing winds. 2d—Its progress is arrested by rivers and running streams and by rows of trees. 3d— It does not rise above the low level. 4th—It is most dangerous at night. Preventive.—Persons going into malarious districts should take for a short time before two grains of sul- phate of quinine (ix), night and morning, and con- tinue the same at increasing intervals during their stay. If Quinine is not tolerated, tAvo grains of Ars. (Sx) should be given in the same way. In persons sensi- tive to the action of Ars. the third centesimal tritu- ration may be given in place of the third decimal. Treatment.—Palliative treatment is adopted during the paroxysms to mitigate the symptoms, and consists chiefly in imparting warmth during the cold stage, removing the patient's coverings and giving cooling drinks during the hot, and supplying him with warm and dry linen when the perspiring stage has passed by. The curative is adopted during the intermission, and is of the greatest importance. China.—Ague in marshy districts, with its regular stages; yellowish complexion, drowsiness, tender or swollen liver or spleen and watery or bilious diarrhoea. A dose just before an expected paroxysm and every four hours through the intermission. CHOLERA. 83 Arsenicum. — Simultaneous .or alternate heat and shivering, or internal shivering Avith external heat; burning heat, thirst, pains in the stomach, debility and tendency to dropsical swellings; also when Quinine or Bark has been used to excess. Ipecacuanha.—Nausea and vomiting, distressed breath- ing, watery diarrhoea and other gastric symptoms. Natrum mur.—When the chill is apt to come on in the forenoon, about 10 o'clock; much thirst, little blis- ters form around the mouth; and after much Quinine has been taken. This remedy alone will often cure the most obstinate chills. Accessory Measures.—If practicable, residence in a well-drained district, with a dry, bracing atmosphere. If compelled to remain in a malarious atmosphere, the patient should sleep in the loftiest rooms in the house, and not expose himself to night air. Air and light should be freely admitted during the middle of the day into the house, but night air carefully excluded. Light, nourishing diet may be taken, but the digestive organs not overtaxed. Fatigue and cold draughts of air must be avoided, and the clothing should be sufficient to be comfortable. 14.—Cholera (Cholera Pestifera). Definition.—This is an acute, miasmatic disease, characterized by purging of profuse watery discharges, unmixed with bile; vomiting; coldness of the surface, tongue and breath ; unquenchable thirst; suppressed urine ; collapse, and, unless reaction comes on, death. In this much-dreaded disease, which resists the efforts of the old system, Homoeopathy has won bril- 81 BLOOD DISEASES. liant triumphs. Its success in the prevention and cure of cholera and other violent diseases has contributed greatly to its rapid spread in every part of the world. Treatment.—If possible, cholera should always be treated by a homoeopathic practitioner, but the admin- istration of Camphor should be commenced immedi- alely the earliest symptoms are noticed. We shall only indicate a few of the remedies and measures Avhich have been found most useful. Camphor (strong saturated tincture) is one of the first and most important medicines to be administered, un- der Avhatever form the disease presents itself. Its spe- cial indications are sudden prostration, the body gen- erally becoming cold ; pains in the stomach and bowels; irregular pulse; cold sweat on the forehead; giddiness; noise in the ears; swelling of the abdomen from wind; and severe purging. Two to five drops of the strong tincture on a small piece of loaf-sugar every five or ten minutes; as soon as the patient becomes Avarm the doses may be given less frequently, and discontinued when full perspiration takes place. At the same time the patient should be placed in a warm bed, have hot- water bottles applied to the feet and abdomen, and be allowed to sip cold water or suck ice. Arsenicum.—Violent burning pains in the stomach; excessive thirst; suppression of urine; clammy sweat; weak, tremulous pulse; cramps and entire prostration of strength. It is the great remedy when the time for curing with Camphor has passed. Two-drop dose every hour. Veratrum.—The chief indications for this remedy are violent and continuous vomiting and purging; cramps in the legs; a shriveled appearance of the skin; cold WHOOPING-COUGH. 85 tongue; cadaverous and pinched appearance of the face. Two-drop dose every hour. Preventive Measures.—During the prevalence of cholera there are usually premonitory symptoms, such as general uneasiness, bitter taste in the mouth, fullness and pressure at the pit of the stomach, cramps, slight diarrhoea, a rumbling in the bowels; the symptons should be promptly checked. Much time may be saved, and life spared, by families providing themselves with a small case of homoeopathic remedies, including a small bot- tle of Arsenicum and Veratrum; also a bottle of Cam- phor, Avhich must be kept by itself. It is a well-estab- lished fact that workers in copper mines, and others impregnated Avith the metal, possess immunity against cholera. From this has come the use of the copper plates worn next the skin. The following advice is worth remembering: "Should cholera prevail, the means to avoid an attack are to maintain cheerfulness of spirits (remembering that the disease is not contagious); using a temperate but generous diet; avoid- ing late suppers; keeping early hours; sleeping in the highest room in the house ; and carrying a small bottle of strong camphorated spirit in the pocket for the use of others as well as yourself; and, if compelled to pass the neighborhood of fetid drains, ditches, or other suspected places, to moisten the tongue with a drop of the camphorated spirit before inhaling the stench, it being known to Homoe- opaths that as Camphor is the antidote to most of their infinitesimal medicines, so it is an antidote to the cholera poison suspended in the air, and inhaled into the lungs in infinitesimal quantity, provided the Camphor is applied before the poison has begun to operate on the blood."—H. Kernsall, M.D. 15.—Whooping-Cough (Pertussis). This is an epidemic and contagious disease, usually of a mild character in healthy children, but a distress- ing and sometimes a fatal malady in the delicate or scrofulous. Symptoms.—It generally commences as a common cold, accompanied by hoarseness and a cough, which 86 BLOOD DISEASES. returns in fits at intervals. In about a week the cough returns at short intervals, in paroxysms of extreme se- verity, the child turning red or almost black in the face, and appearing as if choking, during which the lungs are emptied of air to the last degree; and then a long sonorous inspiration, taken to refill them, consti- tutes the " whoop." This is the sign of safety. The attacks recur every two or three hours, or, in severe cases, oftener, and are- worse at night. Sometimes blood escapes from the nose, mouth, and even from the ears. The fits pass off with the expectoration of glairy, ropy mucus, and sometimes sickness. If dentition be going on, convulsions are not infrequent. Whooping- cough is sometimes complicated with measles, small- pox, bronchitis, etc., which add to the difficulties of treatment. Cause.—A specific unknown poison, communicated through the atmosphere, which irritates the pneumogas- tric nerve. Treatment.—It is not always easy to positively diagnose whooping-cough before the setting in of the whoop; but it is always best in an epidemic to give preventive remedies, which will tend to modify the at- tack. Preventive Treatment.—Give Corallium, six pellets, morning and evening for three days, then Drosera in the same way, and continue for some time. Drosera.—When the cough is loud and hoarse, the paroxysms frequent and violent, causing perspiration and vomiting of food and mucus. A dose every four hours or after every fit of coughing. Drosera is often sufficient in uncomplicated cases; but scrofulous chil- dren require professional treatment. whooping-cough. 87 Belladonna.—For dry, spasmodic cough, worse at night; head hot, throat sore and dry; much thirst. Arnica.—When there is bleeding from the nose, or spitting of blood with each fit of coughing; or Avhen there is rupture of a small bloodvessel under the coAr- ering membrane of the eye (conjunctiva), causing the white of the eye to become blood-stained. Veratrum.—Great exhaustion, cold perspiration, invol- untary escape of urine during the cough; pains in the abdomen and groin ; anxious expression. Magnesia phos. is sometimes almost specific. If no other remedy seems specially indicated, give a small powder, size of a pea, every two to three hours. Ferrum phos. and Bryonia should be given when there is danger of bronchitis or lung fever, of which there is danger, if not carefully guarded against. Accessory Means.—In warm, fine weather, the pa- tient may remain in the open air during a portion of each day; but if there is fever present, the patient must remain in the house, and, so long as the fever lasts, in bed. If the paroxysms are very distressing and fre- quent, considerable relief can often be obtained from inhaling the steam of cresolin or carbolic acid, a few drops of either being put into an atomizer, and the room impregnated. But it is a disagreeable procedure and not always necessary. Exposure to damp and draughts should be strictly avoided; also fits of anger, as they add to the violence and frequency of the paroxysms. Infants should be watched constantly, taken up as soon as a fit comes on, and placed in a favorable posture. In obstinate cases, change of air, if only for a short dis- tance will prove of great utility. Frictions with olive oil or with simple liniment, over the chest and along the spine, in a warmed room, are often palliative. 88 BLOOD DISEASES. Diet.—Light, digestible food only, in moderate quan- tities, and shortly after the fits. Cold water is the best beverage; but for variety the following may be given as required: barley-water, gum-water or toast and water are grateful and somewhat nutritive. 16.—Mumps (Parotitis). This complaint consists of inflammatory SAvelling of the salivary glands, especially those below the ears, frequently with pain, soreness and difficulty in moving the jaws. A curious circumstance connected with this disease is, that as the swelling of the neck and throat subsides, there is liability to swelling and tenderness of the testicles in the male, and the mammae in the fe- male, especially when the swelling subsides suddenly, as on exposure to cold or from cold applications. It is contagious and painful, but not dangerous. Treatment.—Mercurius is the first and chief remedy, and is generally sufficient to effect a cure. A dose three or four times daily. Belladonna.—Severe pain, with a tendency to deli- rium ; mumps following measles, or with an erysipela- tous inflammation. Pulsatilla.—Useful when the breasts or testicles are affected. Accessory Means.—Frequent hot fomentations, cov- ering the parts in the interval Avith a flannel bandage. The patient should be protected from cold, damp or excitement, as a liability to relapse remains for several weeks. If the testicles become swollen, apply hot Hamamelis extract, and wrap up in a soft flannel. INFLUENZA. 89 17.—Influenza—The Grippe (Catarrhus Epidemicus). This is an epidemic catarrh, and is so called from the Italian word which means " influence," because it arises from some peculiar condition or contamination of the atmosphere. It most commonly attacks adults of feeble resisting power. Symptoms.—These differ but little from common cold, except that the general debility is greater and more persistent. There are chilliness, anxiety, heat, head- ache, pain of the back and limbs, cough, nausea, suffu- • sion of the eyes, sneezing, and an acrid discharge from the nostrils, Avith great depression of strength. The most recent epidemic, that raged throughout Europe, and to some extent in this country, was charac- terized by very defined symptoms. As a rule, the at- tacks set in rather suddenly, Avith aching and soreness throughout the body; patient feels as if beaten, as if bones Avere broken, Avith rheumatic pains through the joints everywhere, coming and going quickly. Sleep restless, throat scrapy, dry, hot; head more or less dull and aching; very thirsty and restless. The cough sets in later, with great soreness under the sternum ; every time the patient coughs, it feels sore and raw. Sneezing and coughing, great aching and prostration, are the chief symptoms. Diet and Regimen.—Beef-tea, milk-punch and fari- naceous food, with repose in bed, or confinement in a room of uniform temperature. During fever, loss of appetite, etc., toast-and-water or barley-water will be more suitable, adopting, as the fever abates, a generous diet. It is best to put the patient to bed. Treatment.—The first remedy to be thought of is 90 blood diseases. Gelsemium, which corresponds to the languor, feverish- ness and headache and general malaise Ferrum phos.—Fever, pain in joints and cough, sore throat, muscular pains. Bryonia may be alternated with it when above symp- toms are present and every movement is painful and the patient is very thirsty. Rhus.—When, with all the soreness and lameness, patient must move his limbs to get relief. Euphrasia. — Congestion of nose, eyes and head; symptoms of coryza with much cough and expectora- tion. Arsenicum.—For great prostration, restlessness, much fluid, burning discharge from nose; thirsty, but patient drinks very little at a time. Administration.—Dissolve the remedy selected in water, and take a dose every hour. 18.—Erysipelas—St. Anthony's Fire. Symptoms.—Simple erysipelas, the variety treated of here, is marked by a spreading, inflammatory red- ness of the skin, with puffy swelling, tenderness, burn- ing, and a painful sensation of tingling and tension. The color of the skin varies from a light-red to a dark- red or purplish color, becoming white under pressure, but assuming its former appearance on removal of that pressure. An attack is often ushered in with shiver- ing, languor, headache, and sometimes nausea, vomit- ing, or diarrhoea. Causes.—Debility, and loss of resisting power from disease; the habitual use of stimulants; exposure to cold; impaired digestion; wounds; badly ventilated erysipelas—st. Anthony's fire. 91 or crowded apartments; and certain conditions of the atmosphere. A recent wound or bruise is a chief exciting cause; neglect of cleanliness, intemperance, unwholesome food and bad air are the predisposing causes. Treatment.—Ferrum phos.—When there is much fever. Belladonna.—Severe, bright-red, smooth eruption, with headache, thirst, constipation, thick urine, etc. Apis.—Rapid swelling of the parts, stinging pain, rosy hue of skin, scanty urine. Rhus tox.— Vesicles (little bladders), whether on the face or body, Avith swelling, shiny redness of the parts, and restlessness. A dose every second or third hour. Accessory Measures.—In mild cases, no external application is required, unless fluid exudes, which may be absorbed by dusting powdered starch or flour over the surface. In severe cases, warm fomentations, and aftenvard flour or fine starch, should be sprinkled over the parts. Incisions, poultices and bandages may be necessary, should matter form. Diet.—Gum-water, barley-water, or pure water, to allay thirst. Bad and tedious cases require beef-tea and good nourishment at regular intervals and, subse- quently, change of air. 92 constitutional diseases. CHAPTER II. GENERAL DISEASES.—(b) CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 19.—Acute Rheumatism—Rheumatic Fever— and Chronic Rheumatism. Symptoms.—Acute rheumatism sets in with general febrile disorder, folloAved by acute inflammation of the fibrous structures about one or more of the larger joints—the shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle, etc. The affected joints are swollen, tense, stiff, slightly red- dened, very painful, and the pain is so increased by movement that a patient often says he has lost the use of the limb. The skin is hot, tawny in color, but covered with a sour sweat, having an offensive odor; the pulse is round and full; the tongue is furred; the urine is highly colored and turbid when cool, and the bowels generally confined. Palpitation and continued pain in the heart are unfavorable symptoms. The in- flammation is liable to metastasis from one joint to another, or to other fibrous structures, as the pericardium the valves of the heart, etc. (See also under " Gout") Muscular rheumatism includes lumbago (see the next section), pleurodynia or false pleurisy—rheumatism of the muscles of the chest—crick in the neck—when the cervical muscles are affected, etc. The treatment, however, is nearly the same in the different varieties. Causes.—Exposure to cold and Avet; sudden suppres- sion of perspiration; and especially evaporation from wet clothes, causing chill, induce an altered condition of the blood which produces pain. It occurs most fre- rheumatism. 93 quently in young persons, from twenty to thirty years of age, or younger. Joints which have been sprained, long and excessively exercised, or otherwise impaired, are particularly prone to suffer. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Acute rheumatism, chiefly at the commencement; violent shooting or tearing pains, aggravated by touch; SAvelling and redness of the affected parts; impaired appetite; high-colored, scanty urine, and other febrile symptoms. A dose every second or third hour. Ferrum phos.—For similar symptoms. Pain and swelling of joints ; fever. Bryonia.—Lancinating or stitching muscular pains, worse on movement or touch; rheumatism affecting the joints and muscles of the chest, with catching or pain- ful breathing (false pleurisy). Rhus tox.—Pains ivorse during rest, the patient con- stantly turning about for ease, yet finding but little; deep, tearing, or bruised pains ; rheumatism from get- ting wet, aggravated by damp or cold weather. Mercurius.—Puffy swelling of the affected parts; the pains seem to be in the bones, and are worse with warmth and at night; profuse perspiration without relief. Pulsatilla.— Wandering rheumatism; rheumatism re- lieved by cold; sensation of torpor in the limbs; pale face; diarrhoea, etc. Calcarea phos.—Pain in joints at every change of weather. Rheumatism in young people Avho are developing. Accessory Means.—During the fever, the patient should remain in bed, and the diet be restricted to free draughts of water, milk-and-water, barley-water, gruel, etc. Oranges, grapes, lemons, may be given; but apples, 94 CONSTITUTIONAL diseases. pears and stone-fruit should be withheld. Warm baths or hot compresses are both useful and comforting. Wet-packing of the whole body (pp. 60, 61), or of the af- fected parts, according to circumstances, is a most use- ful adjunct. When the heart suffers, a hot linseed-meal poultice or hot flannels should be frequently renewed over the region. During convalescence great attention must be paid to the joints; they must be diligently worked both by the patient and the nurse, and rubbed with oil to prevent their becoming stiff. Chronic Rheumatism. — Chronic rheumatism re- quires similar remedies to the acute form, Bry., Am., Cimic, Phyto., Merc, and Rhus tox. being the chief. Persons liable to rheumatism should wear flannel and warm clothing generally, and avoid damp and cold. Warm-, salt-, vapor- or hot-air baths are useful. After the use of warm bathing, cold should be gradually tried, as it tends to prevent subsequent attacks. Turk- ish baths, judiciously taken, are often efficacious. Fric- tions with Arnica oil are beneficial in local and limited forms of rheumatism.. Errors in diet should be guarded against, as attacks are very likely to follow derangement of the digestive organs. 20.—Lumbago—Pains in the Loins. Rheumatism of the muscles of the back, on one or both sides of the loins the pain being increased by move- ment of the back. Tartar emetic.—Lumbago, the vertebrae feel as if they rubbed against each other. Rhus tox.—Chronic lumbago; pains worse during repose, and at night; and when the disease has arisen from getting wet. GOUT. 95 Cimicifuga.—Useful in a large number of cases ; espe- cially when there is restlessness, with depression of spirits. Bryonia.—Intense pains, causing the patient to walk stooping, increased by movement or" a draught of air, with shivering or biliousness. Arnica oil, rubbed into the affected parts, is often very useful. 21.—Gout (Podagra). The ancient name of this blood disease—podagra, foot-pain—indicates the parts usually first affected. Causes.—Gout generally occurs in elderly persons who live luxuriously, and suffer much from heartburn, and other symptoms of acid dyspepsia. Distinctions between Gout and Rheumatism.—1. Gout rarely occurs till about or after the middle period of life; rheumatism attacks the young. 2. Gout chiefly affects the small joints—the metatarsal joint of the great toe, for instance; rheumatism the large joints. 3. Gout is often associated with chalk-stones (urate of soda) ; rheumatism is not. 4. Gout is decidedly hereditary ; rheumatism is less so. 5. Gout is not attended with profuse acid sweats; rheumatism is. 6. Gout is often the punishment of the luxurious and indolent; rheumatism is rather the lot of the hard-work- ing and the exposed. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Fever symptoms, especially at the commencement, and in plethoric patients. Pulsatilla.—May be alternated with Aeon, from the 96 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. commencement, or given alone when the joint has be- come attacked. Nux vomica.—Attacks traceable to stimulants or lux- urious living, with indigestion or irregular action of the bowels. Bryonia.—Gout implicating the chest, or with bilious symptoms; pains increased by movement. Natrum sulph.—Is the remedy for chronic gout. Administration.—Dissolve the selected remedy in water and give a teaspoonful of the solution every half hour in acute cases; in less acute, every two hours ; in chronic, twice a day. Accessory Means.—Flannels and application of heat often give relief. The affected limb should be raised. Preventive Treatment.—The patient should be well nourished, but the consumption of animal food diminished, and the tendency to acidity guarded against by avoiding indigestible, saccharine, highly-seasoned or greasy food, twice-cooked meat, raw vegetables, and stimulants. Moderate and regular exercise should be taken in the open air, and the sponge-bath every morn- ing. Perspiration should be encouraged, with care that it is not checked by chill. 22.—Phthisis Pulmonalis—Scrofulous Con- sumption. In cases of phthisis (from thio, to consume) there are deposited in the lungs certain morbid bodies called tu- bercles, in which the processes of suppuration and ulcer- ation are set up. Although no period of life is exempt, phthisis is most frequent in the course of youth, espe- cially from the eighteenth to the twenty-second year, PHTHISIS. 97 and, of all the diseases that claim our attention, is the one that proves the most destructive of human life. When once fully developed, it is generally supposed to be incurable; but in the early stages of the disease, while the tubercles are yet small, and but slight irrita- tion has been set up, our preventive and remedial measures may be employed with much hope of success. Symptoms.—The early symptoms of consumption are obscure, and consist chiefly of chronic hoarseness; cough; shortness of breath on moderate exertion; wan- dering, irregular pains, and constriction about the chest; excessive sensitiveness of the lungs to cold air; impaired digestion; debility and loss of flesh without any assign- able cause; haemoptysis; flushing of the cheeks, and quickening of the pulse in the evening, followed by dis- turbed sleep and early morning perspirations. Spitting or coughing up of blood often takes place, and usually gives the first intimation of the real nature of the malady; its occurrence before or soon after the setting in of a cough always indicates danger. As the disease advances, breathing becomes very distressing, the sputa more purulent, and exhaustion and emacia- tion, from impairment of the digestive functions, are now confirmed and progressive symptoms. From thick- ening or ulceration of the respiratory mucous mem- brane, huskiness or loss of voice is produced. Other organs often become implicated, especially the intestinal canal, in which a deposit of tubercles takes place, pro- ducing diarrhoea. The skin covering the parts on which the patient lies is apt to become sore and in- flamed, and even to perish from the pressure of the attenuated body. Apathse (little ulcers) of the mouth, pharynx, etc., or swelling of the feet, ankles, and even 7 98 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. legs, ensue, and the long and weary struggle is at last terminated by the gentle approach of death. The physical signs observed by auscultation and percus- sion tend to remove that uncertainty which formerly prevailed on the subject; but as these signs can only be appreciated and interpreted by a medical man, they are not further referred to in this work. All doubtful cases should be early submitted to professional homoeo- pathic treatment. Causes.—Tubercular phthisis is generally hereditary; it may arise in early life from an enfeebled condition of the system induced by a confined and impure atmos- phere, unhealthy or too prolonged occupations, innutri- tious food, anxiety, etc., to which an hereditary predis- position and the scrofulous constitution powerfully contribute. Treatment.—Where tubercles exist in the lungs, either in a latent or partially developed state, Ave strongly recommend the following measures: 1st.—Highly nutritious and, easily digestible food. The diet should be nourishing, digestible and sufficiently abundant, including animal food once or twice daily, or occasionally fish, stale home-made or brown bread, far- inaceous puddings, green vegetables, mealy potatoes, milk, lightly boiled eggs, etc. Condiments, pastry and all articles of food that occasion nausea, eructations, or other symptoms of indigestion, are to be avoided. The diet should include Cod-liver oil, in small quantities. The continued use of oil, judiciously given, controls the expectoration and night-sweats, soothes the cough and checks emaciation. Cod-Liver Oil.—Cod-liver oil is an agent of great value in the treatment of many constitutional diseases, PHTHISIS. 99 especially for the one under consideration. That kind of oil should be chosen Avhich the patient finds most easy of digestion. A teaspoonful, once or twice daily, taken before, after or between meals, as may prove most agreeable, is generally sufficient, especially at the commencement; and, by slightly warming the oil, or taking after it a lump of sugar on Avhich a drop of some essential oil has been placed, or some coffee, or orange- wine, etc., the unpalatableness may be in great measure removed. Inunction over the chest and between the shoulders is also generally beneficial. Kumyss, or fermented milk, is very beneficial and generally liked by the patient. It may be used alone to the exclusion of all other food, or can be taken at any time when the patient desires it. 2d.—Daily exercise in the open air, employed in such a manner as to bring all the muscles—especially those of the chest and upper extremities—into moderate and agreeable action, and with the body in an erect posture, as in walking. Riding on horseback is also favorable, as affording a large amount of fresh air, the exercise not exciting great difficulty of breathing. In unfavor- able weather, some of the Avell-contrived apparatus for arm and back exercise, especially that of the cross-bar, should be used in the house, Avith open Avindows. 3rd.—Bathing, followed by vigorous friction, by means of a bath-sheet, is an important measure, and, ex- cept in confirmed consumption, is generally beneficial. The Avater may be applied in the form of baths, spong- ing or wet-sheets, and may even include sea-bathing. Weak children or delicate patients may use tepid water, and gradually reduce the temperature. When admis- sible, the best plan is rapidly to plunge a child iu Avater, 100 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. which obviates the exposure consequent on sponging, and insures a quick and complete reaction. A healthy action of the skin will thus be promoted, and the gene- ral circulation equalized. But cold bathing is injurious when the surface is rendered cold and pale, and the patient is left languid and dejected. In such a case, warm salt baths should be first used. In consumptive cases, spong- ing the patient every morning with one part of vinegar to' six parts of hot water is most agreeable as well as refreshing. 4th.—Residence in a moderately warm climate. Warm air soothes the trachea and bronchial tubes, and the ex- ternal warmth tends to keep the blood to the surface of the body, and so obviates congestion of the lungs; and, further, the warm air being rarefied, less oxygen is in- spired, and less carbonic acid given off, so that less vig- orous breathing is required; and, also, the liver, in the warmer climates, seems to take on some of the offices of the lungs. The climate, however, must be dry, as damp is prejudicial. The writer- is strongly convinced that entire change of climate, if adopted before the dis- ease has produced irreparable changes in the lungs, is the most effective and permanent remedy. The climate of many parts of California, Arizona, Florida, Victoria in Australia, is probably the best to which a patient of consumptive tendency can be sent; but never send any patient away from home and relatives in the last stages of the disease. It is simply cruelty. 5th.—Lastly, all excesses are to be avoided, whether in the pleasures of the table, wine or liquors, business, intellectual pursuits, or in the gratification of any pas- sion which overstimulates and fatigues the mind or body. PHTHISIS. 101 By the early and persevering adoption of these sug- gestions, and the administration of homoeopathic reme- dies, much might be done toward the prevention of consumption, as Avell as for the restoration to compara- tive health of tuberculous persons. We have often administered our remedies with marked and permanent benefit to consumptive patients, but the treatment should ahvays be conducted by a physician. Experience in the treatment of a large number of private and dispensary patients enables us to encourage hope even in grave and complicated cases. In the early stages of the disease, a cure can often be effected; even when considerably advanced, life may be prolonged for many years; and in the last stages of the disease, the patient's sufferings may be mitigated to a marked degree. Among the articles of diet may be mentioned the various extracts of malt and maltine and especially kumyss. Cod-liver oil is also of great importance where it is well tolerated. It should be taken tAvo or three times a day immediately after food. When it is not tol- erated Iodine given homceopathically will sometimes do more than the cod-liver oil, which contains iodine. Also suet and milk may be taken as a substitute. It is made by simmering an ounce of finely chopped mutton suet in a pint and a half of milk, until the whole is reduced to one pint. Skim carefully and strain. It should be taken warm, and makes an excellent supper. Medicinal Treatment.—This will always be directed by a homoeopathic physician when possible. Among the most useful remedies are : Calcarea phos., especially for incipient cases. Debility, cough, hoarseness, night-sweat and diarrhoea are all 102 diseases of the nervous system. benefited by it. May be given in powder, size of pea, three times a day in warm milk. Phosphorus.—Irritative cough, with expectoration of mucus streaked with blood. Ferrum phos.—Breathing short, oppressed and hurried, accompanied by heat and feverishness. (See also " Cough," " Hemorrhages" and " Clinical Index.") CHAPTER III. DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. Nera7ous diseases have considerably increased of late years throughout the civilized world. Undoubtedly this is due to our modern ways of living; the result of the overtaxed energies and feverish excitement in Avhich great numbers live, and the large amount of stimulants taken to sustain that excitement. It is not overwork that kills, but worry. What is most needed in the prevention and treatment of nervous troubles is true temperance in all things; a less selfish and anxious pursuit of wealth; daily exercise and recreation in the open air; simple food, Avell prepared,and a release once in a while from the hurry and bustle of daily business life. Looking to higher and more important things than mere money-making will tend to be an effectual anti- dote to many causes of nervous diseases. 23.—Epilepsy (Falling Sickness). Symptoms.—Epilepsy means literally a seizure; for often in a moment the patient falls to the ground Avith epilepsy. 103 sudden and complete loss of consciousness, struggling and foaming; the eyes roll spasmodically, the teeth are clenched, the tongue is often bitten, the breathing is labored, and the face purplish and swollen. Some- times a fit is preceded by depression of spirits, a gloomy mood, drowsiness, or the aura epileptica, a peculiar sensation, compared to a stream of warm or cold air, the trickling of Avater, or the creeping of an insect. It is followed by deep sleep, from which the patient awakes with headache and sense of weariness. Causes.—Hereditary tendency; injuries or malforma- tion of the head; local irritation; derangement of the nervous or sexual system; self-abuse; fright, or fits of rage; the irritation of worms; the sight of other epi- leptics, etc. The evidence of hereditary tendency exists in the fact that two or more cases of epilepsy frequently occur in the same family, far more frequently than it would do if it were a mere coincidence. Still, evidence of a local irritation as a cause should be sought after, so that it may, if possible, be removed. Treatment during a Fit.—Tight articles of clothing must be loosened, particular care being taken that there shall be no pressure on the vessels of the neck; the patient should be placed in a cool, airy place; the head and trunk slightly raised; a cork or linen pad placed between the teeth to prevent the tongue, which should be pushed back, from being bitten; and the patient Avithheld as much as possible from injuring himself, Avithout restraining him beyond what is absolutely nec- essary. Dashing the face with cold Avater and the appli- cation of smelling-salts to the nose are of no advantage; the fit had better take its course. After it is over, the patient should be allowed to sleep. 104 diseases of the ner\tous system. Treatment between Fits.—Belladonna.—Great irrita- bility of the nervous system, the patient starting at the least noise; convulsive movement of the muscles of the mouth, face and limbs; dilated pupils, fixed or con- vulsed eyes, intolerance of light; stammering; con- gestion of blood to the head; and when an attack commences with a sensation of crawling in the upper extremities. Ignatia.—Nervous, sensitive patients; when anxiety or grief has been an exciting cause, and there are deep sighs between or before attacks. Nux vomica.—Indigestion; irregular action of the bowels; great irritability between the fits; and the patient takes too little open air exercise. Opium.—Fits traceable to fright; deep, lethargic sleep between the paroxysms ; fullness of blood. Chamomilla.—From gastric derangements in children; an attack is preceded by colicky pains, and followed by stretching of the limbs, clenching of the thumbs, sour vomitings, paleness of one cheek and redness of the other. Cina.—From the irritation of worms. Sidphur.—Epilepsy following a suppressed eruption or discharge; chronic cases; also as an intercurrent remedy. Administration.—For the premonitory symptoms, a dose every one, two, or three hours; during the inter- vals, twice daily. Accessory Means. — Regular exercise and amuse- ments, but not carried to the point of fatigue. Many attacks are brought on by errors in diet; hence plain, nourishing food, in moderate quantities; cold ablutions every morning. Patients with a tendency to plethora INFANTILE CONVULSIONS. 105 or congestion should wholly abstain from stimulants. Bodily and mental fatigue, violent emotions, excesses of every kind, more especially sexual, must be strictly avoided. 24.—Infantile Convulsions. Symptoms.—Unconsciousness, rolling of the eyes, grinding of the teeth, clenched hands, contortions or stiffness of the body and limbs; sometimes the face is purplish, and the breathing labored. The attacks terminate with trembling, dullness, paleness of the face, and evacuation of the bladder and bowels, etc. Causes.—Errors in diet; umvholesome and indigest- ible food; irritation of the brain from pressure of a tooth upon an inflamed gum, or anything which over- excites the nervous system; disease of the brain; an insufficient supply of blood to the brain, as in badly-fed children, or an impure supply of blood, as in the eruptive fevers; the irritation of worms; fright; in suckling infants, powerful emotions of the mother. The remote causes are hereditary predisposition, etc. Treatment.—The clothing about the neck, chest and body should be loosened, the head raised, the face sprinkled with Avater, and plenty of fresh air admitted. A Avarm bath for about ten minutes, maintained at 98° by additions of hot water, is generally advisable; at the same time cold water should be gently poured on the head for one or two minutes, or a towel squeezed out of cold water applied to the head; the child should be quickly dried and wrapped in warm flannel or blanket; then put to bed. A medical man should be summoned if possible. Belladonna.—Convulsions with determination of blood 106 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. to, or inflammation of, the brain; hot or flushed face, dilated pupils, etc. Bell, is especially useful in stout children, and should be given early, and repeated every five minutes for several times; a drop of the tincture in a teaspoonful of Avater, or a few pellets on the tongue. Magnesia phos. may be given after a few doses of Bella- donna, and generally suffices for all ordinary convulsive attacks. Chamomilla.—Spasmodic twitching of the eyelids and muscles of the face, one cheek red and the other pale; clenched thumbs. It is most suitable for irritable children, and in fits from disorders of the digestive functions. Opium.—Convulsions from fright, followed by stupor, labored breathing, confined bowels. Aconitum. — Fever — restlessness, flushed face—and when convulsions are threatened. Accessory Treatment.—Diarrhoea during dentition, unless excessive, should not be interfered with. It may be regarded as an effort of nature to relieve congestion of the brain. " Keeping the head cool and the feet warm," washing the patient in cold water daily, and idlowing him to be much in the open air tend to pre- vent determination to the head. Purgatives are to be avoided, and the bowels regulated by suitable diet or by homoeopathic treatment. Costiveness in infancy is due to errors in diet; if obstinate, or if worms be present, injections of water may be used. The mother or nurse should abstain from all indigestible food. SPASMODIC CROUP. 107 25.—Spasmodic Croup—Child-Crowing (Laryn- gismus Stridulus). This affection is distinct from croup proper, described further on, for it is a purely nervous disease, inducing spasm of the glottis. It occurs at the youngest age, before the end of the first dentition. Symptoms.—It comes on suddenly, usually at night, with a spasm of the muscles of the throat, so that the child struggles to get his breath, Avith a choking noise, and becomes livid in the lips. It generally occurs during dentition or from irritation of the stomach and bowels, occasioned by improper food or Avorms. Under proper treatment, the attack usually soon passes off, but some- times it is premonitory of disease of the brain. It is distinguished from true croup by the absence of barking cough, feverishness, anxiety of countenance and distress between the attacks. Treatment.—Aconitum, in alternation with Spongia, should be given every few minutes till improvement ensues. Gelsemium is an excellent remedy when the above do not meet the case. Administration.—The remedy may be given in drop- doses in half a teaspoonful of water every ten minutes for three or four times. After the attack is passed, the medicine should be given three or four times a day, for two or three days, to prevent subsequent attacks. Accessory Means.—Fomentation to the throat, by means of a sponge wrung out of hot water; the warm bath and the removal of any known exciting cause. 108 diseases of the nervous system. 26.—Headache. Headache may be merely an incidental symptom of a general disease, such as indigestion, common cold, deranged menstruation, congestion or inflammation of the brain, etc., or it may be a more or less local affec- tion, resulting from some irritation of the cerebral nerves. The treatment of chronic headache should be regulated according to its cause, and be under the care of a homoeopathic physician. Headache from conges- tion or inflammation especially requires professional treatment. Treatment.—Belladonna.—Throbbing pains, shooting from one point to another; fullness, pressure and heavi- ness above the eyes, aggraArated by noise, light or mental efforts; congestion to the head, with redness of the face, glistening of the eyes and excessive sensitiveness. A dose every hour until relieved; afterward less fre- quently. Bell, is often useful after, or alternately with, Aeon. Aconitum.—Heat in the head from excitement, and aggravated by motion, with a sense of coldness in the rest of the body; sensation as of a tight band round the head; pain accompanied by swelling; cold water to the head gives relief. Much feverishness, restlessness and anxiety call for it. Iris.—Sick-headache, with much vomiting of bile, pain in the forehead and right side of head, aggravated by movement. Nux vomica.—Headache from intoxicating drinks, sedentary habits, too close attention to business; stupe- fying headache with giddiness and heaviness in the morning after unrefreshing sleep, or after meals, with headache. 109 other symptoms of indigestion. It is well indicatad by a dark, bilious complexion, irritable disposition, and irregular action of the bowels. Pulsatilla.—From rich food, with acidity, heaviness of the head, pain on one side of it, shooting into the ears, paleness, fretfulness, and shiverings. Also in women from suppressed period. Bryonia.—From cold, most troublesome in the morn- ing, or after a meal; digging or tearing pains, and a feeling as if the contents of the head would protrude on stooping. Rheumatic headache ; headache during hot weather; also with bleeding of the nose, or torpor of the bowels. Ferrum phos.—Headaches of children. Throbbing pain, red face, pain worse stooping or moving. Kali phos.—Nervous headache, hysterical mood, very sensitive. Headache of students. Gone feeling in stomach. Natrum mur. — Chronic and sick-headaches; men- strual headache; for school-girls who apply themselves too closely; with constipation. Preventive Treatment.—An attack of headache may sometimes be warded off by a dose or two of Nux vomica (if from indigestion), or of Aconitum (if from catarrh), if taken immediately the first symptoms are observed. Accessory Means.—The hands and feet should be plunged in hot water for ten minutes; the temples bathed with vinegar and spirits of wine in equal parts ; food should be abstained from for a time to give the stomach rest and quiet the nerves, if the headache be brought on by dietetic errors; simple nourishing food should be taken frequently, if the headache be nervous. 110 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. General Treatment.—The cause should, if possible, be ascertained and removed. In cases of difficulty, an observant physician can generally detect the cause, and almost as often point out the cure. Highly stimulat- ing food and drink, especially spirits, strong tea and coffee, should be avoided; there should also be regular- ity of meals, adaptation of clothing to the changes of the seasons, a healthy action of the bowels, and a suffi- cient amount of daily open-air recreation. 27.—Sick-Headache. This, the headache of indigestion, is often errone- ously called bilious headache. Symptoms.—Giddiness, dizziness, swimming in the head, sickness, etc. The headache is stupefying or agonizing, generally commences in the morning, and is often confined to one spot on the side of the head, on the forehead or over the eye. Causes.—Errors of diet; indulgence in wine; seden- tary habits; or may occur in a person whose digestion has been previously impaired Avithout any immediate dietetic infraction. . Treatment.—See the preceding section, and also that on " Indigestion." The chief remedies are Nux and Iris. Take a dose of each in alternation every half hour; Avhen better, not so often. After the acute attack: it is advisable to take the remedy corresponding to the general state of the patient every night on going to bed. Very often, one of the Tissue Remedies will be found to be needed for the radical cure of the disorder. Among these consult Calcarea phos., Natrum mur., Ferrum phos. and Kali phos. INFLAMMATION of the eyes. Ill CHAPTER IV. DISEASES OF THE EYES, EARS AND NOSE. 28.—Inflammation of the Eyes (Ophthalmia). - Ophthalmia is a general term for inflammation of the mucous membrane which lines the eyelids and the front part of the eyeball. There are several varieties, such as catarrhal ophthalmia, from cold; strumous oph- thalmia, from a scrofulous habit, marked by an extreme intolerance of light, etc. Symptoms.—Soreness in the ball of the eye, sensation as of sand under the lids, redness of the eyes, with SAvelling of the vessels, itching and shooting pains, pus- tules and scales on the lids; the pains increase in the evening and on exposure to cold, and there is aggluti- nation in the morning. Treatment. — Aconite.—Acute inflammation of the eyes of any kind, especially after injuries or operations. Arnica.—Inflammation from external injuries. It may be used both internally and externally. Belladonna.—Pain, redness and swelling; throbbing in the temples; flushed cheeks, glistening eyes and intoler- ance of light. Calcarea carb.—Chronic ophthalmia in scrofulous de- bilitated children; secretion of mucus, causing the lids to stick together in the morning. Hepar sulph.—Chronic scrofulous ophthalmia, espe- cially if much Calomel has been administered. It is generally most beneficial after the acute symptoms have yielded to such remedies as A con. and Bell. Sulphur.—Frequent relapses in scrofulous persons; or 112 DISEASES OF THE EYES. it may follow other remedies after the more urgent symptoms have subsided. Accessory Measures.— If inflammation has been caused by sand, dust, lime, flies or hairs of the lids, the irritating body should be immediately removed; and if the inflammation be considerable, a shade should be worn. Strong light, wind, and cold air should be avoided. To prevent the eyelids from being cemented together in the morning the margins of the lids should be gently smeared with a little olive oil by means of a camel's hair brush, or with simple cerate, or vaseline, at bedtime. Except the Calendula lotion, the only further local application admissible in domestic practice is a piece of lint wetted with tepid or cold water. Patients in crowded and unhealthy towns should remove for a time to the country, Avhere they can take daily out-of- door exercise in a pure and bracing air. The food should be plain and nourishing, the habits early and regular, and frequent bathing should be practiced. Chronic, especially strumous ophthalmia requires Cod- liver oil. Persons predisposed to ophthalmia should guard against exposures to the Avind. 29.—Stye on the Eyelids (Hordeolum). The stye is a little boil projecting from the margin of the eyelids, causing pain till relieved by the escape of matter. Treatment.—Pulsatilla is the chief remedy and the the first to be used, unless considerable inflammation exists, when it may be preceded by one or two doses of Aeon. But Puis, will not prevent a tendency to its re- turn. For this purpose we give Silicea.—Patients predisposed to styes. INFLAMMATION OF THE EARS. 113 Administration.—In acute cases, every three hours; in chronic cases, morning and night. Auxiliary Treatment. — Fomentations of tepid water; if pus forms, a bread-and-water poultice at night. The eyes should rest, and be protected from a strong light, especially from gaslight. 30.—Inflammation of the Ears (Otitis)—Earache (Otalgia). Symptoms.—Sudden pain, sometimes so acute as to cause delirium; tenderness and soreness ; unnatural noises; deafness or morbid sensibility to sound; more or less redness and swelling of the ear-passage ; flush- ing of the face on the affected side. Causes.—Cold currents; imperfectly drying the ear after washing; injudicious bathing; probing or syring- ing an inflamed ear. Inflammatory affections of the ear frequently follow the eruptive fevers in strumous children. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Recent inflammation from cold. Belladonna.—Tearing pains in the head, with ten- dency to delirium. Pulsatilla.—Sticking or tearing pains in and behind the ear, swelling and a feeling as if the ear were closed. It is specially suited to the earache of children, and after the inflammatory symptoms have been controlled by the former remedies. Chamomilla.—Earache from cold or suppressed perspi- ration; stabbing, tearing pains in the ears; extreme sensitiveness and irritability. Mercurius.—Pains in the ear extending to the cheeks and teeth; discharge; swelling of the glands, etc. 8 114 diseases of the ears. Sulphur.—After the use of other remedies, as an in- termediate one, or to complete the cure. Dose and Administration.—See p. 53. Accessory Means.—Hot fomentations, poultices, or the steam of hot Avater, to mitigate the pain. Cotton avooI should be put in the ear for a short time after- Avard to avert cold. 31.—Discharge from the Ears (Otorrhea). This disease is commonly met with in scrofulous children, and, if not soon amenable to the remedies, should be treated professionally. Treatment.—Mercurius.—Thick, bloody or fetid dis- charge ; tearing pains in the side of the head or face; swelling and tenderness of the glands about the ear; also when the complaint follows scarlatina, measles, small- pox, etc. A dose thrice daily. Hepar sulph. is preferable if the patient ha3 been dosed with Mercury. Pulsatilla.—Simple discharge from the ear, Avith deaf- ness, in non-scrofulous children. Calcarea phos.—Tedious cases in strumous children. Kali mur. may be given after Mercurius or Pulsatilla, a dose morning and evening, for one week. Accessory Measures.—Change of air is often neces- sary ; country air, in a dry, salubrious district; or, in the autumnal months, sea air is generally of marked utility. Cod-liver oil is also strongly recommended. 32.—Deafness (Surditas). Causes.—Deafness is generally a symptom of some other disorder, such as inflammation of the ears, severe cold, glandular enlargement or chronic disease of the bleeding from the nose. 115 ear. It may also be occasioned by loud noises or by the accumulation of ear-Avax or other substances lodged in the ear-passage. Treatment.—Deafness of recent date may generally be quickly cured by skillful homoeopathic treatment; long-standing cases are often obstinate. Pidsatilla.—Recent deafness from cold, with noises in the ears. Mercurius.—Catarrhal deafness, with swollen glands of the neck and throat; suddenly suppressed discharge from the nose and ears; roaring and buzzing sounds in the head. Also deafness after smallpox. Phosphorus.—Deafness of nervous patients, or following any nervous disorder. Administration.—In recent cases, a dose every four hours; in chronic, twice daily. Accessory Means.—Hard ear-wax, or any foreign substance, causing deafness, should be early removed by skillful hands, after first gently syringing the ear with warm water. All nostrums, to be dropped into the ear, should be eschewed. Mullein oil may be dropped on a little cotton and inserted at bedtime. Ferrum phos. and Kali mur. may be given when no other remedies seem to be indicated. They will benefit a large proportion of cases of catarrhal deafness. Take a powder morning and evening, alternating every week. 33.—Bleeding from the Nose (Epistaxis). Bleeding from the nose is of frequent occurrence in children, a fit of sneezing or coughing, a slight blow, seA'ere exercise or even the heat of summer often serv- ing as the exciting cause. Bleeding from the nose also occurs in the course of many diseases, or at their termi- 116 diseases of the nose. nation, and often affords considerable relief. It should not be interfered with unless it is excessive, recurs too frequently, or takes place under a weak state of the sys- tem. When it arises from injuries, or in patients already reduced by disease, and is excessive, remedies are necessary. Causes.—Undue fullness of the bloodvessels of the head; local disease of the nostrils, or a constitutional hemorrhagic diathesis. In men it frequently succeeds suppression of hemorrhoidal discharge, and in young women it may be vicarious of the menstrual function. Under peculiar conditions of the constitution, epistaxis often occurs periodically in some adult persons, and then its cessation, without judicious treatment, may be- come a source of danger. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Bleeding after being over- heated, or in plethoric persons, with fever, strong pulsa- tions of the arteries of the temples and neck, and full, hurried pulse. A dose every fifteen or twenty minutes during the bleeding. Belladonna.—With flushed face and congestion to the head. Bryonia.—Coming on every morning. Arnica.—Hemorrhage from violence—a blow, fall or excessive bodily exertion—preceded by heat and itch- ing of the nose. Pulsatilla.—In females, from suppressed or scanty monthly discharge. (See also Bryonia.) China.—If the loss of blood has been such as to weaken the patient, producing paleness, fainting, etc., a dose three or four times daily for a Aveek or ten days. At the same time the food should be nourishing and taken at regular hours, avoiding, of course, overrepletion. bleeding from the nose. 117 Ferrum phos. may be given morning and evening for a week after an attack, should the patient be subject to them. It will prevent their recurrence. Accessory Measures.—So long as the hemorrhage continues, the patient should be kept standing, as that posture faArors fainting, which is often nature's mode of cure. If the hemorrhage has caused debility, a nour- ishing but digestible diet is necessary. Cold is a most successful means of arresting hemor- rhage ; it may be applied to the nose or forehead by a handkerchief wetted in cold water, or by ice, or by the sudden application of cold water to the neck or back, or by placing a cold key or any other iron instrument to the spine. In these latter instances the influence of cold is not restricted to the part to which it is immedi- ately applied; the bleeding is arrested by the sympa- thetic constriction of the bloodvessels Avhich it pro- duces in remote parts. In most cases, however, the simple plan of causing the patient to raise his arms above his head, and holding them so for a little time, promptly arrests hemorrhage. All stimulating food and drink must be withheld, and every circumstance likely to quicken the circulation avoided. Plethoric patients, predisposed to this complaint or to congestions, should lead a temperate life, avoid stim- ulants, use frequent ablutions of cold water, and take moderate exercise daily in the open air, avoiding, at the same time, sudden changes of temperature. Immoder- ate exertion, fatigue and much stooping are injurious. 118 diseases of the respiratory system. CHAPTER V. DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 34.—Croup (Angina Trachealis). Croup proper is inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx and trachea, with swelling from effusion into their tissue. There is probably no real membranous formation, as in diphtheria, but only a secretion of tenacious mucus. Croup is a serious and dangerous disease, as death may occur suddenly from convul- sions, spasm of the glottis, exhaustion, the formation of a coagulum in the heart, or from the excessive swelling of the lining of the windpipe, by which the patient is choked. The disease should be placed under the care of a professional Homoeopath as quickly as possible. Symptoms.—It begins as a catarrh, with a peculiar barking cough; and afterward, usually at night, the symptoms become aggravated, with paroxysms of dyspnoea, rapid breathing, quick, wiry pulse, thirst, hoarse voice, loud brazen cough, and great distress, the child throwing its head back to put the windpipe on the stretch. The metallic ringing sound, heard in the inspiration and cough, has been compared to the crow- ing of a young cock, or to the barking of a puppy. The disease is often fatal in from two to four days. True croup is less frequent than spasmodic croup (p. 107), and generally occurs in the period between the first dentition and puberty. Remember that the more sudden and violent the attack, the less danger of its being true croup. It is most likely only spasmodic CROUP. 119 croup, and the child will get over the attack in the course of an hour or two, although likely to have another attack the next night. But should the attack come on gradually and insidiously, and the child remain markedly hoarse, and show fever during the day, you must be on your guard, and obtain the advice of a physician. Causes.—Damp and unhealthy situations; sudden changes of temperature; wet feet; poor or scanty food or clothing; previous illness, etc. One attack predis- poses to another. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Great heat, thirst, short dry cough, and difficult breathing. Aconite is often of price- less value in the early stage of the disease; if indicated, it may be given in alternation with one of the following remedies: Spongia.—If Aconite produce perspiration; but if the difficult breathing continue, Spongia should be substi- tuted, particularly if the breathing be labored, loud and Avheezing, and the cough hoarse, hollow, barking or whist- ling, and worse toward evening, the patient looking anxious, pale, and as if he would be suffocated. Hepar sulph.—Loose cough, having the ringing or brassy sound peculiar to croup, with a constant rattling in the chest, during which the patient tries in vain to get relief by expectoration. Tartar emetic.—Loose, rattling cough, difficult respi- ration ; patient is drowsy and SAveaty. The homoeo- pathic cough and croup syrup is a preparation of Tartar emetic. It is an excellent thing to have on hand for emergencies. When children wake suddenly at night and begin with a hoarse, barking cough and difficult breathing, a few doses in rapid succession will generally suffice. 120 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. Phosphorus and Carbo veg. are useful in remoA'ing the hoarseness and cough which often remain after an attack of croup. Administration.—In severe cases, every fifteen or thirty minutes; in mild, or during convalescence, every four or six hours. Accessory Means.—A warm bath, and hot water applications to the throat, are highly advantageous. The feet should be kept warm, there should be no strings or tight articles round the neck, and everything avoided that Avould be likely to excite or irritate the patient. During an attack, as a beverage, water only is admissible. In convalescence, milk-and-water, arroAv- root, gruels, extract of meat, and, gradually, more sub- stantial food. A change of air, especially to a dry, healthy soil, hastens complete recovery. 35.—Cold in the Head—Catarrh (Coryza). This is a very common complaint, and often the pre- cursor of serious and fatal diseases. It is the cause of half our diseases. It consists of inflammation of the mucous membrane of the air-passages of the nose, throat, etc. Symptoms.—It usually comes on Avith slight shiver- ings, pain and a feeling of weight in the head, redness of the eyes, obstruction of one or both nostrils, accom- panied with a discharge of thin colorless, acrid mucus. These symptoms are soon followed by sore throat, hoarseness, sneezing, dry cough, chilliness, general weakness, more or less fever, quick pulse, and loss of appetite. Causes.—Exposure to wet, cold winds, draughts, changes of temperature, insufficient clothing, and COLD IN THE HEAD. 121 especially deficient warmth when the body is cooling after having been heated. A weak condition, an empty stomach and a disordered stomach are predisposing causes. Treatment.—Aconitum.—This is a remedy of great power, and undoubtedly surpasses every other in effi- cacy at the beginning of a cold, or in the precursory stages of all diseases resulting from a cold. If appro- priately and early administered, it will generally re- move all the morbid symptoms consequent on cold, and so obviate the necessity for any other medicine; a dose every second or third hour. If the cold has re- sulted in any of the diseases so often following it, Aeon. may be alternated with, or substituted by, one of the annexed, or some other remedy, according to the direc- tions given in other parts of this Manual. Camphor.—This remedy is only suited to the chill or cold stage, when its prompt administration in two-drop doses, every half hour or hour, repeated several times, will often terminate the disease in the first stage. It should be chosen in preference to Aeon, during the chill stage, and especially if the patient has still to be exposed to changes of temperature. Arsenicum.—Coryza, with copious, watery, acrid dis- charge, and soreness of the surrounding parts, with great lassitude; especially for weak and wheezing patients. Mercurius.—Running cold, with sneezing, soreness of the nose, thick discharge, profuse perspiration; sensitive- ness to cold; and aggravation of symptoms toward evening. Nux vomica.—Sense of weight and pressure in the fore- head; discharge during the day, and stoppage at night; " stuffy cold." 122 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. Pulsatilla.—In females or children, with loss of appe- tite ; diminished or perverted taste and smell; much thick yellow or green discharge from the nose ; heaviness and confusion in the head, Avorse in the evening, or in a warm room. Accessory Measures.—Copious draughts of cold water, and abstinence from solid food, Avhen there is much feverishness. The hot foot-bath (p. 60) may be used before retiring to rest. Prevention.—Persons liable to cold on slight expos- ures should take a cold sponge-, shower-, or plunge- bath, daily, at all seasons of the year. Delicate persons may begin by using tepid water for a few days, grad- ually lowering the temperature till the natural coldness is reached. Except for constitutionally delicate persons, the writer strongly deprecates the habit of washing in warm water. Proper clothing, regulated by the season, is of great importance for all, especially for children and young girls. The feet should be kept dry and warm. Warmth may generally be secured by free out-of-door exercise, sharp walking, the use of the skipping-rope, etc. The hardening process of out-of-door exercise in warm clothing Avhich protects the chest and abdomen, should be gradual. Catarrhal, wheezing patients, going out on a cold day, or passing from a warm to a cold room, should keep the mouth shut, by breathing through the nose. Cold cream applied to the nostrils will give relief in dry, cold, windy Aveather. Chronic Catarrh. Calcareaphos.—An excellent remedy to begin the treat- ment of chronic catarrh and to use it as an intercurrent remedy after others have acted for some time. It has a hoarseness. 123 decidedly tonic action. Give a dose morning and evening. Kali bich.—Chronic catarrh, with hoarseness, tough stringy sputa, chronically inflamed or ulcerated throat, cough, etc. An additional indication is a concurrent affection of the digestive mucous membrane. Sulphur.—Chronic catarrh, Avith free discharge. 36.—Hoarseness. Hoarseness is a frequent accompaniment of a common cold, croup, consumption and other diseases; it may also follow the excessive use of the voice, as in reading, speaking or singing. Treatment.—Aconitum. — Dryness, roughness, and sensation of fullness in the throat, with feverishness. Belladonna.—Hoarseness, Avith sense of constriction and rawness of the throat. Phytolacca.—Catarrhal roughness, dryness, or inflam- mation of the throat, with hoarseness. Ferrum phos.—Hoarseness in those who use the voice much, singers, etc. Dulcamara. —Hoarseness from damp or wet. Arnica.—From excessive use of the voice. It may also be used as a gargle (five drops of the strong tincture to a wine-glass of cold water). Hepar sulph. — Weak and hoarse voice; wheezing breathing. It is indicated in old standing cases, and when Mercury has been largely taken. Carbo veg. — Obstinate chronic hoarseness, worse in damp weather, after talking, and in the evening, and for patients who have been dosed with Mercury. Phosphorus.—Dryness and soreness of the throat and chest, especially in the chronic form of the affection, and for patients having a consumptive tendency. 124 diseases of the respiratory system. 37.—Bronchitis (Cold on the Chest). Bronchitis — inflammation of the mucous lining of the bronchial tubes—is a diffused disease, extending more or less through both lungs, and differs from cold or catarrh, Avhich only affects the lining membrane of the nose and throat. When the upper portion of the chest is chiefly affected, patients often describe it as a " cold in the chest." It most frequently occurs in old per- sons, although it sometimes affects children. Symptoms. — Acute bronchitis begins Avith febrile symptoms—headache, lassitude, and anxiety—these are soon attended with a feeling of tightness or con- striction of the chest, especially the front portion; op- pressed, hurried, anxious breathing, Avith wheezing or whistling sounds; severe cough, at first dry, then with viscid and frothy expectoration, and sometimes streaked Avith blood, subsequently becoming thick, yellowish and purulent. The pulse is frequent, often, weak ; the urine scanty and high-colored; the tongue foul; there are throbbing pains in the forehead, and aching pains in the eyes, aggravated by the cough, with other symptoms of fever. The usual cause of death in bron- chitis is the complete obstruction of the bronchial tubes with an adhesive mucus resembling that expectorated during life. The unfavorable symptoms are cold per- spirations covering the skin; pale and livid cheeks and lips; dry, brown tongue; scanty urine^ cold extrem- ities ; extreme prostration; rattling, and a sense of suffo- cation in the throat; and complete insensibility, ending in death. In favorable cases, however, the disease begins to decline between the fourth and eighth day, and under good treatment and management soon disap- pears ; otherwise it is apt to assume the chronic form. BRONCHITIS. 125 Causes.—Exposure to cold draughts of air, to keen and cutting winds, or sudden changes of temperature; insufficient clothing; inhalations of dust or other irri- tative substances. Bronchitis also arises during the course of other diseases. Treatment.—Aconitum.—A rapid and full pulse, hot skin, frontal headache, palpitation of the heart, dizzi- ness, constipation, and other febrile symptoms. A dose every one or two hours till improvement takes place. Ferrum phos.—May be alternated with or follow Aconite, especially in the chest affections of children. Breathing is short, oppressed and hurried, and there is cough, generally dry. Kali bich.—This remedy has great power in bron- chitis, especially when chronic, with accumulations of tenacious, stringy mucus, difficult to expectorate; cough and dyspnoea. Antimonium tart.—Most valuable in the second stage, when there is much wheezing; with sickness induced by the great accumulation of mucus ; and paroxysms of cough, dyspnoea, palpitation, etc. Extremely valuable in the bronchitis of children, with rattling of mucus in the chest. Prostration, Avith perspiring skin, is a great in- dication. Bryonia.—Heat, soreness, and pain behind the sternum (breast-bone), and irritative cough with scanty expecto- ration, constituting a " cold on the chest." It is most useful when the large air-tubes are involved, but less so when the inflammation extends to the smaller, where Ant. tart, is superior. Bryonia is very useful in acute attacks of children, Avith suffocative cough, rapid difficult breathing, great agitation and anxiety. Phos. may also be considered. 126 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. Additional Remedies.—Ipec, Arsen., Bell, Carbo veg., Merc, Spong. and Sulph. Administration.—The selected remedy should be dis- solved in a tumbler half full of water, and teaspoonful doses given every hour until improvement sets in, then less often. Diet.—During an attack, gum-water, barley-gruel, jelly, etc.; but cold water or toast-water is the most appropriate drink. In elderly or feeble patients, ex- haustion is liable to come on, requiring nutritious and frequent support, cod-liver oil, etc.; the latter is often an important item in the treatment of bronchitis (pp. 98, 101). Accessory Measures.—In acute cases, the patient should be kept in a warm atmosphere (65 to 70 degrees), Avhich should be moistened by steam emitted from a kettle on the fire, or from a can of boiling water at the bedside. Ventilation of the apartment, however, should not be neglected. Hot linseed-meal poultices applied to the chest are beneficial, as they relieve con- gestion. Chronic Bronchitis. This form of bronchitis is common in advanced life. The milder varieties are indicated only by habitual cough, shortness of breath and copious expectoration. Many cases of winter cough in old persons are exam- ples of bronchial inflammation of a low type and pro- tracted character. Treatment.—Kali bich., Carbo veg., Bry., Arsen., Phos., Hepar sulph., Ipec, Lye, Calc and Sulph. Also cod-liver oil. See under "Acute Bronchitis." Preventive Means.—Cold bathing in the morning is ASTHMA. 127 the first and most important, that form of bath being adopted Avhich is found most useful and convenient (See " Bathing," pp. 40, 99.) Another preventive is the beard, which protects the respiratory passages against the effects of sudden changes of temperature. The beard and mustache are a kind of natural respirator, the shaving off of which is a frequent cause of acute and chronic bronchitis. Can we doubt the wisdom and the beneficence of the Creator in giving this ornament to the man, who is so frequently exposed to atmos- pheric vicissitudes, and withholding from the woman, who,as the keeper at home,requires no such appendage? Hair is an imperfect conductor of both heat and cold, and, placed around the entrance to the lungs, acts as a blanket, which promotes warmth in cold weather and prevents the dissolving of ice in hot weather. In many instances, the hirsute appendages would protect lawyers, clergymen or other public speakers and singers from the injurious effects of rapid variations of the atmos- phere, from which professional men so often suffer. Acquiring the habit of keeping the mouth shut and breath- ing through the nose, especially when exposed to cold or damp air, is a great protection. This habit should be taught in early life, and mothers should see that their infant children sleep Avith the mouth closed. 38.—Asthma. This is a spasmodic disease, recurring in paroxysms, characterized by great difficulty of breathing, a feeling of tightness across the chest, wheezing cough, and often, at the close of an attack, a discharge of phlegm. The air-tubes of the lungs are encircled by minute bands of muscular structure, Avhich, like other muscular 128 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. fibers, may be affected by spasms. These spasms con- tract the air-tubes, and the difficulty of breathing and the wheezing respiration are caused by the air being forced through the narrowed channels. Symptoms.—An attack often comes on suddenly at night or toward morning, attended with a distressing sense of suffocation, the patient springing up, or even flying to an open Avindow, wheezing loudly, until after an uncertain time, perhaps an hour, it passes off with more or less expectoration of mucus. Causes.—Atmospheric changes; smoke, dust, gases, metallic and other particles floating in the air; certain odors, as of hay, Ipecacuanha or vapor of sulphur; irregularities of diet, especially heavy suppers; sexual excesses and hereditary influence. It is not peculiar to any age, children as well as adults being liable to it. It is often the consequence of suppressed eruptions. Treatment.—The treatment should be directed to strengthening the organs during the intervals of attack, and quickly relieving the acute symptoms during the attack. Ipecacuanha.—A feeling of tightness of the chest; panting and rattling as if the windpipe were full of phlegm; coldness, paleness, anxiety and sickness. Dur- ing an attack, a dose every ten or fifteen minutes; afterward every three or four hours. Arsenicum.—Short, anxious, and wheezing breathing, aggravated at night by lying down, and upon the least movement; Avith attacks of suffocation, spasmodic con- striction of the chest, and pale, sunken or bluish face.' It is especially required in asthma from suppressed eruptions, and in feeble and impoverished constitutions. Antimonium tart.—Often loosens expectoration. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 129 Nux vomica.—Suitable for robust persons, and for attacks occurring about 3 or 4- o'clock in the morning, or after a heavy meal, or for patients of too studious habits, or addicted to stimulants. Aconitum.—Often very useful during a paroxysm, with tumultuous action of the heart, oppressive anxiety, la- bored breathing, etc. Natrum sulph.—For the permanent cure of the mal- ady, give a dose every night for a month, and then less often. This remedy has cured many cases radically. Accessory Means.—Holding the breath Avill some- times break a spasm. Inhalation of steam, especially if medicated with the appropriate remedy, affords re- lief. The diet should be strictly moderate, simple and digestible, as disorders of the stomach often occasion an attack. Suppers are especially to be avoided. In some cases the food should be Aveighed, the meal-hours fixed and strictly adhered to. Drill and calisthenics should be resorted to for the purpose of expanding the chest. Cold sponging, Avith frictions, in the morning, moderate and agreeable exercise in the open air, and a strict avoidance of the usual exciting causes are to be observed. The atmosphere best suited to the patient depends entirely upon idiosyncrasy, as some can only breathe in a mountain air and others only in the fogs of London. 39.—Inflammation of the Lungs (Peri-pneumonia), and Pleurisy (Pleuritis). Pneumonia affects one or both lungs, or, in technical terms, is single or double. The right lung is more liable to inflammation than the left, and the low&i lobes suffer oftener than the upper. In pleuritis, the 9 130 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. inflammation affects the pleura or serous membrane in- vesting the lungs and lining the cavity of the thorax. These diseases frequently co-exist, require similar med- icines, and should be treated, if possible, by a homoe- opathic practitioner. Symptoms.—Shivering; headache; hard, Aviry pulse, about 100 in a minute, and other symptoms of fever; the breathing is hurried, the patient refuses to take a full breath, and inspiration is often interrupted by a " stitch " or " catch," by a cough which is short and painful, by lying on the affected side, and by pressure. This is pleurisy. In pneumonia, the skin is burning, es- pecially about the ribs and armpits; there is no moist- ure in the nostrils, and the eyes are tearless; the breathing is much more hurried than in pleurisy, but the only pain is of a dull, aching character; the cough is frequent and short, and there is spitting of tough, rusty-colored phlegm, subsequently streaked with blood. Favorable symptoms are less labored and frequent breathing, freer expectoration, moister skin and tongue; also increased excretions from the bowels and bladder. Unfavorable symptoms are small feeble pulse, cold, clammy perspiration, rapid breathing, blue lips, foul tongue, offensive breath, excessive debility and languor. Causes.—Atmospheric changes, sudden checking of the perspiration, mechanical injuries, etc. These dis- eases often arise during the course of the eruptive and other fevers. Feebleness of constitution is often a pre- disposing cause. Treatment. — Aconitum.—Is pre-eminently suitable, either alone or in turns with other remedies, whenever inflammatory symptoms run high, and the secretory func- tions are suspended. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 131 Ferrum phos.—Especially in children, when there is fever, dry cough or hurried respiration. Often advan- tageously alternated with Bryonia. Bryonia.—Labored, short, catching and rapid breath- ing ; stinging, shooting or burning pains in the side aggravated by inspiration; the cough is painful, dry, or with expectoration of glairy sputa; the patient is irri- table, restless, Aveary and disposed to retain the recum- bent posture. Wants to keep perfectly still. Phosphorus.—Severe sticking pains in the chest, excited or increased by breathing or coughing; . the breathing is short, the cough dry, or accompanied by rusty-colored expectoration. Antimonium tart.—Greatly oppressed breathing; cough attended with much rattling of mucus ; nausea; profuse and difficult expectoration; violent throbbings of the heart and a feeling of suffocation. Arsenicum.—Tedious cases with extreme prostration of strength; painfully oppressed breathing. Sulphur.—When the prominent symptoms have yielded to other remedies. General Treatment.—See " Accessory Measures," pp. 54-59. External applications of heat—hot flan- nels, linseed-meal poultices, etc.—afford much relief. Rubbing the chest and back with cod-liver oil or oli\Te oil nourishes and warms the patient. Plenty of fresh air, at a temperature of not less than 65°, moistened with steam, facilitates the action of the lungs. Diet should at first be light, Avithout stimulants; later on, stimulants judiciously given may be necessary. Blood- letting in every form must be avoided. 132 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 40.—Cough (Tussis). Cough, like hoarseness, is rather a symptom of some more general disease than a disease in itself. It is often the forerunner or attendant of some of the most fatal diseases of our climate, and should, therefore, never be neglected. There are many varieties of cough, but our prescriptions are only intended for such as are common and uncomplicated. Cases that persist in spite of one or more of the annexed remedies should be regarded as too serious to be treated merely by the aid of books. Treatment.—Aconitum.—A dry, hard cough, accom- panied with inflammatory symptoms—flushed face, head- ache, thirst, scanty urine, confined bowels, restlessness, etc. Ipecacuanha. — Irritating, nervous and spasmodic cough, attended or followed by vomiting (also Drosera). The chest is oppressed by the accumulation of mucus in the air-vessels, rendering breathing difficult, almost to suffocation. Belladonna.—Short, dry, hollow, convulsive cough, generally worse at night, in bed, excited by a sensation of tickling in the throat, and accompanied by flushed face and headache. Dulcamara.—Loose cough from getting wet, with much phlegm and oppression at the chest. Bryonia.—A hard, dry cough, attended with pain in the side, chest and head; cough aggravated by passing from warm air to cold, or vice versa; loose cough, with white or yellow expectoration, sometimes streaked with blood. Hepar sulph.—Irritating cough, with hoarseness and COUGH. 13:? smarting of the throat, excited or aggravated by cold to the surface of the body or exposure to atmospheric changes. Phosphorus.—Dry cough, excited by tickling in the throat \ hoarseness and pains or soreness in the chest, with rusty-colored, bloody or purulent expectoration. Ferrum phos.—Cough, especially in children; colds on the chest; dry cough; hoarseness. Kali mur.—Loud, noisy stomach-cough; also croupy cough. Carbo veg.—Cough on taking the least cold; obstinate hoarseness or loss of voice. Kali bich.—Cough, with very tough expectoration, pre- ceded by great wheezing, with difficult breathing, and followed by dizziness. Sulphur.—Obstinate dry cough, with tightness in the chest and retching; loose cough, with expectoration of whitish or yellowish mucus during the day, and dry cough at night, attended with headache, spitting of blood, etc. Beverages.—Gum-water, barley-water and other mu- cilaginous drinks, or, if preferred, simple cold water-in small quantities at frequent intervals are highly bene- ficial in almost every variety of cough. Preventives.—Cold bathing or sponging the whole surface of the body every morning, as directed under " Bathing." Clothing adapted to the varying conditions of the atmosphere. Exercise in the open air every day, if possible, beyond the boundaries of a town or city. Fa- miliarity with a free atmosphere affords a security against excessive sensibility to variations of the weather. Morning air is the best; damp or confined air or the air of crowded assemblies should be avoided. Here, 134 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. again, keeping the mouth shut, and breathing through the nose, is a great preventive, more especially Avhen irritability or tickling of the throat exists. CHAPTER VI. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 41.—Thrush (Aphthae)—Frog. Symptoms.—Small vesicles or white specks upon the lining membrane of the mouth, sometimes so connected as to form a continuous, dirty, diphtheritic-like cover- ing over the tongue, gums, palate, etc. In some forms of the disease microscopical parasitic plants are devel- oped in the mucous membrane, which are readily trans- ferred to the mother's nipples; but they are never de- veloped on the interior of the stomach or bowels, being limited to those portions of the mucous membrane which are lined with scaly epithelium. Severe diar- rhoea, fever and other constitutional disturbances indi- cate great peril. In adults the disease is the result of some constitutional malady, as consumption, enteric fever or senile decay; it is then also always of grave import. Causes.—A delicate or strumous constitution; insuf- ficiency or unhealthy condition of the mother's milk, or an unsuitable quantity or quality of food in infants fed with the bottle or spoon ; general want of cleanliness* constitutional disease. Treatment.—Borax.—The child's mouth should be washed with a weak solution of Borax (four grains to disorders of teething. 135 half an ounce of glycerine and half an ounce of water), by means of a soft brush or soft rag. It has a specific power over this affection, and will cure it probably quite as well if used internally only, and, if the disease is limited to the mouth, without the aid of any other remedy. After awhile it may lose its efficacy, and then some other remedy must be resorted to. Kali mur.—A dose every two hours should be the first remedy given; improvement will soon shoAV itself. If necessary, after a few days, recourse may be had to one of the folloAving remedies: Mercurius.—Is indicated by dribbling saliva, diarrhoea, offensive breath, etc.; if administered when the white specks first appear, it is often alone sufficient. A dose every six hours for several days. Arsenicum.—Dark color of the eruption; offensive odor from the mouth ; exhausting sickness and diarrhoea ; great debility. A dose every four hours. Sulphur.—This remedy may follow any other, when the latter does no further good; when the thrush has nearly subsided, to prevent a relapse ; and when there are eruptions on the skin, or sour-smelling breath. General Directions.—Cleanliness, ventilation, fresh air and proper diet are essential. When thrush is due to ill-health in the mother or nurse, the infant should be at once weaned. 42.—Disorders of Teething (Dentition). Teething is an important process in the development . of a child, and in delicate children is often accompa- nied by various local and general symptoms of dis- order, some of which are referred to under the follow- ing remedies. Other complaints, such as constipation, 136 diseases of the digestive system. diarrhoea, convulsions, etc., may be treated according to the instructions given in this book, under those headings. Causes of Disordered Dentition.—Excessive quan- tities of food, or improper food ; keeping the head too hot; local affections of the gums; strumous constitu- tion, etc. The period at which the milk-teeth appear is important. Too early dentition taxes the constitu- tion beyond its powers of endurance; too late denti- tion indicates a feeble scrofulous constitution. In the latter cases, professional treatment should, if possible, be obtained.* Treatment.—Aconitum.—Heat, redness, pain, swollen gums, and restlessness. Aeon, is often invaluable dur- ing detention. Chamomilla.—This may follow Aeon, for dry cough; short breathing; fretfulness; flushed cheeks; loose, green, or frothy stools. It is a sovereign remedy in many of the ailments of dentition. Coffea.—Morbid excitability, sleeplessness, restlessness and frequent changes, especially in the absence of fever. Belladonna.—Congestion to the head, with redness of the face and eyes; cerebral excitement; convulsiATe move- ments of the limbs; sleeping with the eyes partially open; child cries out, is hot and sweaty. Calcarea phos.—Slow or late dentition, especially in scrofulous children subject to looseness of the bowels with loss of flesh and strength. This is the best general remedy to give during the teething period. It will * For fuller particulars regarding dentition, pee the author's "Diseases of Infants and Children." TOOTHACHE. 137 regulate the function and prevent many serious trou- bles. Give a powder of the 3d trituration, about the size of a pea, three times a day, either dry on the tongue, or dissolved in the child's milk, or in a little water. Magnesia phos.—Colic, loose bowels, spasmodic symp- toms. Often useful after Bell, and Cham. Silicea.—Similar symptoms to those of Calcarea, es- pecially when dentition is tardy, though the teeth are on the point of coming through. Like Calc, Sil. gener- ally obviates the necessity for lancing the gums. It is valuable for rickety children. Accessory Means.—Bad hygienic habits affecting the mother or child should be corrected. Out-of-door air is necessary for both; also regularity in the hours of meals and sleep, and bathing or sponging of the whole body daily. The child should be provided with an elastic india-rubber ring to bite at. 43.—Toothache (Odontalgia). Causes.—Decayed teeth, sudden changes of tempera- ture, indigestion, pregnancy or general ill-health. Neu- ralgic toothache occurs in paroxysms, and comes and goes suddenly. Treatment.—If strong Kreosote or Laudanum has been used locally, the mouth should be thoroughly cleansed before taking any of the medicines recom- mended in this section. Epitome of Treatment.—In this classification the remedies are prescribed in the order in which they are most frequently required: 1. From Cold.—Merc., Aeon, (from a draught), Puis. 2. From Decayed Teeth.—Merc, Kreos. 138 diseases of the digestive system. 3. Nervous Toothache.—Cham., Coff. 4. Pains extending to neighboring Parts.—Merc, Bell., Puis. 5. With Swelling of the Face or Gums.—Cham., Merc, Bell. 6. Toothache during Pregnancy.—Nux vom., Bell., Puis., or Cham. 7. In Children.—Cham., Aeon., Calc. Leading Indications. — Mercurius. — Decayed teeth, with tearing pains extending over the side of the face, and to the glands and ears; pains aggravated by eating or drinking anything cold, or by cool or damp air; swelling of the face, soreness of the gums, gumboils, profuse flow of saliva, perspiration etc. Aconitum.—Full-habited patients, with flushed face, hot, swollen gums, thirst, restlessness. Belladonna.—Drawing, lacerating, or shooting pains, affecting several teeth, the ears, and side of the face, worse at night, in the open air, or by contact; determi- nation of blood to the head, swelling of the cheek, etc. Chamomilla.—Toothache from a draught, suppressed perspirations, or from mental emotions; jerking, shoot- ing, violent pains, which affect the ear on one side of the face, are Avorse at night after eating, and after taking anything hot; agitation and restlessness; swelling and flushing of one cheek Avith paleness of the other. Especially suited to the toothache of children. Pulsatilla.—Throbbing or digging pains, extending from the decayed tooth to the eye, with semilateral headache; the pains are worse in a warm room,, in the evening and in. bed, but are mitigated by cold air or water. Puis, is most suited to mild persons of light complexion and to females with suppressed or scanty period. toothache. 139 Nux vomica. — Toothache from sedentary habits, stimulants or coffee, with indigestion, irregular action of the bowels, etc. The pains are worse at night, in the morning on Avaking, or Avhen engaged in mental labor. Bryonia.—Rheumatic toothache, worse in Avarmth, but relieved by cold applications. Kreosote.—When the teeth are decayed, but without gumboil. Administration.—Every fifteen or twenty minutes till the pain is mitigated; afterward, every three or four hours. After three or four doses of any remedy haA'e been taken without benefit, another should be selected. Accessory Treatment.—Brush the teeth in the morn- ing, after eating animal food and at bedtime. They should be brushed on their inner as well as on their outer side, and up and down, and not merely from side to side; a moderately soft brush should be used. The idea that frequently brushing or cleansing the teeth is liable to lacerate the gums and separate them from the teeth is erroneous, for it is one of the best methods of restoring them to a healthy condition when they are spongy and inclined to bleed. Charcoal should be avoided because it is gritty. In very cold weather, tepid Avater should be used. The digestive organs should be maintained in a healthy condition by means of proper food and correct habits. Chewing or smoking tobacco, or the habitual use of strong drinks, drugs, ice or extremely hot food is likely to injure teeth naturally good. In some cases the only remedy for toothache is extraction, especially if the tooth be loose, much decayed and unfit for mastication; but in most cases the pain may be speedily relieved by homoeopathic remedies. 140 diseases of the digestive system. If the caries be recent and slight, the decayed portion may sometimes be removed, the cavity filled Avith a suitable material, and thus a useful tooth may be pre- served for years. A qualified dentist should be con- sulted. Extraction should be delayed as long as possible. The first set should be preserved quite as carefully as the second, and, when practicable, decayed teeth filled. Early extraction of the first set of teeth lays the seeds of future trouble with the second. Gumboil.—When the gumboil forms, hot fomenta- tions or the application of the inner part of a roast fig to the suffering gum will relieve pain; at the same time, Hepar sulph. or Merc, should be taken every two or three hours. Frequently the extraction of a decayed tooth is necessary to obviate a recurrence of the trouble. If there be an abscess at the root of a fang, extraction may prevent disease of the jaw-bone. Preventive Means.—The face, temples, ears and neck should be well bathed with cold water every day, and afterward rubbed with a dry towel; also the mouth kept sweet and clean by rinsing it with cold water Incipient decay of teeth or sponginess of the gums should be corrected early. 44.—Sore Throat (Dolor Faucium). Simple soreness or swelling of the throat, uncompli- cated by ulceration, quinsy or syphilis, is a very common accompaniment of cold in the head, and is generally easily curable by Aeon., when the throat is very dry and rough, and there is a hard, dry cough; by Bell, if there be. great redness of the parts, with a raw or scraped sensation; by Merc, if the throat feels swollen, the clergyman's sore throat. 141 glands sore or enlarged, with slight deafness; or by Nux if the stomach be disordered. The throat compress (p. 83) expedites the cure and tends to prevent a recurrence. (See also the section on " Cold in the Head.") Clergyman's Sore Throat. The following remedies are recommended for the sore throat and hoarseness to which clergymen, public speakers and singers are liable: In the incipient and acute form, Aeon., Arm, Bell., Ferr. phos., Phyto.; in the chronic, Hepar sulph., Carbo veg., Kali bich., Caust., Baryta carb., Calc, Sulph. The wet compress at night is an excellent auxiliary. Prevention.—The morning bath; a uniform and equable exercise of the voice; the wet compress, after prolonged exercise of the voice; breathing through the nose, especially on passing from a warm to a cold atmos- phere; and the cultivation of the mustache and beard. On the latter Ave subjoin a few remarks. Cultivation of the Beard.—The beard and mus- tache should be permitted to grow, as they afford an excellent protection to the delicate organs of the voice of those in Avhom it is subjected to undue or irregular exercise. After a public address, the tissues in the vicinity of the throat become relaxed; and on leaving the place of assembly and entering the open air, in- flammatory action commences, and, if repeated, chronic affections of the throat and bronchial tubes are often induced; but the unshorn natural respirator, which our Maker intended to be one of the distinguishing features of the male sex, effectually protects these important parts. The hair planted on the human face by the wisdom and goodness of our Creator has its uses and, 142 diseases of the digestive system. we may add, its beauties. Let the young man, there- fore, never become a slave to the false and pernicious fashion which compels him to shave off the beard, as it is found contributory to the health, if not to the per- sonal improvement, of those who wear it. See also under " Bronchitis." 45.—Quinsy (Cynanche Tonsillaris). This consists of inflammation of the tonsils and of the subjacent mucous membrane Symptoms.—Heat, redness and rapid swelling of the tonsils, with hoarseness, severe throbbing pain, difficult swallowing and expectoration, and general fever. If prompt and skillful means be employed, the pain, swelling, and other inflammatory symptoms gradually subside; otherwise, matter forms, indicated by shiv- ering, throbbing, and darting pains extending to the ears. Causes.—The predisposing are scrofulous constitution, abuse of Mercury, and previous attacks of quinsy; the exciting are cold, atmospheric changes, Avet feet, etc. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Sore throat, with general feverish symptoms—chills, thirst, headache, dizziness, and restlessness. Generally required at the commence- ment. Baryta carb.—Is specific in simple quinsy. It may be given alone from the commencement, or alternated with Aeon, or Bell. Belladonna.—Acute, bright-red sore throat, with heat, dryness, painful difficulty in swallowing, flushed face and headache. A valuable remedy, either after, or in alteration with, Aeon. Mercurius.—Swollen throat; copious accumulation of indigestion. 143 saliva in the mouth; swelling of the gums and of the tongue; shooting pain on SAvallowing; an inclination to swallow the saliva, although painful; a disagreeable taste in the mouth; fetid odor of the breath; ulcers on the sides of the mouth; pains extending from the throat to the ear. Administration.—In acute cases, a dose every one or two hours, at first; in subacute, every three or four hours; during convalescence, every six or twelve hours. When swallowing is extremely difficult or impossible, two drops of the remedy on a small piece of sugar may be placed on the tongue. Accessory Means.—In severe cases, a hot poultice across the throat, extending nearly to each ear; in mild cases, the throat compress (p. 61) may be applied. Bits of ice at times give instantaneous relief; sometimes frequent inhalation of the steam of hot water or a warm milk-and-water gargle will be found soothing and useful. The patient should remain indoors, and, in bad cases, in bed. 46.—Indigestion (Dyspepsia).* Digestion is the process Avhich food undergoes in the stomach and other organs, for the formation of chyle, a milk-like liquor, from which blood is formed for repair- ing the continued waste of the animal body; this proc- ess goes on in health easily, quickly and completely. Indigestion is a deviation from this healthy function in one or more of the qualities just named: it may be painful, slow or complete. Symptoms.—Impaired appetite; flatulence; nausea *See also " Essentials of Diet." 144 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. and eructations, which often bring up bitter or acid fluids; furred tongue and offensive breath, especially in the morning ; confined or relaxed bowels; heartburn • pain, weight and inconvenience or fullness after a meal; headache; palpitation and other symptoms. Causes.—Excessive eating; too short an interval betAveen meals; irregularities in diet; food of a heavy, indigestible, fat, sour, flatulent or bad quality; eating too quickly; imperfect mastication ; warm and relaxing drinks; spirituous liquors,tobacco, or the excessive use of tea or coffee; purgative drugs; too little out-of-door exercise; excessive bodily or mental exertion; late hours; exposure to cold and damp, etc. Business or family cares and anxieties are also frequent causes of dyspepsia. " The battle of life " is too often fought with almost overwhelming anxieties and disappoint- ments, or Avith much mental and bodily wear and tear, and the digestive organs are often the first fa suffer. Remedies.—The use of medicines, and the observ- ance of such rules and habits as are suggested a little farther on, must ever go hand in hand; for the former, however carefully selected, will alone be unavailing in the end. Nux vomica.—Distension, tenderness, and fullness of the stomach after meals; heartburn, sour acid eructa- tions; flatulence; hiccough; frequent vomiting of food and bile; sour or bitter taste in the mouth ; confused head, as after intoxication; sleepy feeling after a meal, and incapacity for mental or physical exertion; sallow complexion; frequent but ineffectual urging to stool. Nux vom. is particularly indicated for too studious or anxious persons, of a dark or bilious complexion, who take too little open-air exercise, eat too much, or drink INDIGESTION. 145 alcoholic liquors. A tendency to piles is a further indi- cation for this remedy, as also for Sulphur, which should then follow it. Pulsatilla.—Disposition to mucous derangements; heartburn, with acid, bitter or putrid taste; thickly coated whitish tongue; nausea; frequent mucous evac- uations, chiefly at night, with little pain; indigestion from greasy or flatulent food. Puis, is generally best suited to women, or to mild, timid persons. Bryonia.—Aversion to food and craAung for stimu- lants : waterbrash or eructations after eating; pressure and a sensation as of a weight or stone in the stomach; colicky pains ; stiteh-like pains, extending from the pit of the stomach to the shoulder-blades; torpor of the bowels; irritability. Lycopodium.—Indigestion of weakly patients; delayed digestion ; sleepiness after meals, specially after dinner; abdominal flatulence; torpid action of the bowels; gravelly urine. Antimonium crud.—Loaded mucous membrane, causing slow digestion with fermentation; nausea, or vomiting of mucus or bile; foul eructations, or tasting of the food; flatu- lence of a fetid odor, soon reproduced; alternate consti- pation and diarrhoea; hawking and expectoration of phelgm; milky-white, thickly coated tongue; irritabil- ity of the bladder, with mucus deposit; pimples on the face, sores on the lips or nostrils, pustular eruptions, chilblains, or concurrent skin affections. China.—Indigestion from exhausting discharges, or from residence in an aguish district, with a feeling of sink- ing, relieved by food, but soon returning; or simple, generally painless diarrhoea, leaving the patient ex- hausted. Much flatulence. 10 146 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. Ipecacuanha.—Simple retching and vomiting from gas- tric disturbance, Avithout inflammation of the stomach or any grave affection of the mucous membrane. Hepar sulph.—Chronic indigestion, when nearly all kinds of food disagree ; also if Mercury has been used to excess. Sulphur.—As an intercurrent remedy, when only par- tial relief has followed the use of other remedies; also in chronic cases. It is more particularly required in indigestion following or associated Avith eruptions, piles and constipation. Natrum phos.—Acidity, sour risings; heartburn and waterbrash. See also the sections on " Headache," " Sick-head- ache," etc. Accessory Measures.—Dyspeptics should correct all improper habits, pay strict attention to the quality and quantity of food, and the hours at which it is taken. Directions for particular cases cannot be given, as what suits the constitution and circumstances of one may be inadmissible in those of another. But it is most im- portant that the1 symptoms of indigestion should be early corrected, or the patient may sink into a morbid condition, in which life is deprived of its rich oppor- tunities of enjoyment and usefulness. The following habits require correction : Eating too much at one time; eating too seldom, or too often; late suppers; too great a variety of food at the same meal; imperfectly chewing the food; the too hasty resuming of bodily or mental occupations after a meal; seden- tary habits; neglect of personal cleanliness; habits of drinking, smoking or chewing tobacco, and opium eat- ing; the excessive use of tea, coffee, or any liquid, and INDIGESTION. 147 eating unripe fruits or improperly cooked vegetables. It is especially necessary that the dyspeptic's stomach should never be overloaded. If possible, the meals should be taken regularly and with cheerful companions, avoiding reading and study, and dismissing business anxieties from the mind, which should then be free from all injurious tension. Persons much occupied should not eat full meals during the hours devoted to industrial pursuits; a light repast is best in the middle of the day, making the principal meal at 6 or 7 in the evening, when the work of the day is finished. Heavy meals in the hours of physical labor, without sufficient rest, are almost certain, eventu- ally, to lead to indigestion. In the list of articles to be avoided by the dyspeptic, we particularly notice the following: Hard, dried meats, veal, pork, sausages, salmon, lobsters, crabs, cheese, pastry, flavored soups, new-baked bread; too much tea or coffee, or any other liquid, and all substances known to disagree. Generally, malt liquors, wines and spirits are injurious; certainly they are never necessary in health. One of the most common causes of indigestion is the existence of carious teeth, by preventing due masti- cation of the food. This is often the sole cause of indigestion, and in all cases it cannot but aggravate dyspeptic symptoms originating elsewhere. The earli- est signs of decay should, therefore, be corrected by appropriate medicines, and by avoiding all causes which tend to impair the integrity of the teeth. Those teeth which are hopelessly diseased should be at once removed, and, if necessary for mastication, artificial substitutes should be provided. 148 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. Feather beds and too much sleep should be avoided; the patient should retire early and rise early; bathe or sponge-the body every morning with cold water; and take sufficient recreation daily in the open air. Neglect of everyday out-of-door exercise is, according to the author's experience, the most prolific cause of indiges- tion. Further, a general cheerful and tranquil state of mind is useful in the cure or prevention of this com- mon affection. In general, have no hobbies about diet. Avoid every- thing that you know from experience disagrees with you; but you need not necessarily avoid anything simply because it disagrees with others. Simple plain food, well and appetizingly cooked and served, and eaten in cheerful company at the home table, will do more to prevent and cure dyspepsia than all detailed rules of diet concocted by others. In addition to cocoa for the morning meal, and tea (not drawn longer than tAvo or three minutes) for the afternoon, the moderate use of pure water is perhaps the only fluid required in health. This liquid, so often despised, and even considered by many as prejudicial, is one of the best means for preventing or curing indi- gestion. Too much cold water, however, should not be taken at meal-times, for it reduces the temperature of the stomach, and checks its action. Sometimes cold water is not tolerated; in such cases toast-and-water is almost always well borne and agreeable. Hot Avater is an excellent remedy in the treatment of some forms of dyspepsia, especially cartarrh of the stomach. It should be taken one hour before meals, and sipped slowly, tak- ing about a quarter of an hour to drink a tumblerful. Sometimes it is well to take the medicine in that way. VOMITING. 149 47.—Vomiting ( Vomitus.) Causes.—Indigestion, of which vomiting is often a prominent symptom; too much or improper food; pregnancy ;* disease of the brain or derangement of the nervous system; ulcer or cancer of the stomach; obstruction of the intestines; most of the eruptive fevers, etc. Prognosis.—Nausea and vomiting occurring in dis- eases of the brain, or in epilepsy, are unfavorable indi- cations; in pregnancy, or hysteria, they are merely symptomatic of irritation reflected by the nervous sys- tem to the stomach. When vomiting affords relief, it is a favorable indication; but if the symptoms preceding sickness be not relieved by it, but increase, the disease must be regarded as serious or complicated. Treatment.—Ipecacuanha.—Simple copious vomiting with an extremely sickly sensation. Antimonium crud.—Nausea; thickly furred white tongue; eructations ; loss of appetite, etc. Arsenicum.—Burning in the stomach and throat, ex- cessive weakness, purging, coldness of the hands and feet, etc. (also Verat. alb.). Even in vomiting from ma- lignant or cancerous disease of the stomach, Ars. often gives relief. Nux vomica.—Vomiting, with dryness of the mouth, dis- turbed sleep, and constipation. It is especially indi- cated when vomiting follows the use of strong drink, indulgence at table, or late or irregular hours. Accessory Means.—In violent vomiting and long- continued retching, sucking small pieces of ice is grate- * See the " Lady's Manual of Homoeopathic Treatment." 150 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. ful and soothing. Extract of meat, in small quantities, is the form of nourishment generally best adapted to the imperfect condition of the digestive functions, till ordinary food can be taken. In other cases, soda-water and milk, in equal proportions, given in small quanti- ties, can be retained and digested. Iced champagne is efficacious also. 48.—Seasickness (Nausea Marina). Symptoms.—These need not be described, as they are so well known to persons embarking for the first time, especially during the early part of the voyage, and Avhen stormy weather prevails. Cause.—The motion of the vessel. The seat of the affection is in the brain, with which the stomach is in close sympathy. Some persons of delicate nervous or- ganization are subject to similar derangement from the oscillations of a carriage or the movements of a swing. Treatment.—Nux vomica.—The complaint may be prevented or modified by taking this remedy thrice daily, for several days previous to embarkation. It is also useful after the sickness is over, and may be alter- nated with Am., if the muscles have been severely strained and feel sore. Glonoin and Petroleum are; in our experience, the best curative agents. Accessory Means.—For several days before embark- ing, indigestible food, overloading the stomach, and other irregularities should be avoided. During the early part of the voyage, unless the weather be very fine, the traveler should remain a good deal in a recum- bent posture, avoid looking at the motion of the waves, and keep his attention diverted from the subject. Iced DYSENTERY. 151 champagne is probably the best and most grateful palliation. 49.—Dysentery—Bloody Flux. Dysentery is inflammation and ulceration of the large intestine, and is most frequent and violent in In- dia, the Chinese seas and other hot climates. In this country it is most frequent in autumn. From its being an attendant on war, it is the most anciently described of all diseases. Symptoms.—This disease is generally attended with thirst, dry skin and tongue, headache and other symp- toms of fever. The most marked symptom of dysentery is frequent, painful desire to stool, with great straining (tenesmus) Avithout any evacuation, except a little mucus and blood, shreds of fibrine which the patient some- times thinks to be the coats of his OAvn boAvels, and lumps of hardened faeces (scybalse). In hot climates the attacks are acute and violent, the pain being very se- vere around the navel and at the bottom of the back. The bladder often sympathizes with the rectum, excit- ing frequent efforts to pass water. Causes.—Exposure to sudden and extreme changes of temperature, as from the heat of day to the cold and damp of night; insufficient protection from cold and Avet, as sleeping on the ground; intemperance; a poor or irregular diet. It is, therefore, often epidemic among people reduced by privation, particularly soldiers in camps. The effluvia from dysenteric evacuations are infectious, and consequently may be a cause of spread- ing the disease; they should therefore be disinfected and immediately removed, or, if convenient, buried. Remedies.—Aconitum. — If febrile symptoms are well 152 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. marked, the early use of this remedy will often arrest the disease at its onset. It should be administered seA'- eral times, at short intervals. Mercurius cor.—Bloody evacuations, with pain and ex- tremely severe straining. This is the principal remedy. Colocynthis.—Is often required after Merc, especially when the colicky pains are severe and periodic, and the discharges mixed with green matter or lumps. If Merc. has not been previously administered, it may be alter- nated with Coloc Arsenicum.—Extreme weakness; burning pain with the evacuations; coldness of the extremities; cold breath; faeces and urine putrid, offensive, and often passed involuntarily. Ipecacuanha.—Autumnal dysentery, with nausea, much straining and colic; the evacuations are first slimy, after- ward bloody. Often advantageously alternated with Bryonia. Administration. — In severe cases, a dose every twenty or thirty minutes; in mild, every two or three hours. Accessory Means.—The patient should maintain a reclining posture in bed, in a well-ventilated apartment, and in bad cases use the bed-pan instead of getting up. Local applications afford great relief, the best of which is the cold compress—i. e., tAvo folds of linen, or a napkin, wrung out after immersion in cold Avater, and applied over the bowels, covered Avith oiled silk, and secured by a flannel bandage around the whole abdomen. If the pains are very severe, flannels wrung out of hot water should be applied, a second hot flannel being ready when the first is removed. The best beverages are cold Avater, gum-water,milk, etc.; the diet should be restricted RUPTURE. 153 to arrowroot, cocoa, boiled milk, macaroni, oranges, ripe grapes, etc Even broths are inadmissible during the worst stages. Animal food and stimulants should be withheld, except during recovery and in chronic cases, Avhen extract of meat should be taken. In extreme cases, patients may be kept alive on wine alone, Avhen the stomach will retain nothing else. Claret is the best in this country, and in wine-growing countries the ordi- nary table wine. Eight ounces may be taken daily, as much as two or three ounces being given at a time and extremely slowly. Rice-milk — milk having had rice boiled in it for two or three hours and then strained— may afterward be given as well. A teacupful may be given two hours after the Avine. Great care is required in returning to solid food, and the importunities of pa- tients must be strenuously resisted. Cold and sudden changes of temperature and damp night air should be carefully avoided. The feet and abdomen should al- ways be kept warm. 50.—Rupture (Hernia), and Strangulated Hernia. Nature.—Rupture is a protrusion of some portion of intestine or its covering through the walls of the abdomen, causing a swelling. If such a portion of the intestine become constricted in any way, so that the contents of the bowel cannot pass onward, and the circulation of blood is impeded, it is said to be strangulated. Symptoms.—A painful, tense and incompressible swelling; flatulence and colicky pains; desire to go to stool, and inability to pass anything, unless there be feecal matter in the bowel below the rupture. If relief 154 diseases of the digestive system. be not obtained, inflammation sets in, with vomiting, extreme pain, small wiry pulse, etc.; and, finally, mor- tification with cessation of pain, and death. Causes, Predisposing.— Weakness of the abdominal walls from disease, injury, or congenital deficiency. Exciting causes—violent exertion, as in lifting; immoderate straining, as in passing urine through a stricture, or in relieving the bowels. Continuous crying of infants. Treatment.—In simple rupture there is no danger. A medical man should be sent for, and the patient kept lying down. Where there are symptoms of strangulation —pain, sickness, collapse—the danger is great, and a medical man should be summoned immediately. In the meantime unskilled persons should not meddle with the tumor. The patient should be placed on a board, raised so as to form a steep inclined plane, the legs up- permost. The legs should be draAvn up, to relax the Avails of the abdomen. The head should be supported by a pillow. Nux vom. should be given every five minutes. To prevent a recurrence, a suitable truss should be worn; and as it is important that the truss be exactly adapted to the case, a surgeon should be consulted. 51.—Worms (Helminthia). Intestinal worms being the attendants of certain morbid states, the treatment should be directed against the disease itself, rather than against the products it engenders. The effect of most allopathic remedies is, at the best, to excite a discharge of the worms, without correcting the morbid condition on which their presence and reproduction depend. Varieties.—There are three chief species of worms which infest the human body, viz.: WORMS. 155 1. The Oxyuris vermicularis, or threadworm, infests especially the rectum. It is small, about a quarter to half an inch long, occurs chiefly in children, and occa- sions much local irritation. The chief symptom is an intolerable creeping itching within and about the anus in the evening, aggravated by the Avarmth of the bed; also picking of the nose, fetid breath, depraved appe- tite, and disturbed sleep. 2. The Ascaris lumbricoides, or round-worm, also exists in children, its habitat being the small intestines, Avhere it feeds on the chyle, and attains a length of six to twelve inches. The symptoms, often obscure, are pains in the belly, fretfulness, grinding of the teeth, disturbed sleep, or convulsive attacks; also itching of the nose and anus. The child becomes sallow, its limbs waste, but its belly is enlarged, hot and tense; the appetite is uncertain, often voracious; the breath is offensive; and the stools contain much slimy mucus. The worms sometimes travel upward into the stomach and are vomited, or downward into the colon, and are passed with the stools. 3. The Taenia solium, or tapeworm, is nearly Avhite, flattened, and of a jointed structure; it attains a great length, even many yards, by repetition of the joints, and exists both in adults and children. The symptoms being masked, its presence is often unsuspected until portions are passed in the motions, the head still remain- ing. There are seldom more than one Avorm present at a time, yet each joint possesses an ovary, and its eggs are millions, but they are discharged with faeces, and de- voured by unclean animals—swine, ducks and rats—in these creatures they become developed, but not into tapeworms, for they go through several generations be- 156 diseases of the digestive system. fore returning to the jointed form. They are probably introduced into the human body by eating unwhole- some animal food, especially " measly " pork, or tripe, and sausage-skins, improperly cooked. The ova some- times reach the circulation, and in the liver or other organs are developed into encysted entozoa, commonly called hydatids. General Symptoms of Worms.—Sudden changes in the color of the face; dark semicircles under the eyes; copious floAV of saliva; nausea; insipid, acid, or fetid odor of the breath ; a voracious, alternating with a poor, appetite; itching of the anus; talking, and grinding the teeth during sleep; thick and whitish urine; tight- ness and swelling of the lower part of the abdomen; frequently emaciation; and, sometimes, convulsions or delirium. Perhaps the only certain sign is the presence of worms in the stools, or in the matter vomited. Treatment.—Cina — A valuable remedy for the con- dition producing threadworms or round-worms, Avith the following symptoms: Boring at the nose, livid circles round the eyes, tossing about, or calling out suddenly during sleep. Convulsions, nausea and vom- iting, griping, itching at the anus, and white and thick urine, sometimes passed involuntarily. Mercurius.—Diarrhoea, slimy stools, distension of the abdomen, difficult teething, and augmented secretion of saliva. Ignatia.—Intense itching at the seat, nervousness, epileptiform attacks, etc., especially in mild, sensitive persons. Natrum phos.—Worms, whether thread or round. Pain in bowels; restless sleep. Itching at seat; grind- ing of teeth ; acidity, pricking of nose, squinting. DIARRHOEA. 157 Calcarea.—In patients having a hereditary predispo- sition to worms, with scrofulous symptoms, and after discontinuing other remedies. In addition to the treatment here prescribed, the tapeworm requires other remedies, and often in large doses. The oil of male fern, given fasting, is generally necessary. Accessory Means.—The food should be simple, easy of digestion, and taken only at regular hours; underdone vegetables, pastry, malt liquor, sugar, sweetmeats and sweet-made dishes should be strictly avoided. Salt, as a condiment, should be taken with the food; it assists digestion and poisons the worms. A draught of spring- water should be swallowed on rising; also injections, as follows:" Injections.—These are useful as means for expelling the worms, and partly to prevent their re-formation; half a pint or more of tepid water, in which ten drops of common turpentine have been mixed, once or twice repeated, will often suffice to relieve a patient thus troubled. It is better administered at bedtime. After- Avard, a simple cold or tepid injection should be used regularly about three times a week, for three or four months, to wash away the slime in which the ova exists. But the general and medicinal treatment only can be relied upon for correcting the health and pre- venting their re-formation and future development. 52.—Diarrhoea—Looseness of the Bowels- Purging. Common diarrhoea is a functional disorder, consisting of frequent liquid faecal evacuations, without inflamma- tion of the intestines. 158 DISEASES of the digestive system. Causes.—Unusual, excessive, acrid, or indigestible food, especially unripe or decaying raw fruits; pork, veal, etc.; putrid or diseased animal food; atmospheric influences; fatigue; suppressed eruptions; mental emo- tions, etc. Diarrhoea is often a symptom of other diseases, as hectic and phthisis, when it is called colliquative diar- rhoea, because it appears to melt down the substance of the body; the diarrhoea of typhoid fever; bilious diar- rhoea, from excessive flow of bile, as in hot weather, or after passing a gall-stone; and serous diarrhoea, with watery discharge. Looseness of the bowels is also a very common precursor of cholera, Avhen that disease is epidemic. When the diarrhoea arises from indigestion 6r dissi- pation, it may be regarded as an effort of nature to expel substances Avhich might otherwise give rise to more serious disturbances. Treatment.—Camphor.—In sudden and recent cases, with chilliness, shivering, cold creeping of the skin, severe pain in stomach and bowels, cold face and hands, and cramps in the legs or stomach. Two drops on a small piece of loaf-sugar, every twenty or thirty min- utes, for three or four times; if ineffectual it should then be discontinued. Antimonium crud.—Watery diarrhoea, with white furred tongue, disordered stomach, nausea and eructations. Pulsatilla.—Mucous diarrhoea, occurring chiefly at night, with little pain; the tongue is coated with a whitish fur; the taste is diminished or altered, and, generally, nausea, foul or acrid eructations, etc. Pidsa- tilla is curative in diarrhoea from fat or rich food. Colocynthis.—Brown watery or faecal diarrhoea, with much griping pain. DIARRHCEA. 159 Podophyllum.—Diarrhoea coming on in the morning, yellow watery or slimy motions, tendency of the bowel to protrude. China.—Simple summer diarrhoea; little pain, food passes imperfectly digested. Mercurius.—Green or clay-colored stools. Never-get- done feeling. Dulcamara.—Catarrhal diarrhoea, watery or yellowish, with little or no pain, traceable to damp, particularly in the summer and autumn. Natrum sulph.—Diarrhoea, worse in the morning and in damp weather. Flatulence generally present. Chronic diarrhoea. Sulphur.—Chronic diarrhoea, watery, great urging, coming on in the morning in bed, griping and strain- ing ; from suppressed eruptions. Veratrum.—Choleraic diarrhoea, with copious watery discharges, occurring in gushes, and accompanied with severe vomiting, debility, etc.; involuntary diarrhoea) summer diarrhoea, Avatery, with much griping; diar- rhoea from cold. Arsenicum.—Diarrhoea, accompanied or ushered in by vomiting, with great heat of the stomach, ascending to the throat; a burning sensation attending the discharge of the motions; griping Avatery stools; coldness of the body, pallid and sunken face, and great prostration. It is chiefly suited to chronic diarrhoea, with symptoms indicating organic disease. Administration.—A dose every one, two or three hours, according to the violence of the symptoms, or after every motion, until relieved. Accessory Means.—Rest in the recumbent posture; warmth to the extremities, and avoidance of sudden 160 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. changes of temperature. Individuals subject to diar- rhoea from slight causes, and having a feeling of cold- ness about the body, should wear a flannel roller around the abdomen. Night air and late hours predis- pose to attacks. Except in severe cases, moderate out- of-door exercise should be taken daily. Mental excite- ment and physical excesses of every kind should be avoided. Diet.—Food should be given cool and sparingly, con- sisting of light non-irritating substances—sago, tapioca, milk, rice-milk, arrowroot, baked rice puddings, white fish, etc.; bland drinks. No coffee, spices, acids, eggs, fruit or stimulants should be allowed. The Avhite of egg beaten up into a froth, and flavored with a few drops of lemon juice and a little sugar, is an excellent thing in diarrhoea. Beef-tea must be avoided. 53.—Diarrhoea in Children. Healthy infants have usually two or three motions in twenty-four hours. If the discharges become much more frequent, unnatural in color, watery, and accompanied with pain, medical treatment is necessary. Depending, moreover, as it often does, on functional causes only, it well repays our careful attention. Chamomilla.—Diarrhoea during teething, or from cold with colic, crossness and restlessness; greenish, watery, bilious, frothy and offensive motions, with pinching pains and fretfulness. Ipecacuanha.—Summer diarrhoea, with vomiting; di- arrhoea from overloading the stomach. Pulsatilla.—Loose, greenish, bilious motions, with flat- ulence or griping, from indigestion, especially in fair and delicate children. COLIC. 161 Calcarea phos.—Diarrhoea in teething children, espe- cially when they are scrofulous or rachitic Stools are hot, watery, offensive, sputtering. See also previous section, Adaiinistration.—See the previous section. See also under " Teething," " Worms," and " Thrush." 54.—Colic (Enteralgia). Symptoms.—Severe twisting, griping, tearing pain about the navel, recurring in paroxysms, but relieved by pressure, so that the patient lies on his belly, press- ing his abdomen with his hands, writhing in agony. There is a frequent desire to relieve the bowels, but often nothing passes except a little flatus. Febrile symptoms as in inflammation of the intestines are ab- sent, and the pulse is not quickened, unless it becomes so from anxiety. The symptoms abate when vomiting, eructation or a discharge from the bowels takes place. Causes.—Cold; a mass of heterogeneous, acrid, indi- gestible food ; worms; constipation. A condition re- sembling colic may also arise from stricture of the intestines (intussusception). Painters' colic arises from the poison of lead. Treatment.—Colocynthis.— Violent pains, compared to stabbing or clawing, with flatulence and diarrhoea. Magnesia phos.—Flatulent colic. Must bend double, or draws the legs up. Better by friction, warmth and belching. Nux vomica.—From indigestible food, suppressed pe- riod, or during pregnancy, with severe contracting pains low in the abdomen and relieved by pressure, ineffect- ual efforts to relieve the bowels, or alternate constipa- tion and relaxation. 11 162 diseases of the digestive system. Chamomilla.—Particularly suitable for children. See the symptoms in the preceding section. Cina.-—Colic from threadworms. Opium.—Lead colic Accessory Means.—An injection of a pint of tepid water by means of the enema apparatus frequently gives immediate relief. Applications of heat to the abdomen, or a warm bath, are also useful measures. Persons subject to colic should avoid food of a flatu- lent character, not take too much liquid, or fast too long, should Avear flannel round the abdomen, and keep the feet dry. 55.—Constipation—Confined Bowels. A tendency to costiveness, or sluggish action of the bowels, is not so grave a symptom as many persons suppose it to be; indeed, individuals thus predisposed generally live long, unless they injure themselves by purgatives, while those who are subject to frequent attacks of diarrhoea are soon debilitated, and often be- come prematurely old. The common idea that ape- rients contribute to health, not only in sickness, but also occasionally in health, and that impurities are thereby expelled from the body, is most erroneous and mis- chievous. This may be easily demonstrated. Let purgatives be taken for a Areek, and, however good may have been the state of health previously, at the termination of this period all sorts of impurities will be discharged, especially after taking jalap and calomel As this is an invariable result, even in the case of those who have never been ill, it proves that impurities are produced by those drugs. CONSTIPATION. 163 In sickness purgatives are also most injurious. Disease weakens the whole sys- tem. " The bowels, therefore," writes Dr. Yeldham, "in common with the legs, the arms, the stomach, the brain and every other organ, partake of the general debility, and become deprived of that power by which, in a state of health, they are, enabled to discharge their proper functions. AVhy should they, more than the other organs, be impelled to the performance of a duty to which, at the time, they are totally unequal 1 " Again, under the process of disease, the whole vital power is devoted to the struggle which is going on in the affected part. The attention to the system is, as it were, drawn off as well from the bowels as from every other organ not immedi- ately engaged in the contest. On this account also they remain quiescent; and any interference with that quietude, by diverting the vital energy, weakens that force which nature requires to be undivided, to enable her to conduct her combat with disease to a successful issue—an additional reason why purgatives should be avoided. " Constipation is an effect, not a disease; if it were, there might be some show of reason in the use of aperients. *But being merely a temporary loss of power, we can no more restore that power by forcing the action of the bowels than we can impart strength to a weakened leg by compelling it to walk. In the latter instance, we should instinctively rest the part, until, by the removal of the disease, motion might be resumed. The same reasoning applies with equal force to the removal of constipation. The exercise of a little patience, and the employment of judicious means for the eradication of that disordered condition on which the inaction de- pends, will as infallibly restore the bowels to their duty, as in every other instance the efeet must cease when the cause is removed." Causes.—Sedentary habits; dissipation; an improper quality of food, especially the too exclusive use of bread without vegetables; the use of superfine flour; the adulteration of bread by alum ;* mental anxiety; diseases of the liver; exposure to the action of lead, as in painters; mechanical obstruction from tumors, her- nia, stricture of the rectum, etc.; inflammatory disease of the intestines, brain or spinal cord. But a frequent cause of constipation is loss of tone of the mucous lining of the bowels from the habitual use of purgatives. Many persons take a purgative once a week, the primary effect of Avhich is a sort of diarrhoea, but the secondary effect is constipation. An important point will be gained if we can bring *Alum is very extensively used to improve the appearance of inferior flour. 161 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. persons to consider constipation simply as a result of other causes, and a want of balance in the general sys- tem, and Avhen measures shall be directed to the cor- recting of this condition as the only rational means of curing constipation. Constipation and Old Age. — Daily evacuation, which, perhaps, should be the rule in youth and mid- ble life, is often in excess in advanced life, when thrice or even twice a week is often sufficient. It is desirable that this physiological fact should be known, as old persons often trouble themselves needlessly on this point. The chief evil of the condition lies in the ner- vous anxiety it occasions. Treatment.—If headache, dry tongue, hot skin, etc., co-exist with constipation, one of the following reme- dies may be selected : Nux vomica.—Frequent ineffectual inclination to stool; irregular action of the bowels; constipation, with nau- sea and sickness in the morning, distension and heavi- ness in the stomach, ill-humor, fullness or pain in the head, uneasy sleep, etc. It is suited to constipation following intoxicating drinks, eating too much or too great a variety of food at one time; overstudy and sedentary habits. It is especially suitable to patients of a dark bilious temperament. Bryonia.—Torpor of the bowels (thus differing from the ineffectual or irregular action indicating the pre- vious remedy); constipation, with chilliness, headache, and irritability, or associated with rheumatism, or heat of the weather. Opium.—Constipation from a general paralytic con- dition, leading to inertia of the intestines; obstinate constipation with a feeling as if the anus were closed; CONSTIPATION. 165 hard, lumpy motions; headache, dizziness, dry mouth, thirst, listlessness, and dusky face; also in chronic cases, from too little out-of-door exercise. Especially adapted to the aged. Lycopodium.—Itching and tightness of the anus; rumbling and flatulence in the abdomen; waterbrash; heartburn; the bowels feeling warm, dry, and dis- tended ; loaded urine. Sulphur.—Habitual costiveness, piles, burning and itching of the anus, etc. It is also A7aluable as an inter- current remedy, and frequently aids the action of Nux vom. Accessory Measures.—No medicines can be of per- manent benefit if the bad habits which led to the con- stipation are persisted in. Moderate walking exercise is useful, particularly in the morning in the country. Water (see p. 36, and under " Dyspepsia") is an ex- tremely valuable adjunct, both for internal and exter- nal use. Cold baths, especially the shower and the sitz, are strongly recommended as being easy of applica- tion. The wet compress at night is often an invaluable remedy ; also injections, as recommended farther on. Regularity in attending to the calls of nature is impor- tant; the best time to solicit the bowels to act is in the morning, usually after breakfast. By fixing the mind on this operation for a few days, the bowels will gener- ally respond, and constipation be sometimes removed by attention to this point alone. Diet.—Meals should be taken with regularity, ani- mal food eaten sparingly, but vegetables and ripe fruit freely. Peas, pea-soup, hard eggs, boiled rice, boiled milk, coffee, strong or green tea, claret, port wine, spirits, highly seasoned food and late suppers should 166 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. be avoided; roasted apples, stewed figs, and prunes and tamarinds may be taken. Oatmeal porridge, with treacle, may be taken for breakfast; and brown bread should be preferred to white. If brown bread be not eaten exclusively, a little should be taken with nearly every meal; its effects will thus be more uniformly exerted through the alimentary canal than if only taken occa- sionally. Injections.—In obstinate and protracted constipa- tion, and when the lower bowel is obstructed Avith faecal matterr either in too large masses or too hard and dry for discharge, and if the means before suggested prove ineffectual, the enema may be used as a certain means of obtaining the desired relief, while it reduces the tem- perature of the rectum, and removes the sensation of congestion. At the same time, the use of the enema does not interfere Avith the administration of any homoeopathic remedy necessary to cure the disease, of which the constipation is a symptom. The injection should consist of a pint or more of water, according to the portion of the bowel where the accumulation exists, and should be slowly injected up the rectum by means of an enema apparatus. On commencing to use injections, the temperature of water for this pur- pose should not be lower than 72°, and gradually re- duced to 64°. Unirritating in its operation, and acting directly on the seat of obstruction, an injection is greatly preferable to deranging the whole alimentary tract Avith strong drugs, which, after the unnatural exci- tation has subsided, only settle back into a state of greater debility and torpor than before. Still, it is not advisable to use them too regularly, but rather only occasionally. piles. 167 56.—Piles (Hemorrhoids). These consist of small tumors, sometimes outside (external piles) and sometimes within (internal piles) the opening of the lower bowel, either with or without bleeding. They vary in number, from one small intensely painful swelling, to numbers clustering to- gether like a buncli of grapes. These swellings are attended Avith pricking, itching, shooting, throbbing, burning, or pressive pains, increased on going to stool, and sometimes Avith dull pains in the loins. Blood is often passed with the evacuations, sometimes only in drops, but at other times in considerable and even alarming quantities. Causes.—Obstinate constipation; drastic purgatives; heating and stimulating food or drink; a luxurious life; sedentary habits; pressure of the enlarged womb upon the vessels of the pelvis during pregnancy; sit- ting on cold stones, damp grass, or on warm or soft cushions; excessive boat or horse-exercise; overexcite- ment of the sexual organs; or whatever causes a re- laxed state of the mucous membrane or hinders the return flow of blood from the lower bowel. Treatment.—Nux vomica.—Valuable in almost every form of piles, especially if associated with sedentary habits, confined bowels, or the use of intoxicating drinks, strong coffee, etc. See also Sulphur. Sulphur.—Chronic piles, from abdominal plethora, especially when associated Avith constipation. The evacuations are often mixed with blood; there is great pain, and the tumors protrude considerably, and are pushed back with difficulty; also with itching and burning of the anus, and smarting pain in passing water. 168 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. Sulphur is often alternated with Nux vom., the latter administered at night, and the former in the morning; or Sulphur may follow Nux vom. to complete the cure. Belladonna.—Relieves throbbing and bleeding, and lessens congestion to the brain in apoplectic subjects. Arsenicum.—A burning sensation, as from hot needles, and general prostration. Aconitum.—Profuse discharges of blood, throbbing and inflammatory symptoms in the parts. Additional Remedies.—Hamamelis, when there is much bleeding. JEsculus, when there is little bleeding, but constipation and knotty stools, and pain in the back. Pulsatilla, in bilious persons, mucous discharge. Aloes, rawness, soreness, much bleeding, loose bowels, and prolapse. Calcarea fluor.—Chronic piles. A lotion of Hamamelis (ten drops to a teacupful of water), to be used after motions and two or three times a day, and applied to the parts on a piece of soft linen at night, is nearly always helpful. fEsculus cerate is also an excellent application, or the remedy may be applied as a suppository and inserted at bedtime. These sup- positories can be obtained at all homoeopathic phar- macies. Diet and Accessory Means.—Patients should avoid highly seasoned dishes, coffee, peppers, spices, alcoholic beverages and all kinds of indigestible food. Light animal food, properly cooked vegetables and ripe fruits form the most useful diet. Sedentary habits, too much standing, and the use of cushions and feather beds are prejudicial. The pain attending blind-piles may be re- lieved by ablution with cold water, or with tepid water, or tepid vineger and water, in equal proportions, if that protrusion of the bowel. 169 be found more agreeable. Bleeding piles may be relieved by drinking half a tumbler of cold water, and then lying down for an hour. The horizontal posture should be maintained as much as possible, especially for ten or fifteen minutes after an evacuation; this gives great re- lief, and favors recovery. An occasional injection of about half a pint to a pint of Avater up the lower bowel, by means of an enema apparatus, acts most beneficially by constricting the bloodvessel, softening the faeces, and obviating straining at stool. The wet compress is also recommended preventively, directly the first symptoms are noticed; and also curatively, Avith the other means pointed out. 57.—Protrusion of the Bowel (Prolapsus Ani). Causes.—This complaint is occasioned by long-con- tinued constipation or diarrhoea, purgatives, straining at stool, the irritation of worms, laxity and delicacy of con- stitution, or like causes. Although not confined to children? it is most frequent in them. Treatment.—Ignatia.—This remedy is often specific and sufficient, and is generally the first to be used. A dose thrice daily, for two or three days; afterward morn- ing and night. Podophyllum.—Bowel comes down with stool. Mercurius.—Itching, discharge of yellowish mucus, diarrhoea, and hard swollen abdomen. Lycopodium.—Obstinate cases, and when other reme- dies only partially cure. Accessory Means.—When the bowel protrudes, it should be reduced by placing the child across the lap, and making pressure on the protruded part with the fingers, previously lubricated Avith oil, and carried be- 170 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. yond the contracting ring of the muscle around the anus. Bathing the parts with cold water every morn- ing, and injections of water are useful. The action of the bowel in the evening, just before going to bed, should be encouraged, or the child should lie down on its back for half an hour, with the legs raised after each motion. A soft pad of lint, kept on the anus by a bandage, will facilitate cure. The diet should be wholesome and un- stimulating. A Aveak dilution of Calendula will relieve soreness. 58.—Biliousness. What are popularly called " bilious attacks," and sup- posed to be due to derangements of the liver, are almost invariably symptoms arising from and common to indi- gestion, such as furred tongue, vomiting of bile, giddi- ness, sick-headache, etc. One of the following remedies, according to the particular symptoms, with a restricted diet for twenty-four hours, and cold water ad libitum, will usually suffice to cure an attack: Nux vom., Puis., Iris, Pod., Bry., Merc. Natrum sulph.—Excess of bile; bitter taste, flatulence, vomiting of bitter fluid; morning diarrhoea. Iris.—Headache, vomiting and diarrhoea. Nux vomica.—When the pains are as if a nail were driven through the head; giddiness, confusion and faintness ; worse in the open air. Pulsatilla.—One-sided pains; better in the open air and from compressure. Administration.—Dissolve the selected remedy in water, and take a teaspoonful every half hour until better. Lemonade is frequently a grateful beverage in this condition. JAUNDICE. 171 The whole section on " Indigestion " should be con- sulted. 59.—Jaundice (Icterus). Symptoms.—Yellow tinge of the Avhite of the eyes and skin ; the perspirations staining the linen; bitter taste; light or clay-like motions. Constipation or, especially in children, diarrhoea; scanty and high-colored urine, staining the linen yellow, depositing thick sediment; slow pulse; dejection of spirits; and, often, febrile symptoms. When there is an obstruction from a gall-stone the sufferings are most acute; the pains come on in par- oxysms, often with vomiting and hiccough. Causes.—Interruption of the biliary functions, of obstruction to the elimination of bile, so that it again enters the circulation. The condition may be due to the impaction of a gall-stone, organic disease of the liver, atmospheric changes, unrestrained fits of passion, dietetic errors, dissipation, etc. Treatment.—Mercurius.—This is a valuable remedy, especially after the inflammatory symptoms have been modified by Aeon. A dose every three or four hours. China.—This is preferable for patients who have been drugged by allopathic doses of Mercury, and Avhen due to gall-stones. Chamomilla.—Jaundice in passionate or fretful pa- tients, especially children. Nux vomica.—Jaundice, with costiveness, sensitive- ness in the region of the liver, and connected with sed entary habits or indulgence in alcohol. This medicine following Merc, will give relief to all cases that are not caused by organic disease or gall-stone. 172 DISEASES OF THE URINARY SYSTEM. Other remedies are often necessary, but domestic treatment should never be trusted to when professional treatment can be obtained. Accessory Means.—Cold water, to appease thirst; extract of meat, toasted bread, scalded with hot sweet- ened water and a little sugar; roasted apples. Flannel, wrung out of hot water, relieves pain. CHAPTER VII. DISEASES OF THE URINARY SYSTEM. 60.—Difficulty in Urinating (Strangury). This condition often arises from causes similar to those which produce incontinence of urine, and requires nearly the same remedies. It is a symptom of many diseases, is often extremely painful, and life may even be jeopardized. The treatment should, therefore, if possible, be confided to a homoeopathic physician. Treatment.—Aconitum.—Inflammatory symptoms, often in alternation with some other remedy. Camphor.—Spasm at the neck of the bladder, espe- cially if caused by Cantharides; a drop on a piece of loaf-sugar every fifteen minutes for three or four times. Cantharis.—Urging, with cutting pains. Nux vomica.—Painful ineffectual urging, from the use of wine or spirits, spasmodic stricture. Mullein oil.—Constant urging with burning. Give drop doses every hour until relieved. Arnica.—Retention from a blow or fall, or other mechanical injury, or from the irritation of calculi. incontinence of urine. 173 Accessory Means.—The introduction of the catheter, so often resorted to under old school treatment, is fre- quently superseded by our more efficient remedies; still it may be necessary in some cases, and requires professional skill. External applications—warm baths, hot or cold cloths, fomentations and injections—greatly aid the action of the medicines. Relief may often be obtained by directing the patient to step suddenly, with naked feet, on to the cold floor, or into cold water; or a sponge, saturated with cold water, may be suddenly ap- plied over the region of the bladder. A simple and often successful method is to plunge the hands deeply into cold water, and move them about, as in the act of washing. The diet must be sparing, and in severe cases restricted to demulcent drinks, such as gum-Avater, bar- ley-water and gruel. 61.—Incontinence of Urine (Enuresis). In this disease there may be partial or entire loss of power to retain the urine in the bladder, with frequent urging. The muscular fibers of the bladder are over- strained and lose their expulsive power, so that the bladder remains filled and overflows in constant drib- bling. Causes.—Paralysis of the muscular fibers which sur- round the neck of the bladder, from injuries, tedious and protracted labors, the pressure of tumors, calcu- lous deposits, syphilitic diseases, the irritation of worms, etc. Treatment. — Cantharis. — Acute inflammation of the urinary organs, with irresistible desire to urinate, and discharge of only a few drops of bloody, acrid urine. 174 DISEASES OF THE URINARY SYSTEM. Gelsemium.—Involuntary urination from a relaxed or paralytic condition of the neck of the bladder. Ferrum phos.—Incontinence during the day. Nux vomica.—Urine retained with difficulty or passed involuntarily, from irritability consequent on the use of alcohol. Aeon., Bell, Calc, Caust, Lye and Sulph. are addi- tional remedies in our list often required. 62.—Wetting the Bed (Enuresis Nocturna). Causes.—Irritation of worms; too large a quantity of fluids, especially if taken warm and in the evening; improper food or drink, giving rise to acrid urine; con- stitutional weakness. The cause is often obscure, and generally requires professional treatment. Treatment.—Cina.—Enuresis from worms. Belladonna.—Irritability of the urinary organs, with- out any irritating property in the urine, especially in sensitive children with too active brains. Sulphur.—In cases of long standing give a dose once a day for a week; then stop one week, and again com- mence Avith the remedy. Mullein oil has been found a very efficient remedy in this complaint, and may be tried in obstinate cases. See the previous section. Accessory Means.—All sharp, salty and sour articles, malt liquors, spirits, tea and coffee should be avoided. Meat in moderate quantities, but little fruit and no flatulent food. Milk and water, or cocoa, may be taken in the morning, but nothing hot toward evening. Cold water and mucilaginous drinks may be taken in mod- eration, as they diminish the sharpness of the urine. The patient should sleep on a hard mattress with light bleeding from the urinary organs. 175 covering, take exercise in the open air, and have shower- baths or daily ablutions Avith cold water. The whole process of ablution, including drying Avith a large towel, should not occupy more than five or six minutes. The bladder should be invariably emptied before getting into bed, and sleep after waking up in the morning should not be indulged in. 63.—Bleeding from the Urinary Organs (Hematuria). The source of the hemorrhage may be the kidneys, the bladder, the prostate gland or the urethra. Causes.—Hemorrhage from the kidneys may be due to the irritation of renal calculi, blows on the loins, con- gestion resulting from scarlet fever, inflammation, and such diseases as typhus, scurvy, etc. Hemorrhage from the prostate gland, bladder or urethra may be caused by the introduction of instruments, the irritation of stone, A^enereal disease, abuse of Spanish fly, or by the existence of an ulcer or tumor, of which, indeed, it is often the first manifestation. Diagnosis.—Hemorrhage from the bladder may be recognized by the discharge taking place principally after the escape of urine; and the quantity is also greater, and often the clots are larger and more irregular than when derived from the kidneys; the severe pain in the lumbar region, the intimate admixture of the blood with the urine and other symptoms that ac- company the bleeding from the kidney are not present. Treatment.—Cantharis.—Discharge.of pure blood in drops, or copiously blended with the urine, especially when associated with difficulty in passing water, scald- ing urine and spasmodic pains. 176 diseases of the urinary system. Camphor.—Haematuria from the use of Spanish fly (Cantharis), as in allopathic treatment. Arnica.—Hemorrhage from external violence, strains or severe efforts. If the patient be robust, and inflam- matory symptoms predominate, in alternation with Aeon. A dose every hour at first; afterward Arnica only, every four hours. Accessory Means.—Demulcent drinks—linseed-tea, gum-water, etc.—may be taken in considerable quanti- ties. The wet compress over the loins when the hemor- rhage proceeds from the kidneys, or over the Avhole region of the bladder, when the bleeding proceeds from that organ, will mitigate the pain and hasten the cure. 64.—Spermatorrhoea—Involuntary Emissions. In the early editions of this Manual, the subject of this section has been incidentally mentioned under one or two medicines in the materia medica; and since the first edition was published, the author has been consulted by many hundred persons, in various parts of the country, suffering from seminal weakness, prov- ing that the evils of this affection are widespread as well as serious. The author's practice and correspondence with patients lead him to conclude that the disease is much overlooked or underrated by medical men gener- ally, although, probably, in some cases his treatment has been adopted from an indisposition to refer per- sonally to a medical man in the patient's neighborhood on such a subject. Causes.—The discharge alluded to generally occurs as* the result of a bad habit—self-abuse—either accidentally acquired or learned from associates, especially in schools, and continued under the influence of a morbid imagina- spermatorrhoea. 177 tion, and often in ignorance of the consequences of the vicious practice. Other causes may be an unhealthy condition of the urethra, or of the rectum; a too long or narrow prepuce, causing irritation from the retention of the secretions; sexual excesses; frequent excitation of the sexual passion ; irritation from worms, piles, or excessive horse-exercise; disease of the brain or spinal marrow, etc. Effects.—The effects of spermatorrhoea are depres- sion of spirits, often A^ery marked; loss or weakness of memory and of the senses; indigestion Avith oppres- sion after food, flatulence, constipation, headache, etc.; sunken eyes and loss of the healthy tints of the lids and face, the patient looking older than his years. When indulgence in the habit has been long-continued, the effects, which need not be here particularized, are more serious and general. Happily a course of judicious treatment is sufficient in nearly every case to effect a cure. Treatment.—The treatment, both medical and hy- gienic, must be Araried in almost every instance, and include all available methods for establishing the con- stitutional strength, soothing local excitement and irri- tability, and forming healthy habits both of the mind and body. No treatment can be successful unless the bad habit be utterly relinquished. The medical treatment involves the administration of homoeopathic remedies (only two or three are de- scribed in this work—China, Phosphorus, etc.), the se- lection and the doses of which can only be determined by the local and general symptoms of individual cases. An important feature in the medical treatment should 12 178 DISEASES of women. be the correction of any concurrent affection from which the patient may suffer. The hygienic treatment involves influences of Avide ex- tent, and embraces the commercial, social and moral relationships of the patient, occupation, recreation, books, meals, sleep, bathing and mental and moral discipline. The management of these several points must be regulated according to the exigencies of each- case, and involves details which cannot be described here. Under no circumstances whatever should the patient read or consult the treatises advertised in the newspapers or consult those advertising quacks. With- out any exception, they play upon the fears of the patient, and always do harm. CHAPTER VIII. DISEASES OF WOMEN. 65.—Menstrual Disorders. The first menstruation generally sets in about the four- teenth year, but it may appear later, sometimes earlier. There are frequently premonitory symptoms, such as headache, flushed face, pains in back and lower part of abdomen, languor, irritability and pains in the breasts. For such symptoms it is Avell to give a feAV doses of Pul- satilla three times a day, and, after a few days, follow it up with two doses a day of Calcar. phos. Keep this up for several weeks until the function is regularly estab- lished. After its establishment, great care must be taken to prevent either cessation of the flow from cold PROFUSE MENSTRUATION. 179 or an excess of it from too stimulating food, late hours or excitements. Warm clothes, and especially Avarm shoes and stockings, are of primary importance in es- tablishing the monthly flow and in preventing its sup- pression. Suppressed menstruation, Avhen due to cold or sudden shock of an acute disease or mental emotion, is gener- ally relieved by a warm hip-bath, taken at bedtime, or a warm foot-bath, to Avhich a little mustard has been added, and taking internally Aeon, and Puis. Take six pellets alternately every two hours. Quite obsti- nate cases of suppression of menses are met with on change of residence from inland to the seaside, also in chronic weakness, incipient consumption, etc. For the latter condition Calcar. phos., a dose three times a day, will prove of much benefit. Painful menstruation.—More or less pain at the monthly period is very common in unmarried Avomen, but homoeopathic remedies Avill relieve most cases when not due to organic troubles, Avhich is rare. Use no local treatment, but use the remedies, together Avith rest at the time, and warm applications to abdomen. A hot water bag to the back often gives wonderful relief. Magnes. phos. is the first remedy, and should be taken in hot water, a dose every hour or more frequently Avhen pain is severe and spasmodic. Pulsatillais the remedy for painful and scanty menses, especially in mild-tempered, blonde girls, and patients Avho are ahvays chilly, yet feel better in the open air. During the interval between the menses Calcarea phos. should be taken morning and evening. Profuse menstruation may arise from Aveakness of the system, overexertion near the time of the month, late 180 DISEASES OF WOMEN. hours, etc. Avoid rich foods or stimulants, and rest im- mediately before and during illness. China should be taken if the discharge is dark and there are faintness and weakness. Ipecac, when there are nausea and sick- ness, blood bright. During the flow, no hot drinks should be taken—cool lemonade is the best. During the intervals take a dose of Ferrum phos. in the morning, and a close of Calcar. phos. at bedtime, which will often correct the tendency to profuse and long-lasting men- struation. Sabina.—Painful and profuse menses. Hemorrhage from the Womb—Flooding (Metrorrhagia). —This may occur under various conditions, many of which are of such an intricate character as to be quite unintelligible to non-professional readers; indeed, it would require a considerable treatise to describe the various functional and organic derangements of the womb, of which hemorrhage is but a symptom. We shall therefore only suggest measures likely to be im- mediately beneficial until medical aid can be obtained. Treatment.—Aconitum.—At the commencement of the discharge, or when the first symptoms appear, when there are excitement, palpitation, anxiety and restless- ness, etc., especially in full-blooded patients. A dose every hour for several times. Ipecacuanha.— Flooding of bright-red blood with nausea. Secale.—Painful, dark, and offensive discharge, which is increased by movement or coughing; pale face, cold- ness of the extremities, extreme weakness. Arnica.—When the hemorrhage follows a fall, strain, misstep, overexertion, or other mechanical injury. Additional Remedies.—Sab., Croc, Ham. LEVOORRHCEA. 181 Accessory Means.—The patient should lie down quietly on a hard mattress, Avith the shoulders low and the hips raised, and move as little as possible; the mind should be kept calm, and order and quietness main- tained in the apartment. In urgent cases, hot water (120° F.) should be injected into the vagina. This is superior to cold Avater or ice as a stayer of bleeding, and it does not deprive the patient of strength as the appli- cation of cold does. Should, however, there be no hot water immediately at hand, cold water must be injected, or pieces of ice introduced into the womb, or pushed up the rectum. Leucorrhcea, or " the whites," is due to general weak- ness more than any other cause in young women. An inactive life, indolent habits, late hours, imprudence in dress, too stimulating food, habitual constipation, etc., all tend to produce this condition. Avoiding these and leading a rational, useful life, not self-centered, with plain food, sufficient exercise in the open air, and avoiding, in the case of young unmarried women, all local treatment, except such as cleanliness requires, and relying on homoeopathic remedies, will generally cure the disorder. Among the most useful medicines are the following : Calcarea, especially in weakly, sluggish women in whom the monthly flow is copious and too frequent, or if it is attended Avith severe itching. Take a dose at bed- time. Sepia, especially for delicate individuals, or if the discharge is acrid or corrosive. Pulsatilla, two doses daily, if the discharge is thick and the patient is of mild disposition, tearful, chilly, and still feels best in the open air. In married women, 182 diseases of women. leucorrhoea is frequently the result of other causes, and needs the attention of a physician. Change of life takes place usually between the ages of 40 and 50; it may be a question of a few months; more commonly, however, it may linger several years. In women who have led a natural life, been married and borne children, and who have not interfered with nature's methods, there is, as a rule, no disturbance of any kind; but more frequently, hoAvever, it gives rise to much discomfort, anxiety, palpitation, flushes of heat, unusual perspirations, fidgetiness, and even more serious troubles, mental and physical. The first symp- toms of the change are irregularity in the appear- ance of the menses, and abnormality in its character. The patient may pass several months and then have a flowing spell that may be most profuse. Sometimes, besides the usual symptoms above mentioned, there is a sense of fullness of the abdomen which leads some women to believe that they are pregnant, but it is only another of the numerous nervous disturbances peculiar to this period. A good deal can be done Avith remedies. Treatment.—Lachesis is the most frequently in- dicated remedy, especially for the flushes, palpitation and general condition. It is well to take a dose of this remedy tAvo or three times a Aveek for several months. Kali phos. may be taken after Lachesis in the same way. Avoid all stimulants and narcotics. The tem- porary relief they afford is delusive. Avoid overeating as well, Avhich is a common failing at this time. Belladonna will greatly relieve the flushes and head- aches. Morning sickness of pregnancy occurs during the first three months, but sometimes even during the entire suppressed secretion of milk. 183 pregnant state. Strict attention should be paid to diet. Light and nourishing food, taken frequently in rather small quantities, and cold effervescing water and cham- pagne may be required for extreme vomiting. Milk and lime-water, kumyss, popped corn or a little salt fish Avill often be beneficial remedies. Ipecacuanha when there are much nausea, loose bowels and cough. Nux vomica in bilious patients with constipated bowels. Arsenicum when patient is greatly prostrated. A dose should be taken every two hours in severe cases, in milder forms two or three times daily. Sore nipples are often due to a naturally tender state of the skin, or the too frequent nursing of a child af- fected with thrush. Perfect cleanliness is absolutely necessary. Applying arnicated water, made by dissolv- ing ten drops of homoeopathic tincture of Arnica in a teacup of water, immediately after nursing, and taking a dose of Arnica pellets internally every three hours, will cure the milder forms. A nipple shield will have to be worn if the fissures should be severe In the latter case give Silicea, morning and evening. Inflammation of the breast may result from cold, or excess of milk, due to the fact that it is not drawn off at regular intervals. Great care is required to guard against the influence of draughts and external injuries. Should there be feverishness, give a few doses of Aeon. half an hour apart, and soon follow it up with Bryon., a dose every two hours, should there be any pain or lumps forming " caked breast." Always consult your physician in any disturbance of the lying-in period. Suppressed secretion of milk may be caused by chill, 184 diseases of the cutaneous system mental shock or Aveakness. It should be remedied at once. The breast should be fomented with Avarm flan- nels and rubbed with sweet oil afterward. Give Aconite and Pulsatilla, a dose every hour alternately. Excessive secretion of milk may be due either to weakness or exuberance of strength. Regulate the diet and treatment accordingly. The full habit requires a moderate diet, but little liquid food—the weakly re- quires generous living. In the latter case give China, especially if there be much perspiration, disturbed digestion, and tendency to diarrhoea Calcarea phos. may be given in. either case, a dose three times a day. Suppression of the lochia may be due to cold, getting up too soon or inflammation. Hot fomentation should be applied to the lower abdomen, and Avarm vaginal in- jection should be given, also a few doses of Aconite, until the physician can be summoned. If the flow is begin- ning to be re-established, give Pulsatilla every two hours until all untoward symptoms have been removed. CHAPTER IN. DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM 66.—Nettlerash ( Urticaria). Symptoms. — Prominent, round or oval elongated patches or wheals of the skin, resembling those pro- duced by nettle-stings. They appear and disappear suddenly, are easily excited by scratching or exposure to cold, and cause severe heat and itching. The eleva- ITCHING OF THE SKIN. 185 tions contain no fluid, and do not end in scaling of the skin. It is not contagious, an'd may trouble the same patient repeatedly. Chronic urticaria is very rebellious against treatment, unless the cause be detected and removed. Treatment.—Apis.—Urticaria, with stinging or burn- ing itching, and much swelling. Pulsatilla.—If indigestion or dysmenorrhoea is present. Antimonium crud.—From gastric disturbances. Dulcamara.—From cold, with much stinging. Rhus tox.—From eating shell-fish, etc.; worse in bed; rheumatic patien-ts. Aconitum.—With feverishness. Calcarea.—Chronic nettlerash, especially in scrofulous patients. Also Sulph., the irritation coming on chiefly at night. General Treatment.—Bathe all over Avith warm water into Avhich a little carbolic acid has been dis- solved, sufficient to give it some odor, then dry, and powder all over with corn-starch. Smearing with bacon fat gives great relief. A milk diet, and no stimulants. Preventives.—A dry, uniform and moderate tem- perature, plain food, exercise in the open air, cold or tepid bathing, and great cleanliness. As the use of flannel may be an exciting cause, by the irritation it produces, it should never be worn by such patients next to the skin. Avoid shell-fish. 67.—Itching of the Skin (Prurigo). This condition consists of an eruption sometimes nearly imperceptible, which occasions the irritation. Causes.—Rich, indigestible food, stimulating drinks, 186 DISEASES of the cutaneous system. extreme heat or cold, a constitutional taint, chronic dis- ease, etc. Treatment.—Sulphur.—Severe itching, with dryness of the skin, worse in the evening, in warmth and in bed. A dose twice or thrice daily. Carbo veg.—When Sulph. only partially cures. Aconitum.—Feverish heat, redness of the skin, thirst; symptoms worse at night. Rhus tox.—Itching and redness, with swelling and tingling. Arsenicum.—Itching, with burning, or an eruption emitting a small drop of watery fluid; chronic cases with constitutional feebleness. Calc, Merc, Hepar and Puis, are also remedies in our list sometimes required. Accessory Measures.—Medicated ointments should not be used, as they might transfer the disease from the skin to some internal organ, Avhere it would become far more serious. In severe cases, temporary relief may be obtained by bathing the parts with alcohol and water, in equal proportions, or sponging the skin with a warm infusion made by pouring boiling Avater on bran. Very troublesome prurigo is much benefited by a warm bath (p. 59), which is both soothing and curative; it should be taken in the evening or when the patient has not to be again exposed to atmospheric changes, and fol- lowed next morning by the wet sheet squeezed out of cold or tepid water, rapid drying, and friction. If the irritation or eruption be limited, the use of a wet com- press over the parts will also be beneficial, although at first it may increase the irritation. Scratching must be avoided. The skin should be strengthened by daily ab- lutions with cold or tepid water—sponging, shower- RINGWORM. 187 baths, etc.—also by regular exercise in a bracing air. Stimulating food and drink, pastry and other indigest- ible diet must be avoided; also irregular hours of meals. Look to the condition of the boAvels and avoid constipation. Without good hygienic measures, medi- cines will be of little permanent utility. 68.—Ringworm (Herpes Oircinnatus). Symptoms.—Small round vesicles, filled Avith clear or yellow fluid, on the head, at the roots of the hair, and on various parts of the skin. The rings or patches Arary in size from a quarter to that of a dollar. There is much itching, and in old standing cases the whole scalp may be implicated; but the general health is rarely disturbed. Causes.—It is an epidemic affection, readily commu- nicated by the touch ; and ill-health, poor food, dark, badly ventilated dwellings, etc., favor its spread and activity Treatment.—Internal.—Sepia.—This is usually the only remedy required. Take a dose night and morning. Local—Cut short the hair and wash well with soap and water. Apply a little cod-liver oil to the spots night and morning, rubbing it in gently Avith the finger. Afterward, if this is not sufficient, the local applica- tion of Sulphurous acid, Carbolic acid, or Oleate of Mer- cury will destroy the parasite which causes the eruption. General Treatment.—Cleanliness and change of air are of great importance. The patient's towels, hair- brushes, combs, sponges, etc., should on no account be used by those unaffected. The hair and head should be well brushed so as to excite the vital action of the skin by the friction. A nutritious diet is recom- 1N8 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM. mended; also an occasional tepid bath. Scrofulous, emaciated children may require a teaspoonful of cod- liver oil tAvice a day. Sudden and extreme changes of temperature should be avoided. Popular remedies— ink, tobacco-water, etc.—are dangerous. 69.—Shingles (Herpes). Symptoms.—An eruption of vesicles on an inflamed patch of integument, accompanied Avith a burning, tingling sensation, and occasionally severe neuralgic pains. Neuralgia may precede or follow the eruption as well as accompany it. It is usually found in a half- circle around the Avaist or chest. Treatment.—Rhus.—In recent cases, much burning in the vesicles. Arsenicum.—More chronic cases, and in debilitated persons. Dose: Six globules of the selected remedy may be given three times a day. It is a good plan to paint the eruption over with collo- dion, or powder with corn-starch. 70.—Chilblains (Perniones). Chilblains are due to a languid circulation of the blood, and consist of a low kind of inflammation of the skin, generally of the hands or feet, and are attended with itching, tingling, burning, swelling, and sometimes ulceration. Chapped Hands.—This affection consists of slight inflammation of the skin of the back of the hands, which become cracked or " chapped." It occurs in frosty weather, when it sometimes gives rise to much inconvenience and pain. It requires similar external treatment to chilblains. CHILBLAINS. 189 Causes.—Exposure to cold, damp, or to sudden changes of temperature; feeble circulation. Treatment.—Tamus communis, in nearly all cases, either removes the disease or affords material relief. Unbroken chilblains should be painted morning and night with the strong tincture of Tamus, or it may be used as a lotion. Should the skin be broken or ulcers exist, Calendula should be substituted for Tamus, and applied as a lotion, or in the form of cerate. Carbolic acid and oil (one part of the former to six of the latter) ; Arnica and soap liniment (one part of strong tincture of the former to eight of the latter) are also efficacious. In- ternal treatment is generally required for chilblains. Arnica.—Hard, shining skin; pain and itching of the parts. Belladonna.—Inflammation, pulsative pains, fiery red- ness, and swelling. Arsenicum.—Burning pain, accompanied by ulceration, especially in emaciated children. Sulphur.—Chilblains of a blue-red color, with itching, aggravated by Avarmth. Also to remove the constitu- tional tendency. Accessory Means.—For ulceration, poultices or other mild applications should be applied until relieved. Pork, salted meats, and all irritating or indigestible articles of food should be excluded from the dietary. Extremes of temperature are to be avoided, such as a cold stone floor, and warming the feet on a fender, or the hands close to the fire. After washing them, the hands should be well dried. The soreness of chapped hands may be much mitigated by wrapping them in a water-bandage and covering them with oil silk on re- tiring to bed. 190 DISEASES of the cutaneous system. 71.—Ulcer ( Ulcus)—Sores. Ulcers may arise from burns, bruises, inflammation, varicose veins, or constitutional disturbance. They require careful management, and many can only be successfully treated by a homoeopathic practitioner. Treatment.—Kali bich.—Ulcers on the leg, deep, with hard bases and overhanging edges. Belladonna.—Painful ulcers, having an erysipelatous blush. Arsenicum.—Ulcers with burning pain, easily discharg- ing blood or thin matter, and presenting a livid appear- ance. Carbo veg. may follow, or be alternated with, Ars. if the ulcer have an offensive smell. Silicea.—Simple ulcers. Ulceration following abra- sion of skin. Hepar sulph. or Sulphur may also be required. General Treatment.—A little soft linen or lint, wetted in cold water, placed on the sore, covered with oil silk, and lightly bound up with a bandage; or Ca- lendula lotion in the same manner. Ulcers on the legs require rest, the horizontal posture, and constitutional treatment. Open-air exercise should be taken, especially during recoA^ery; but much standing, or sitting with the legs hanging down, is unfavorable. Among dispensary patients, we find ulcers on the legs very intractable, as the necessary rest and general hygienic conditions can- not be observed. 72.—Boil (Furunculus). An inflamed, pointed tumor, painful or tender, of a deep-red color, terminating in suppuration. Boils gen- WHITL0AV. 191 erally indicate a disordered condition of the blood, as the result of insufficient, poor, or indigestible food, anxiety, insufficient rest, etc. Treatment.—Belladonna.—An excellent remedy for arresting a boil in its early stages, before matter has formed; it also relieves the pain. Hepar sulph.—Pain of a pulsative character, indica- tive of suppuration, which it promotes. Silicea.—Indolent boils. Sulphur.—To prevent a. recurrence of boils. General Treatment.—As soon as Hepar is indi- cated, a poultice, covered with oiled silk and one or two thicknesses of flannel, should be applied. The poultice should be kept hot and renewed until suppuration is nearly completed, when a wet compress should be sub- stituted. To prevent a recurrence of boils, attention must be directed to their causes. If from derangement of the digestive organs, seasoned dishes, pastry, sweet- meats, etc., should be avoided, and a generous diet, including animal food once a day, should be adopted. Proper food, daily bathing, and recreation in the open air will go far toward eradicating a predisposition to boils. In obstinate cases, change of air is exceedingly beneficial 73—Whitlow (Panaris). This is an inflammatory swelling at end of the finger, with a tendency to suppuration. Causes.—Cutting the nail to the quick; a bruise, burn, or other mechanical injury; the introduction of poisonous or acrid matter into scratches on the finger; unhealthy constitution. Treatment.—Silicea.—The first and often the best 192 diseases of the cutaneous system. remedy for whitlow; administered early, it often pre- vents its maturation. If necessary, a warm bread-and- milk poultice may be applied, and the finger held in a raised posture. Aconitum and Belladonna, in alternation, every three hours, if there be much pain, redness, throbbing, thirst, restlessness, etc. Helpar sulph.—During suppuration. Poultices and general treatment as for boils. 74.—Corn (Clavus). Causes.—Long-continued pressure or friction, or both combined. Treatment.—If medical treatment be required, one of the following may be chosen: Calcarea, Sulphur, Silicea. A dose morning and night, for a week or ten days. After waiting a few days, if necessary, the same or another remedy may be administered. Accessory Means.—Corns can only be eradicated by wearing easily fitting boots and shoes, frequently wash- ing the feet and changing the stockings. As soon as a corn appears, the surrounding skin should be softened by a warm foot-bath, the hard head of the corn gently extracted Avith the finger-nail, or some convenient instrument, and the thickened skin pared off with a sharp knife; the corn should then be dressed with Arnica lotion (thirty drops to a wine-glassful of water), and next morning a piece of Arnica plaster, or an Arni- cated corn-plaster, having a hole punched through its center, applied. The dressing may be repeated until the inconvenience is removed. palpitation of the heart. 193 75.—Warts (Verrucae). Treatment.—Thuja.—The warts should be painted once or twice daily with the mother tincture; at the same time a dilution of the same medicine may be taken internally, morning and night; it is especially necessary Avhen the warts appear in crops. This course may be folloAved for a week or ten days; and if improve- ment ensues, as it often does, the treatment should be continued longer. When Thuja does not sueceed, Rhux tox. may be used internally, a dose morning and night. Sulphur, once a day for a week or two, is an excellent remedy for numerous and obstinate warts upon the hands. It is also useful after other medicines and as a preventive. CHAPTER X. UNCLASSIFIED DISEASES. 76.—Palpitation of the Heart (Palpitatio Cordis). In a normal condition we are scarcely sensible of the heart's beat; when, however, its pulsations become much increased in force and frequency, the unpleasant sensation known as palpitation is experienced. Causes.—Predisposing—Nervous temperament; hys- teria ; a full habit; diseases of the heart. Exciting— Excessive joy, long-continued anxiety, fear, or other mental emotions; severe exertion; the excessive use of tea, coffee and other stimulants; profuse discharges: menstrual derangements, etc. 13 194 UNCLASSIFIED DISEASES. Treatment.—The following is only for simple cases. If possible, palpitation should be treated by a physi- cian. Aconitum.—From excitement, with anxiety, coldness, numb extremities, or a sensation as if the heart ceased to beat; short, hurried breathing; hot and flushed face; and in plethoric patients. Belladonna.—Oppression, tremor, palpitation extend- ing to the neck and head ; congested face Gelsemium.—Nervous palpitation. Spigelia.—Palpitation with pain at the heart. Ignatia.—When caused by grief or anxiety ; nervous headache; hysteria. Coffea.— Wakefulness and nervous restlessness; palpi- tation from joyful excitement. Chamomilla.—Palpitation from passion. Opium.—From fright, with drowsiness, etc. China.—After loss of animal fluids—blood, milk, mucous discharges. Pulsatilla. — Hysterical symptoms, and in females suffering from deranged period. Administration.—During an attack, a dose every twenty or thirty minutes; as the symptoms decline, or in mild cases, every six or twelve hours. Accessory Measures.—The causes should be avoided. Pure air, cold water internally and externally, moderate exercise, a contented disposition, and light, nourishing and regular diet are excellent auxiliaries. Avoid watch- ing the heart's action, counting the pulse, etc., and dis- card fear. HEMORRHAGES 195 77.—Hemorrhages and Hemorrhagic Diathesis. By the term " hemorrhage " is meant the escape of blood from those vessels in which it is naturally con- tained, whether the discharge be external or into one of the internal cavities of the body. Profuse and long- continued hemorrhages being dangerous, and the re- sults often most serious, it is undesirable, except in emergencies, to trust to domestic treatment. In con- sideration, however, of the frequent suddenness of such occurrences, the impossibility of securing at all times the immediate attendance of a medical man, and the importance of being prepared to act promptly to afford temporary relief, we have devoted two or three sections to the immediate treatment of several forms of hemor- rhage. Hemorrhagic Diathesis.—In some patients a pre- disposition to hemorrhage exists which may be heredi- tary or acquired, and is designated the hemorrhagic diathesis. This condition probably consists in defective contractility of the arteries, which may also be fragile or soft from diseased processes, so being unable to resist the force of the circulation, especially in congestion; and in loss of coagulability of blood, from a defective or altered character of the fibrine, the chief agent in coagulation, and of some change in the red corpuscles. Hence the most triArial wound bleeds almost uncontrol- lably, and even life may be jeopardized, by a slight injury or surgical operation. As stated, the hemorrha- gic diathesis may not in all cases be hereditary, but caused by diseases of the liver, spleen, etc., which then exert a deleterious influence upon the constituents of the blood. The knowledge of the existence of such 196 unclassified diseases. a diathesis is important, as it might materially modify the medical and surgical treatment of the patient. 78.—Spitting (Haemoptysis)—Vomiting of Blood from Ruptured Bloodvessel (Haematemesis). It is not necessary here to determine whether the blood comes from the lungs or stomach, as the immedi- ate treatment should be the same in either case. It may be stated, however, that when blood comes from the lungs it is usually of a bright-red color, is discharged with coughing, or is hawked up, and is often frothy; but when from the stomach, it is of a dark color, is vomited, and is sometimes mixed with food. Calmness and judgment are especially necessary, as the discharge of considerable quantities of blood is otherwise likely to cause alarm, and disqualify for action. Treatment. — Aconitum. — Chiefly indicated when flushed face, palpitation and anguish accompany the hemorrhage; or for the premonitory symptoms—shiA'- erings, quick pulse, palpitation, etc. Two drops in a spoonful of water, repeated in ten or fifteen minutes, or in one, two or three hours. See also "Accessory Means." Arnica.—Hemorrhage from a fall, a blow, or severe exertion. Ipecacuanha.— Haematemesis, Avith paleness of the face and frequent inclination to vomit; or short cough and expectoration streaked with blood. China.—Chiefly required after hemorrhage, for remov- ing the consequent debility. Its chief indications are frequent taste of blood, shivering, flushes, dizziness, feeble pulse, cold hands or feet, fainting, etc. Ferrum phos.—Bleeding from nose in rapidly growing children. Bright-red blood. spitting of blood. 197 Arsenicum.—Difficult breathing, extreme palpitation of the heart, anguish, burning heat and thirst, small and quick pulse. Hamamelis.—A teaspoonful of the extract may be diluted with a tumblerful of cold water, and spoonful doses given every ten minutes, alone or in alternation with any of the above remedies. Accessory Means.—The patient should immediately lie down on a sofa or mattress, with the head and shoulders elevated. All tight-fitting articles of dress should be removed, and the patient kept cool and quiet, and on no account be allowed to talk. There must be no crowding round him, no talking, noise or confusion; and the room should be kept cool and airy, at about 55° F. For some time, food and wine are not admissi- ble, and the only drink that can be allowed is a little cold water or the sucking of ice. Should faintness occur, no alarm need be excited, as it is often nature's method of arresting the bleeding. After the hemor- rhage has ceased, the patient must still be kept cool, quiet and free from excitement, and the diet be light and unstimulating, while the position of the body should be such as to favor the cessation of the discharge. Gradually beef-tea, broth, milk and cocoa may be taken, but not hot. These measures are necessary to obviate a recurrence of the symptoms. Sometimes hemorrhage is vicarious, as in females, when bleeding from the nose or stomach takes the place of the menstrual discharge. In such cases the treatment should be di- rected to the establishment or restoration of the monthly period. 198 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. CHAPTER XL INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. 79.—Apnoea (from Drowning, Hanging, Suffo- cation by Gas, etc.). No time is to be lost. The two points to be aimed at are: First, to restore breathing; second, circulation and warmth. Loosen everything about the chest and throat. Place the patient on his back, the head and shoulders a little raised by means of a coat rolled up and placed be- Fig. 1.—Inspiration. neath. The mouth should be cleansed, the tongue drawn forward beyond the lips, and kept in this position by means of a piece of tape or ribbon tied over the tongue and under the chin. Taking hold of both arms above the elbows, they should be drawn slowly and steadily upward above the patient's head, and kept stretched while counting, one, two. This is inspiration, APNCEA. 199 for by this means air is drawn into the lungs. The pa- tient's arms should next be turned down and pressed gently but firmly against the sides of the chest, count- ing, as before, one, tAvo, This is expiration, or emptying the chest of air. These moArements should be repeated about fifteen times in a minute, until natural breathing occurs. It is altogether wrong to suppose that life is extinct if breathing does not soon take place, persons having been restored after persevering in this treatment for many hours. Next—not before—commence rub- Fig. 2.—Expiration. Figs. 1 and 2.—To Illustrate the position of the body during the employment of Dr. Sylvester's Method of Restoring Breathing. bing the limbs upward with firm pressure, using hand- kerchiefs or flannels, to favor the return of blood to the heart. Warmth may be favored by the application of hot flannels, hot bottles, or heated bricks wrapped round with flannel, or by any means at hand, to the pit of the stomach, the arm-pits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet. Wrap the patient in a warm blanket. A small quantity of warm brandy and water or hot coffee should now be given. 200 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. 80.—Fainting—Insensibility. In all cases of insensibility, loosen the clothing round the neck and chest; and if caused by an injury, the patient should be gently and carefully put to bed, and kept perfectly quiet Avhile a doctor is sent for. The ordinary fainting fit is not as a rule dangerous, and will be caused by several things, among which may be mentioned " tight lacing." The patient's head should be pressed down between the knees and kept there for two or three minutes. The clothes should noAV be loosened, and all tight clothing likely to interfere Avith the free play of the chest removed. A good plan is to place the patient flat on the floor, the head on a level with the body. Bathing the face and head with cold Avater is beneficial, and a stimulant, such as coffee or wine, may be given. 81.—What to do when a Dress Catches Fire. Place the patient on the ground in a horizontal posi- tion, and if necessary use force to accomplish this, since flames mount upward. Then take a rug, table-cloth or coat, and throw over the flames, pressing it Avell down in all directions; the flames are in this Avay easily ex- tinguished. If this be promptly done, the frightful injuries which are occasionally seen as a result of this accident may be altogether prevented. 82.—Burns and Scalds. Severe injuries from burns or scalds, especially those implicating large surfaces, are very dangerous and often fatal. Treatment.—First, remove the dress; and if any por- BURNS AND SCALDS. 201 tions adhere closely to the surface of the body, do not tear them away, but cut around them as closely as pos- sible. The burned part should then be placed in warm (not hot) Avater, which will remove the adhering por- tions. The most important thing to be done now is to exclude air from the wound; this may be accomplished by dusting on flour by means of the common dredger, or by applying gently a paste made with whiting or chalk. If oil be obtainable, any sort (with the excep- tion of mineral oils, such as paraffin) will do; the application of this will give immediate relief. (The best preparation is the u Carron oil," consisting of equal parts of linseed oil and lime-water.) Soak in it a piece of folded linen rag, and apply to the wounded surface so as to completely cover it; over this place some cotton wool or wadding, and secure it in position by means of a bandage. This dressing should not be interfered with until the wound is healed, unless it has become fetid from the discharge, when it must be removed very cau- tiously, and a fresh dressing, prepared beforehand, ap- plied at once. If the wound is very serious, and the patient is suffering from "shock to the system," he should be Avrapped in a blanket and kept Avarm, and medical aid at once sent for. If, after the dressing is finally removed, ulcers exist, Calendula cerate is a valuable application. If there be very much discharge it must be carefully and frequently removed, and the parts kept as clean as possible. Internal Treatment, except in the slightest cases, is always necessary and must be suited to the part injured, its extent and the constitutional symptoms present. As a general rule, Aconitum, given early, does good, by 202 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. allaying fever, mitigating pain and moderating reaction. In very severy cases a little warm brandy and water are of service. 83.—Frostbite.—Sunstroke. The aim of all treatment of frostbite is to restore the circulation gradually. Nothing can be more hurtful than bringing a person who has been frostbitten into a warm room immediately afterward, or placing him near a fire. The bad effects of this may be seen to a lesser degree in the production of chilblains, by hold- ing the hands near the fire in place of rubbing them briskly. Therefore the patient should be kept in a cool place, and the parts affected rubbed with snow or bathed with cold water. By this means the circulation will be gradually but surely restored. Sunstroke.—The clothing should be at once removed and the patient placed in the prone position, Avith the head and shoulders slightly raised. Cold water should then be poured, from the height of three or four feet, on to his head and allowed to trickle down his back. If an ice-bag, or bladder filled with ice, can be procured, it should be applied to the head. Should the patient be very much collapsed, a mustard plaster may be applied to the nape of the neck. Give Glonoin internally 84.—Bruises (Contusions). The prime object should be to excite as speedily as possible the absorption of extravasated blood. If pos- sible, the injured part should be raised, and a warm Arnica lotion (one part of the tincture to ten of water, applied by means of'lint saturated with the lotion, cov- ered with oiled silk, and secured Avith a bandage. If, WOUNDS. 203 however, the skin be broken, Arnica must on no account be used, as it may induce erysipelas. Fomentations of hot water used immediately after the injury, and at in- tervals afterward, are often useful. A " black eye," or, as the Scotch people more appropriately say, a " blue eye," may generally be prevented by Arnica lotion, applied immediately after the injury. Hamamelis or Calendula should be substituted if the sufferer is sub- ject to erysipelas. Where the bruise is very severe, be- yond giA'ing the part absolute rest, it cannot be dealt with satisfactorily, except by medical knowledge. • 85.—Wounds. Wounds of the soft parts are of four kinds—incised, made by clean-cutting instruments; punctured, such as pricks and stabs; lacerated, the parts being torn, and the lips of the Avounds irregular; and contused, or bruised, the surface being broken. Treatment.—The following are the chief points: 1st. To arrest the bleeding. In slight cases, the elevation of the bleeding parts, the application of cold, moderate pressure, and the coaptation of the edges of the wound, after cleaning them, will suffice. A Calendula lotion* will serve to arrest hemorrhage, and check suppuration. See, also, further on. 2d. The removal of foreign bodies. Dirt, hair, glass, clots of blood, etc, should be removed by the fingers, or sponge and water. 3d. To bring the injured parts nicely togetlier. Any muscular fiber likely to prevent complete reunion should be snipped off with a pair of scissors, and after * See Materia Medica, Calendula. 204 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. the sides of the wound have been accurately adjusted, they should be kept so by strips of adhesive plaster, first applied to that side of the Avound which is most moA'able, and then secured to the other. Very long strips should be used, to give as much support as possible to the parts. But in extensive wounds, Avhere plaster would be insufficient, stitches must be employed. 4th. To promote adhesion. To secure this, the part should be kept at rest, and if the injury be severe the patient should remain in bed. 5th. When a wound is dressed, say once every twenty- four hours, a sponge or rag should be wetted with warm water, and laid over the dressing, so that it may be re- moved without the risk of disturbing the surfaces Avhich may have partially united. Often the lotion may be renewed by removing the oiled silk only, pouring a little lotion on the rag or lint, and then replacing the oiled silk. 6th. To control dangerous bleeding, as from a sharp- cutting instrument. When blood flows in a steady stream, and is dark-colored, it is from a vein, and can generally be checked by applying cold water and ex- posing the cut surface to the cold air. But if large veins be wounded they should be compressed with the fingers, or by a bandage. A few thicknesses of linen, with steady compression, are more efficient than heap- ing on a large quantity. When the blood is bright-red, and flows in jets, it is arterial, and the same means must be adopted as just pointed out, unless the bleeding is excessive, in which case a handkerchief should be tied round the limb, near the wound, and betAveen it and the heart, a stick inserted under the handkerchief, and a firm compress over the course of the bloodvessel; the WOUNDS. 205 stick should then be twisted until it stops the circula- tion and, consequently, the bleeding (Fig. 3.) But this is only a temporary expedient, for wounded arteries of size require ligature or torsion by a surgeon before bleed- ing can be permanently arrested. If no surgeon can be obtained, a clever manipulator should grasp the wounded artery with a pair of forceps, and draw it slightly and gently forward, so that it may be securely tied by means of a strong ligature of silk. Fig. 3. 7 th. Should a wound or bruise be followed by con- stitutional disturbance—fever, chills and throbbing in the parts—medicines should be administered. Arnica (as prepared for internal use) and Aconitum will gener- ally meet the requirements of such cases, and should be administered every one to three hours, in alternation, for several times; Belladonna, pain and swelling of the injured part; Hepar sulph., Avhen suppuration is estab- lished ; Silicea, unhealthy suppuration. 206 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. 86.—Poisoned Wounds—Bites and Stings. The treatment consists in the prevention of the spread of poison through the body. This may be accomplished by (1) Destroying the poison at the seat of injury by cutting out the part. (2) Cauterizing the wound with a knitting-needle made red hot, or with nitrate of silver (caustic). (3) Tying a ligature tightly betAveen the wound and the body. (4) Sucking the wound, and in doing so extract the poison. Before doing the last, the operator should be sure that his mouth and lips are free from fissures or cracks. If the mouth be sound the poison can do him no injury. When the wound results froni a scratch Avith a rusty nail or any similar object, our first care should be to encourage bleeding. This may be done by sucking the wound, or by placing it in hot water. The wound can then be treated as an ordinary one (see preceding sec- tion). If, in spite of these precautions, the wound be- comes painful and throbbing, a poultice of bread or linseed should be applied; and if suppuration (gather- ing) takes place, it should be opened with a large needle or penknife, and the poulticing continued. The stings of bees or wasps should be treated by ex- tracting the sting, which may often be seen in the wound, by pressing the open end of the tube of a small key over the seat of injury. Ledum is a useful local application. Tincture of Apis may be given internally, as Avell as applied to the injured spot. 87.—Foreign Bodies in the Eye or Ear. If a particle of sand, a fly, or a hair gets under the upper eyelid, let the patient sit down, and, standing BROKEN BONES. 207 behind him, place a pencil over the lid, take hold of the eyelashes, and turn the lid upward; the offending body can then be removed with the corner of a handkerchief. If under the lower lid, turn it down, and remove in the same manner. If a particle of lime has got in the eye, care should be taken not to use water to remove it. A weak solution of vinegar should be used. ' When the foreign body has been removed, Aconite should be given every half-hour, and Calendula lotion may be applied to the eye on lint or soft linen. The patient should avoid rubbing the eye to remoA'e a foreign body. In the Ear.—If any insect gains admission to the ear, it may be killed by pouring in a few drops of olive oil. If a body such as a pea, bead, etc., is the offender, a piece of wire, with the tip slightly bent to form a hook, should be introduced above the foreign body, so that it may be turned out easily. 88.—Bloodshot Eye. Treatment.—Two or three doses of Aconitum every three hours, and the eye frequently bathed with tepid water. If from mechanical causes, and there be no abrasion of skin or mucous membrane, Arnica lotion (six drops of strong tincture to a Avineglassful of water) may be used. Arnica may also be administered inter- nally. If the condition be chronic, or recur without mechanical injury, Arsenicum, thrice daily, should be administered. 89.—Broken Bones (Fractures). Symptoms.—A broken bone may generally be de- tected by having felt it snap; there may be some . deformity, such as bending, or shortening; and if the 208 INJURIES--ACCIDENTS. upper end of the bone be held firmly by the hand, the lower part may be moved independently, and if the broken ends are rubbed against each other, a grating noise may be heard. There will further be pain and loss of power in the injured part. Causes.—Mechanical violence is the most frequent; but old age, paralysis and prolonged disuse of a limb ren- der bones liable to break from trifling causes. Treatment.—Before moving the patient, a temporary splint should be adjusted in order to prevent the certain jolting that Avould occur. Anything that will give sup- port to the injured limb without adding much weight to it will do. If the fracture is in the forearm, it should be immediately supported by a sling, which may be made with a handkerchief and tied round the neck. If it is the leg that is injured, a roll of music or newspaper BROKEN BONES. 209 may be used to encircle the limb, or an umbrella or Avalking-stick may be placed at the side of the leg, and secured in position by means of three or four hand- kerchiefs. The patient should now be raised gently, the injured part being supported, and special care taken to prevent the broken bone being forced through the flesh and skin. He should be placed on a stretcher or litter and taken to his home or to a hospital. A litter may be made of a couple of poles and a horse-cloth or sack; even a door or hurdle may serve the purpose. Placing on this, and carrying by two men, is much better than removing him in a cart or carriage. It is important not to be in a hurry, as an injury is often greatly aggra- vated by carelessness or too hurried measures. When a surgeon is Avithin a moderate distance, after making 14 210 INJURIES—ACCIDENTS. the patient as comfortable as possible, it is better to wait for him to superintend the moving. If there be a wound in the skin and much bleeding, see " Wounds." When the patient has been placed on a firm bed or mattress and the injured part examined, the surgeon will bring the broken ends of the bone into close ap- position in their natural form, and, having done so, maintain them in perfect contact and at rest, till firm union has taken place. To maintain the proper shape and length of the limb, bandages, splints and various ap- paratus are required. Beyond the mere management of such accidents, however, till he arrive, only a surgeon can treat such cases. Broken Eibs require a flannel bandage about two hands broad round the chest, and shoulder-straps to keep it up. A rather tight-fitting bandage lessens the movement of the chest in breathing, and is a great comfort. 90.—Sprain. Treatment.—In severe cases the chief point is to keep the parts at perfect rest, by means of a roller nicely applied, or controlling the motions of the joint by a splint. In simple cases the application of rags, saturated with Arnica or Rhus lotion and covered with a piece of flannel, will hasten the cure. The use of oil silk should be avoided as dangerous, In all cases Arnica or Rhus should be given internally. When the pain and swelling subside, the joint may be partially liberated, and gentle motion allowed; but the greatest care must be observed for several weeks in using the limb, or the cure will be rendered difficult and tedious. FATIGUE AND OVEREXERTION. 211 91.—Fatigue and Overexertion—Blisters. If the feet be swollen or blistered, or the ankles ache after wralking, a wTarm foot-bath may be used, to which a teaspoonful of the strong tincture of Arnica has been added, the relief afforded being immediate and perma- nent. If the hands or wrists ache after excessive or unaccustomed exertion, they may be bathed in about a pint of water, to which twenty or thirty drops of Arnica have been added. If necessary, in one or two hours the application may be repeated. In muscular fatigue from long-continued or short but severe exer- tion, affecting the hips, thighs, etc.; a hip-bath, contain- ing a drachm of the strong tincture of Arnica, is an excellent remedy. The patient should remain in the bath about five minutes. Whatever kind of bath is used, and to whatever part it is applied, it should be warm if used in the evening or immediately after exer- tion, but cold or tepid in the morning. Apart from the external use of Arnica, that remedy should always be taken internally, as it has a wonderfully restorative effect in such cases. Alcoholic drinks should not be taken after a fatiguing day. The formation of blisters may be prevented by wearing easy but well-fitting boots, that haAre become shaped to the feet, made of soft upper leather and stout soles. After the evening bath, whiting should be rubbed into the feet. Before starting in the morning, spirits may be rubbed into the soles, heels, and sides of the feet. Before taking very long walks it is a very good plan to soap the insides of the stocking feet. Silk stockings covered with woolen ones will lessen the friction. Woolen stockings.are greatly to be preferred to cotton when silk cannot be obtained. 212 INJURIES--ACCIDENTS. 92.—Poisons. When it is known that a poisonous substance has been swallowed, immediate treatment should be pro- ceeded with. A few minutes' delay may cause the loss of the patient's life. There are two classes of poisons—one in which an emetic may be given, the other where an emetic must be avoided. 1. Where there are no signs of burning or corrosion about the mouth or lips, give an emetic 2. Where these signs are present, an emetic must not be given. If an acid has been SAvallowed—oil of vitriol (sul- phuric acid) is the most common—this burning or staining on the lips will be seen. Dissolve some com- mon baking-soda (the bicarbonate) or Avashing soda, in some water, and give the patient immediately. If neither of these is obtainable, scrape some plaster from the wall, mix it with water, and give this. A dose of castor oil may be given afterward. Milk, or gruel made with milk, should be given to allay the great thirst accompanying this form of poisoning. If an alkali has been swallowed—potash, soda, ammonia, hartshorn, etc.—acids must be employed. Vinegar, mixed with half its quantity of water, or diluted lemon juice may be given freely, alternated with olive or salad oil. If a metallic poison has been taken, such as arsenic, antimony or copper, an emetic of mustard and warm water should be given at once. If corrosive subli- mate or Avhite precipitate be the substance swalloAved, give an emetic, and folloAV this with white of egg, beaten poisons. 213 up in water. This is the direct antidote, and may be given in any quantity. Belladonna (deadly nightshade), Digitalis (foxglove), Fools'parsley (hemlock) are some- times eaten by children. Give an emetic of mustard and water, followed by hot coffee or tea, and keep the patient Avarm. The following is a convenient emetic: For a child, a teaspoonful of mustard to a teacupful of warm water; for an adult, a tablespoonful of mustard to a breakfast- cup of Avater. This may be repeated as often as neces- sary, so as to empty the stomach as completely as possible. Poisoning by opium (laudanum). It is most impor- tant to keep the patient from sleeping ; once let sleep overtake him, and his chances of recovery are indeed small. An emetic should be given. The patient should then be made to walk up and down in an airy placej supported by an attendant on each side (who can be relieved if necessary), for an hour or more, until he can sit doAvn Avithout going to sleep. As soon as he can swallow, he should be given some hot and strong coffee, but alcohol in any form must be avoided. Opium is specially dangerous to children, even in small doses. The same treatment may be used, but, in addition, rub- bing the limbs with hot flannels should be practiced. PART III. CONCISE MATERIA MEDICA. In this part we have only pointed out a few of the leading indications for the use of the principal reme- dies, including the Twelve Tissue Remedies. Many, such as Aeon., Nux vom., Ars., Sulph., etc., are termed polychrests, medicines possessing curative power in many diseases. In prescribing for so many complaints from such a limited list of remedies, it is necessary to remark that the Homoeopathic Materia Medica noAv includes several hundred medicines; domestic practitioners, therefore, who restrict themselves to these forty or fifty, must not, in cases of failure, conclude that they have exhausted the resources of Homoeopathy, or despair when so wide a range of appliances is available to the profes- sional man. Many missionaries in foreign lands, as well as persons at home, desirous of spreading the benefits of Homoe- opathy among the poor, or in districts distant from a physician, have sought instruction from the author of this Manual, and during the number of years that have elapsed since the first edition of this little work was published, not a few have "been actively engaged in restoring to health multitudes from those classes who need and claim such aid. (214) ACONITUM NAPELLUS. 215 1. Aconitum napellus— The English names of this plant are wolfsbane and monkshood, because its beau- tiful flowers resemble the hood which monks used to wear. "This medicine," writes Hempel, "constitutes the backbone, as it were, of our Materia Medica," there being scarcely an acute disease in which it is not more or less required. The prominent uses of Aconitum are as follows: All feverish and inflammatory affections, chiefly at their com- mencement, and often during their course. Its especial indications are thirst, and dry, hot skin; chills and shiverings, succeeded by burning heat; strong, rapid pulse; restlessness, anxiety, flushing of the face; pain; quick or labored breathing; dry cough, Avith fever; deficient, hot, and high-colored urine; first stage of cold in the head, etc. It probably surpasses all other known remedies in its power of controlling the circu- latory system, and triumphantly supersedes the lancet and the leech. " To enumerate," says Dudgeon, " the diseases for which it is suitable would be to mention the acute inflammation of every possible order and tissue of the body; and if it be not for all of these the sole remedy, it is almost always useful either previous to, or in alternation with, another remedy which has perhaps a more specific relation to the part affected." Had Hahnemann's labors been limited to the discovery and demonstration of the Avide curative power of this great remedy, they would have entitled him to the gratitude of countless myriads of his fellow-creatures in every succeeding generation. He most appropriately ranks it as first and foremost in his Materia Medica, not because its name begins Avith the first letter of the alphabet, but because of its transcendent power and 216 MATERIA MEDICA. extended sphere of action: he terms it a most precious plant, whose efficacy almost amounts to a miracle. 2. Antimonium crud.—This remedy is chiefly A'alu- able in affections of the mucous membrane and the skin, and more especially when they are concurrently diseased. It is indicated when the mucous membrane of the stomach and alimentary canal is loaded with mucus, producing eructations, foul, bitter, or tasting of the food; in nausea, Avith occasional vomiting; fetid flatulence; loss of appetite; constipation, alternating Avith diarrhoea; mucous discharge of the anus; secretion of tenacious mucus, with much hawking for its removal; milky- white tongue; slow digestion, with drowsiness, loss of strength, etc. It corrects that unhealthy condition of the digestive organs Avhich favors the production of worms. Its skin indications are pimples or blotches; rough irregular eruptions on the nose or cheeks; ill-condi- tioned, unhealthy appearance. 3. Apis mell.—Rapid swelling (cedematous) of vari- ous parts; erysipelas, Avith great oedema; nettlerash, and itching-stinging eruptions, with swelling; stings; hoarseness and dry cough, Avith urinary difficulties; fre- quent urging and inability to pass Avater; dropsy after scarlet fever, etc. 4. Arnica mont. — Its chief uses are in affections resulting from injuries, tingling of the skin, convulsive and spasmodic affections, lock-jaw, active discharges of blood, vomiting and spitting of blood, and other com- plaints from bruises, falls, etc; severe concussions, such as often occur in railway accidents, or in the hunting field, without leaving external marks of A'iolence; ARNICA MONT. 217 pains, supposed to be rheumatic, from long, heavy, physical toil; concussion of the brain; immediate treatment after operations and childbirth; rheumatic pains; stitch in the side; fatigue; chilblains, with hot SAvelling and tingling; swelling of the breast, soreness of the nipple, etc. External Use.—Bruise*, concussions, incisions, fract- ures, sore nipples, after extraction of teeth, etc.—The dis- coloration, stiffness, swelling and soreness consequent on bruises by blows or falls may be almost entirely pre- vented by the prompt use of this remedy. Its striking and rapid remedial effects, hoAvever, depend greatly upon the promptitude Avith Avhich it is applied after the injury. Formula for a Lotion.—Ten to tAventy drops of the strong tincture to about half a teacupful of water; the bruised parts should be bathed with this lotion, or cloths, saturated Avith it, applied and covered with dry cloths to prevent evaporation. Generally, Arnica, as prepared for internal use, Avill hasten the cure, and should be administered at the same time. Caution.—In some constitutions the application of Arnica lotion produces a very troublesome eruption closely resembling erysipelas. For such constitutions, Ruta grav. or Hamamelis virg. is a safer and better remedy. Arnica should never be applied Avhen the skin is broken, nor should it be diluted with hot water. Arnica oil is an excellent preparation for rheumatic pains, stiffness and soreness, especially useful in chronic rheumatism and aching joints. Arnica cerate is the best preparation for cuts and wounds as a dressing, after the lotion has been applied. Arnica plaster is medicated, adhesive or court plaster, and preferable on that account. 218 materia medica. 5. Arsenicum. — Cold, influenza, asthma, bronchitis, with difficult expectoration, wheezing breathing, etc.; fevers—intermittent, typhoid and putrid—Avith great thirst, debility, etc.; diseases marked by depressed and almost exhausted vitality; cholera, in the more Ariolent forms of the malady; diseases of the stomach and boAv- els, especially when accompanied by great prostration or burning pains ; severe vomiting, diarrhoea, with watery, green or dark burning motions; * skin diseases, particu- larly those of a scaly nature; eruptions about the mouth and other parts, attended with burning, and the discharge of a thin, watery fluid; old or obstinate ulcers, with burning or itching, or with a bloody, thin, or fetid discharge; and dropsical complaints. 6. Baryta carb.—Quinsy; chronic enlargement of the tonsils. 7. Belladonna.—This medicine almost ranks in im- portance with Aconite in inflammatory diseases, charac- terized by bright-redness of the parts, pain, intolerance of light and sound, and other brain symptoms. It is often required after Aconite, in inflammation of the eyes, with dilated pupils, dread of light, etc.; sore throat with redness and sense of rawness; toothache, with throbbing, and congested face; complaints marked by congestion in the head, or with convulsions, neuralgia, and delirium. Affections of the brain and nervous system; eruptive fevers, especially simple scarlatina and erysipelas; violent headache, especially frontal, with throbbing and redness, aggraA-ated by movement; rheu- matic inflammations with hot swellings, and swollen glands. Its power in preventing attacks of epidemic scarlatina, as well as of curing that disease, has been abundantly established by facts. BRYONIA—CALENDULA. 219 8. Bryonia.—Pleurisy; pneumonia; dry, severe cough, with a sensation of tickling under the breast-bone; cold in the chest; stitches, and shooting pains in the chest, acutely increased by coughing, a deep inspiration, or even movement; derangements of the liver and bowels; lumbago, sciatica, rheumatism of the joints, and all rheumatic affections in which the pain is aggravated by movement; bilious headaches, rheumatic fever,jaundice, etc. The prominent gastric symptoms are Avaterbrash; bitter or sour risings; pressure on the stomach, or sen- sation as if a stone were there ; and constipation from inertia of the bowels. An irritable temper, and a gloomy depression of spirits, are additional indications for Bryonia. 9. Calcarea carb. — This remedy is chiefly used in scrofulous, rickety and tuberculous affections. Gland- ular swelling of the neck and abdomen; eruptions around the eyes, and agglutination of the lids; difficult or delayed dentition, with heat and swelling of the gums; deafness, with snapping and roaring noises in the ear, and chronic disease of the ear; chronic diarrhoea; incipient consumption of the bowels; SAvelling of the mesenteric glands; cough, with fetid or bloody expec- toration, or difficult breathing ; obesity, from a lax con- dition of the tissues, or, on the other hand, emaciation; diseases of females, when the menses appear too soon and are too abundant; sterility; leucorrhoea; chronic headache, worst in the morning, from mental fatigue; also in inveterate and obstinate diseases of the bones (rachitis) and skin. As a general rule, Calcarea is best adapted to affections of women and children, and to chronic diseases. 10. Calendula (marigold).—This remedy is used ex- 220 MATERIA MEDICA. ternally, and exerts a most favorable influence in promoting the union of wounds with the least re- sulting scars, and with the smallest amount of sup- puration. Cuts, whether accidental or inflicted in oper- ations, or injuries in Avhich the flesh is much torn, and Avhich do not heal without the formation of matter; wounds penetrating the joints, etc. In such cases it is much preferable to Arnica, especially in constitutions having a tendency to erysipelas. It controls hemor- rhage and relieves the pains attending accidents. Formula for a Lotion.—A teaspoonful of the pure aqueous tincture to about half a teacupful of water. Calendula cerate is the most useful application to aid the healing process. 11. Camphor, Homoeopathic Tincture of. — This rem- edy is valuable in the invasive stage of influenza (when its administration will often terminate the complaint) ; derangements in general, Avith chilliness and shivering; malignant cholera, in the incipient stage of the disorder; excessive, sudden prostration of the nervous system from any cause ; fainting and dizziness; cramps in the arms, legs, or abdomen; severe purging. " It is antido- tal to almost all the drastic vegetable poisons; relieves strangury ; procures reaction from cold, congested con- ditions ; is the great anti-choleraic; and quiets nervous irritability sometimes better than Coff., Ign. or Hyos. This is its whole clinical value—and a great one it is— in a nutshell" (Holcombe).—In sudden attacks, two drops on a small piece of loaf-sugar, repeated every fif- teen or twenty minutes, for three or four times; in cholera, four drops, administered in the same manner, every ten, fifteen or twenty minutes. The strongest (Rubini's) preparation is the best. In consequence of cantharis—chamomilla. 221 its volatile properties, it must be kept separate from all other homoeopathic remedies. 12. Cantharis.—Affections of the urinary organs; pain in the loins; scanty, scalding, and even bloody urine; tenderness about the bladder; strangury ; sup- pression of urine from acute congestion, etc. External Use.—In burns and scalds with threat- ened or actual blisters. For a Lotion.—Ten drops of the strong tincture to a teacupful of water. Cantharis cerate is the best local remedy for chilblains, burns or scalds. 13. Carbo veg.—Affections of the digestive organs, Avith oppression after eating; flatulent distension of the stomach, with acidity or heartburn; burning and con- tractive pain and emission of fetid flatulence; a burn- ing sensation in the lower bowel; tendency to diar- rhoea ; piles ; Avorms ; toothache, Avith spongy or ulcer- ated gums; hoarseness, loss of voice, and sensitiveness to variations of Aveather; chronic nettlerash; itching and burning of the skin ; unhealthy, burning, fetid ulcers. Carbo veg. counteracts the injurious consequen- ces of Mercury and Quinine. 14. Chamomilla.—Diseases of children and women affecting the nervous, biliary, and uterine systems. Convulsions, arising from teething, anger, or pain in the bowels ; neuralgia, with tearing, dragging and lancinat- ing pains ; toothache, the pains being Avorse at night, tearing and stitching, Avith swelling of the cheeks, and a feeling as if the teeth were elongated ; difficult dentition, Avhen one of the cheeks is red and hot, the gums swollen and sensitive, the child irritable, and convulsions are indicated; diarrhoea of children, from cold or teething, when the motions are watery, slimy, green, or yellow, 222 materia medica. and preceded by cutting pains; dentition-fever, Avith crossness, restlessness, and irregular circulation, one cheek being hot, the other cold; catarrhal cough of children, with hoarseness and rattling of mucus in the throat. The action of this remedy upon the sexual sys- tem of women is very marked, especially in dysmenor- rhcea, and in various derangements during pregnancy; after-pains. Also for the consequences of passion, and when pain seems to be intolerable, owing to the extreme sensitiveness of the patient. 15. China (Peruvian bark).—Weakness, with easy perspiration consequent on exhaustive discharges—loss of blood, diarrhoea, prolonged nursing, sexual excesses, etc.; consequences of intermittent and other miasmatic fevers, purgatives, mercury, broken rest, etc. It is spe- cific to many forms of fever of a periodic type; debility marked by disposition to sweat; exhausting night- sweats ; diarrhoea, especially summer diarrhoea, with or without pain, and when the discharges are slimy, bil- ious, or mixed with undigested food, and very offensive; loss of appetite; bilious taste; flatulence; jaundice; enlargement of the spleen, with a dirty-yellow complex- ion ; debilitating seminal emissions from sexual vices, with undue excitement of the sexual instinct, in pa- tients weak, low-spirited, and dyspeptic 16. Cimcifuga rac.—Rheumatic affections chiefly of the left side, especially when there are uterine diffi- culties or irregularities; nervousness; pains in the left side beloAV the breast in females; pain in the lumbar region; crick in the back; headache, with aching pain in the eyeballs; palpitation of the heart; sinking at the stomach (not of gastric origin); disorders of preg- nancy and the critical age, etc.; menstrual troubles, especially painful menses. CINA—DULCAMARA. 223 17. Cina. — Homoeopathic to the condition which produces intestinal parasites, and to affections arising from their irritation; especially threadworms, indicated by picking the nose, grinding the teeth, convulsions and spasms, voracious appetite alternating Avith poor appe- tite, itching at the seat, diarrhceic motions, discharge of worms, wetting the bed, cutting pain in the abdomen, hoarse, holloAV cough in children, and other symptoms from verminous affections. 18. Coffea.—Morbid sensitiveness and irritability of the nervous system, especially the effects of joy; fret- fulness and wakefulness of children ; nervous toothache; almost insupportable labor-pains or after-pains ; nervous sufferings of highly excitable children or hysterical women. 19. Colocynthis.—This drug has not a wide range of action, and is chiefly prescribed for griping, flatulent colic, with diarrhceic evacuations; neuralgia, sciatica, etc. 20. Cuprum.—Derangements of the nervous system, cramps, convulsive movements, etc.; St. Vitus' dance; epi- lepsy, with Adolent convulsions, paleness of the face, dizziness, and great debility; general nervous affections, accompanied by spasm and emaciation; cramps and vomiting of cholera; extreme pain in the bowels, with prostration, sallow complexion, and vomiting; some cases of whooping-cough, etc. 21. Drosera.— Whooping-cough, with suffocative symp- toms vomiting, or bleeding from the nose, especially when the " whoop " has become fully developed, and after the use of Ipec and Bell.; also in spasmodic cough generally, with a tickling sensation in the throat, vomit- ing or wheezing breathing, and a feeling of suffocation. 22. Dulcamara. —Various affections — cold in the 224 MATERIA MEDICA. head, nausea, catarrh of the bladder, mucous diarrhoea, etc.—from damp or a thorough wetting; itching and stinging eruptions of the skin, and other conditions fol- lowing a cold. If taken immediately after exposure to damp, Dulc. will often prevent the ordinary conse- quences of a cold. 23. Gelsemium.—This drug has a sphere of action midway between that of Aeon, and Bell. Under the nervous system, it is useful in nervous shiverings with- out chilliness; excitement of hysteric patients; lan- guor, etc., from night-watching; neuralgic faceache, with twitchings of the muscles near the affected part; spasmodic croup, when Aeon, fails or the brain is in- volved ; simple sleeplessness of children, or from men- tal excitement. In scarlatina it is useful when Aeon, or Bell, fails to bring out the eruption bright, especially in young children; also in this and other fevers when there is a tendency to remittency. Weakness of sight, with dimness or double vision, Avith dull heaviness in the head, and dizziness; palpitation of the heart; pure ner- vous toothache—many ailments of children during teething, as sleeplessness, pain with sudden outcries, spasm of the glottis, etc.; Avetting the bed; acute pain in the muscles, from overexertion, etc. 24. Hamamelis.—Varicose veins; hemorrhage from veins; painful and bleeding piles; tendency to hemor- rhage from various parts ; vicarious menstruation ; dys- menorrhoea from disease of the ovaries; discoloration, as from a bruise. External Use.—Ham. is sometimes a good substi- tute for Am. when the latter does not agree with the patient. It is a good application for chilblains, bleeding piles, etc. One part of the strong tincture to four of HEPAR SULPH.--IPECACUANHA. 225 water, or the Distilled Extract of Hamamelis may be used, One part to three of water, especially in all kinds of hemorrhages. 25. Hepar sulph.—This is a compound of Sulphur and Calcarea, and has points of resemblance to each, influencing the skin like Sulphur, and the glands like Calcarea. It has also an action differing from either of these remedies separately. It is chiefly prescribed in inflammatory affections of the windpipe and air-passages, croup, wheezing breathing, hoarseness; consumptive coughs, etc.; also for scrofulous enlarged glands discharg- ing matter; abscesses; scaldhead; salivation and other consequences from large doses of Mercury. Like Silicea, but to a less extent, it favors the suppurative process. 26. Ignatia.—This remedy is valuable for the con- sequences of grief in persons, females particularly, of a highly sensitive temperament, who often change from high spirits to a low state of despondency; nervous headache; hysteric, convulsive or spasmodic disorders, consequent on grief, disappointment or ill-humor, Avith the sensation of a ball rising in the throat (globus hysteri- cus) ; nervous affections of girls at puberty, and women at the critical period; also some of the symptoms of hypochondriasis in the male sex; convulsive affections of infants and children from Avorms; prolapsus ani, etc. 27. Ipecacuanha.—Chiefly useful in affections of the respiratory and digestive organs. Spasmodic, suffocative cough with tickling in the throat, sometimes with nau- sea, vomiting, bloody expectoration or bleeding from the nose; spasmodic asthma, especially at night; whooping- cough, during the spasmodic stage, with rattling breath- ing ; hay-fever, and some varieties of bronchitis. De- rangements of the digestive organs, characterized by 15 226 MATERIA MEDICA. simple nausea and vomiting, Avith or without diarrhoea; colic, with loose, fermented or dysenteric stools, especi- ally in children. Hemorrhage from various organs, the blood being bright-red, Avith anxiety, pale face, vomit- ing, and much nausea. 28. Kali bich.—Affections of the mucous membranes and the skin. On the respiratory mucous lining it has great power, especially in chronic bronchitis, with much tough, stringy mucus, difficult to expectorate; cough, with wheezing, difficult breathing; chronically ulcerated throat; hoarseness; chronic catarrh ; croup ; polypus of the nose. It is curative in catarrhal and strumous ophthal- mia, and in syphilitic affections* of the eye. In the digestive tract it is valuable in chronic dyspepsia, with heartburn, eructations, nausea, thickly coated, yellowish tongue, bitter taste, etc. An additional indication for its use is a simultaneous affection of the respiratory and digestive mucous membrane. Affections of the skin, within a sphere of the action of this remedy, are chiefly pustular eruptions, ulcers of the legs (see also Calendula as an external remedy), especially of a syphilitic char- acter, and pimples on the face. 29. Lycopodium.—Atonic affections of the digestive organs; pain, sensitiveness or distension of the abdo- men; waterbrash; chronic constipation; gravel and stone; moist eruptions; scaldhead; glandular swell- ings, rheumatic complaints; scrofulous ulcers; loss of hair. 30. Mercurius.—There are various preparations of Mercury used by homoeopathic practitioners; but in this Manual we have chiefly referred to two, as under: 1. Mercurtus sol. — This remedy is prescribed for glandular affections, with swelling and sometimes sup- NUX vomica. 227 puration; sore throat, with swelling, pain, difficulty in swallowing and ulceration; profuse flow of saliva from the mouth Avith a fetid odor; thrush; cancrum oris; toothache from decay, with aching, tearing pains, extending to the temples and glands, and a tendency to gumboils; jaundice, yelloAvness of the skin and of the whites of the eyes; ophthalmia; agglutination of the eyelids; ulcers on the cornea; discharge from the ears, soreness, deafness; diarrhoea, frequent desire to relieve the bowels, preceded by chilliness, with green, clay, or various-colored^ slimy and offensive, evacuations, especi- ally the diarrhoea of infants and children; torpid liver, Avith deficient secretion of bile, as shown by pale, fetid and costive motions, dull pain in the right side, poor appetite and dejection of spirits; long round Avorms; syphilitic and scrofulous swellings of the glands in the groins; gonorrhoea; syphilis, etc. Two marked symp- toms indicating this remedy are aggravation of the pains and general symptoms at night, and profuse perspirations that afford no relief. 2. Mercurius cor.—Dysenteric affections, with tenes- mus, burning pains in the abdomen and discharge of blood and mucus; ophthalmia. 31. Nux vomica.—Functional gastric derangements from a depressed condition of the nervous system, especially the following: Constipation, with ineffectual desire for stool; constipation alternating with relaxation, the action being inharmonious and spasmodic; water- brash, heartburn, flatulence, the symptoms being of a spasmodic character; headache, with giddiness, flushed face, constipation and other symptoms dependent on gastric Conditions; acute indigestion with nausea and violent vomiting, headache, trembling hands and other 228 MATERIA MEDICA. affections following intoxication. Chronic congestion of the liver; spasmodic asthma; dry coryza; irritable bladder and spasmodic stricture, from abuse of alcohol. The pains which point to Nux arise from spasm, and not from inflammation. It is especially valuable in affections resulting from sedentary habits, want of out- of-door recreation, too close brain labor, anxiety and business cares, night-watching, indulgence at table, and the abuse of alcohol or tobacco. It is best adapted to persons of spare habit, firm fiber and of energetic, irritable or hypochondriacal disposition, with tendency to irregular action of the bowels and piles. The symp- toms come on or are worse early in the morning, and are increased by taking food or by mental effort. 32. Opium.—Obstinate constipation, from paralytic obstruction or want of peristaltic action of the intes- tines; lead colic; paralytic retention of urine; recent affections from fright or sudden violent emotions; apoplectic conditions Avith stertorous breathing, and slow and full pulse; typhus fever with sleepiness, listlessness and partial retention of urine; general mental and physical torpor. As may be inferred from the last in- dication, Opium is often useful in that nervous insus- ceptibility through which remedies, although clearly indicated, fail to effect improvement, when by restoring impressionability it places the patient in a condition to be benefited by the appropriate remedy. 33. Phosphorus.—Chiefly valuable in affections of the lungs, and in long-continued, exhausting diseases of which the following is an epitome: Pneumonia, especially in children; chronic bronchitis, with con- siderable constitutional irritation; hoarseness; dry cough, or cough with expectoration of mucus, sometimes with PODOPHYLLUM—PULSATILLA. 229 blood; chronic cough; consumption, in which it is of signal use, moderating the cough, diarrhoea and con- gestion of the lungs; chronic wasting, diarrhoea and hectic; chronic inflammation of the stomach and bowels; atrophy of the liver and other hepatic affec- tions ; malignant jaundice; fatty degeneration in any part; typhus and other fevers, with want of vital reac- tion ; also physical and nervous weakness from loss of ani- mal fluids, especially from sexual excesses and self-abuse. 34. Podophyllum.—Biliousness, diarrhoea, watery, es- pecially urgent in the. morning, and prolapsus of the bowels. 35. Pulsatilla.—Mucous dyspepsia, Avith thickly coated rough tongue, nausea and vomiting of bile, mucus, or of a bitter, sour fluid, with diminished or altered taste; indigestion from fat, pork, pastry or other rich food; mucous diarrhoea, with little pain, chiefly at night; heartburn. It assists in cleansing the tongue, moder- ating the catarrh, and checking the diarrhoea in measles, chickenpox, remittent fever, and other diseases of children. In the respiratory mucous membrane it is chiefly useful in catarrhal affections and subacute bronchitis, with much mucous discharge. Puis, is much used in profuse lachrymation, agglutination, twitching, styes and other affections of the eyelids, especially of a subacute char- acter, and in scrofulous persons. Deafness from catarrh, or following measles, with noises in the ears; earache of children, with purulent discharge. Varicose .veins, and embarrassed venous circulation, especially during preg- nancy. In gout and rheumatism, it is chiefly indicated when the attacks are subacute, and the pains shift from one part to another. The most remarkable property, however, of this remedy is its action upon the female 230 MATERIA MEDICA. sexual system,.as in tardy, scanty or suppressed men- struation ; leucorrhoea; false, delayed or deficient labor- pains ; retained placenta; excessive after-pains; sup- pression of the lochia and a deficient secretion of milk. It is also useful in swollen testicle and other affections of the male organs. Generally, hoAvever, Puis, is more suited to the female sex, or rather to persons of gentle dispositions or fair complexion, easily excited to laughter or weeping, and with a tendency to relaxation rather than constipation. 36. Rhus tox.—This remedy is chiefly used in rheumatism and in affections of the skin. Rheumatism, subacute and chronic, worse during rest and on first attempting to move, but relieved after a little movement; lumbago, especially after the use of Aeon.; rheumatism; sciatica; paralysis, partial or complete, especially from exposure of the back to damp and cold; vesicular erysipelas ; chickenpox ; ringworm ; shingles; scaldhead, etc. Rhus is valuable in sprains, injuries to ligaments, tendons, joints and the membranes investing the joints ; also in extensive superficial burns. The stings of insects, old chilblains and sometimes warts are re- lieved or cured by it. 37. Spongia.—We have inserted this remedy in our list, not because it is in very frequent demand, but be- cause it ought to be at hand whenever required. Its grand use, alone or more generally in turns Avith Aeon., is in croup, especially in the earliest stage, when it will frequently terminate an attack in a short time. It is also useful in dry, hard, barking cough, worse at night; hoarseness, with dry cough and obstructed breathing; croupy cough, such as frequently precedes or follows croup; goitrous enlargements, etc SULPHUR--TARTAR EMETIC. 231 38. Sulphur.—This drug has a specific action upon the skin, and less so upon the mucous membranes; in a minor degree it affects all parts of the animal econ- omy. In affections of the skin, it is indicated by an irritation or itching, Avhich yields an agreeable sensation on scratching, and is aggravated by the warmth of bed; eruptions, chiefly papular, but sometimes vesicular; boils, preventively and curatively; chilblains; whitloAVs; scaldhead, and in many scrofulous affections. Sulphur is strictly homoeopathic to boils, since it is well known that they often result from the excessive use of this drug, as in drinking sulphur-waters. In affections of the mucous tract, Sulphur is chiefly required in those of the eyes, the urethra, and the rectum, as in strumous and catarrhal ophthalmia; incontinence of urine; chronic gonorrhoea; prolapsus of the womb; burning and itching of the anus ; piles and chronic constipation. Sulphur is often of service in arousing dormant nerv- ous energies, so as to render the system susceptible to the action of medicines indicated. 39. Tartar emetic.—The chief sphere of action of this medicine lies in the mucous membrane, the lungs and the skin. In large doses it produces a kind of catarrhal inflammation, beginning in the lining membrane of the throat, and extending to the trachea and bronchial tubes, and even exerting its irritant influence on the lung tissues themselves. Clinical experience has amply proved its value .in certain inflammations involving these parts, especially in catarrhal croup, bronchitis and pneumonia. On the skin it causes a pustular eruption resembling that of smallpox. It also produces vomiting, and that peculiar alteration of the blood which is character- 232 MATERIA MEDICA. istic of smallpox. As it might be supposed, then, Tart. emet. has been found a remedy of the first importance in this disease, and, if timely used, scarcely requires the aid of any other medicine. The vomiting to which this remedy is homoeopathic is nervous and sympathetic rather than gastric, and is attended by nausea, cold and pale skin, and great prostration. 40. Veratrum album.—In autumnal diarrhoea, when vomiting is superadded to the purging; English and Asiatic cholera; diarrhoea and painful gripings; violent vomiting and purging, short of that sudden deadly col- lapse which indicates Arsenicum. Cramps in the bowels or limbs; headache with vomiting; cold sweat and coldness of the whole body ; black vomit; great weak- ness and convulsions; vomiting during pregnancy. It is often beneficial in the convulsive stage of Avhooping- cough. 41. Veratrum viride.—Fever, Avith severe headache and brain symptoms, rapid pulse, and sickness; remittent fever of infants; the invasive stage of scarlatina, mea- sles, etc., with head symptoms as above; erysipelas, especially the vesicular variety; here it may also be ap- plied externally—thirty drops of the strong tincture to half-a-pint of Avater—congestion of the head during teething; pneumonia, etc. Inflamed corns, bunions, etc., may be touched with the strong tincture. Antidotes. In the event of an overdose of any of the above med- icines having been administered, two drops of the strong Tincture of Camphor or a strong infusion of Coffee will generally arrest any unpleasant consequences. THE CHIEF USES OF THE TWELVE TISSUE REMEDIES. 1. Ferrum phosphoricum (Phosphate of Iron).—All ailments arising from disturbed circulation, fevers, in- flammations, congestions; thus Avhenever heat, pain, redness, throbbing, quickened pulse are present. The first stage of all acute diseases, colds, pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, croup, diphtheria, diarrhoea, rheu- matism, etc. It is the best and surest remedy for colds on the chest in children, whether simple catarrhal affections or going on to pneumonia. Nosebleed ahvays calls for it, or any hemorrhage from any orifice of the body. Compare with Aconite, Gelsemium and Veratrum viride. 2. Kali muriaticum (Chloride of Potash).—All ail- ments characterized by exudations, infiltrations, swell- ings, during the later stages of acute diseases; thus, after or in alternation with Ferrum phos. All ailments ac- companied by a white or gray coating of the tongue; thick Avhite discharge and expectorations, skin diseases, dysenterv, etc. An excellent constitutional remedy for old chronic ailments, hereditary complaints and dyscrasias. Compare Avith Bryonia, Mercurius and Pul- satilla. 3. Kali phosphoricum (Phosphate of Potash).—The great remedy for all forms of nervous debility. It is indicated in all diseases or symptoms arising from Avant of nerve power, brain exhaustion, neurasthenia, sleep- lessness, want of energy, irritability, lack of confidence, (233) 234 TWELVE TISSUE REMEDIES. gloomy forebodings, morbid fears, hysteria, hypochon- driasis, melancholy, etc Nervousness. Neuralgia and pains generally, especially in those who are run down. Headaches in delicate and excitable, nervous patients. Paralyzing pains in limbs. Also the remedy for very offensive discharges, offensive ulcers, etc. It is the remedy for all nervous people, curing their headaches, neuralgias, sleeplessness, despondencies and pains. Compare with China, Ignatia, Lachesis and Phosphorus. 4. Kali sulphuricum (Sulphate of Potash).—A want of this salt causes yellow, slimy deposit on the tongue, slimy, thin, decidedly yelloAV or greenish discharges and peeling of skin. Useful in any ailment Avhere this con- dition prevails, especially if patient is worse toward evening, and in heated room. Catarrhs from any mu- cous membrane—head, vagina, etc—when secretion is yellow and slimy. Frequently called for toward the end of a cold, when the discharge is profuse and comes up easily. Compare with Pulsatilla, Antimonium crud. and Sulphur. 5. Magnesia phosphorica (Phosphate of Magnesia).— Chief remedy for nervous complaints of a spasmodic nature. All ailments with intense pain, darting, spas- modic, constricting. It is the great anti-spasmodic remedy, hence useful in convulsions, colic with flatu- lence, St. Vitus' dance, spasmodic cough, cramps, neu- ralgia, palpitation, toothache, Avriter's cramp, etc. Chief remedy for baby's colic. Compare with Colocyn- this, Belladonna, Ignatia and Coffea. 6. Calcarea phosphorica (Phosphate of Lime).—The great remedy for the young and growing. Indispensable during dentition and puberty. The tonic after acute diseases and for constitutional weakness, consumption, NATRUM SULPHURICUM--NATRUM PHOSPHORICUM. 235 emaciation, bone diseases and all ailments that prove obstinate. SloAvly developing, weak children, chlorosis and difficulties during menstruation; leucorrhoea and pains during menses, especially in young girls. The great remedy for transition periods of life—dentition, puberty, old age. Compare with Phytolacca, Chamomilla and Silicea. 7. Natrum sulphuricum (Sulphate of Soda).—Acts on the cells of the liver and kidneys, and regulates the amount of Avater in the tissues. Biliousness, headache Avith vomiting of bile, bitter taste, diarrhoea, gravel, sandy urine, intermittent fever, dropsy, diabetes, liver troubles; troubles arising from living in damp places. Compare with Podophyllum, Bryonia and Nux vom. 8. Natrum muriaticum (Salt).—Is found in all the tissues of the body. Useful for all pains, such as indi- gestion, etc., when accompanied by either flow of saliva or increased secretion of tears, vomiting of water or clear mucus. Catarrhs with frothy, Avatery mucus or blisters. In all catarrhs where the secretion is clear and transparent. Headache, costiveness, intermittent fever, Avith catarrh of the stomach. Compare with Arsenic and Rhus. 9. Natrum phosphoricum (Phosphate of Soda).—Is the remedy for those diseases that arise from an acid condi- tion of the system. It is especially suited to young children who have been fed Avith too much sugar, and suffer from acidity. Dyspepsia, acid risings, sour vom- iting, greenish, sour diarrhoea, tongue is coated with a yellow deposit and thick like cream. Whenever this condition is present, no matter what disease, this rem- edy will prove curative. For worms and complaints caused by their presence. Compare with Cina, Mercu- rius and Antimonium crud. 236 TWELVE TISSUE REMEDIES. 10. Calcarea fluorica (Fluoride of Lime).—A disturb- ance of the equilibrium of the molecules of this salt causes a dilatation and relaxed condition of elastic fibers, hence useful in varicose veins, hemorrhoids and vascular tumors. Also in hard bony swellings. For piles; if they are apt to bleed it may be advantageously alternated with Ferrum phos. Compare with Silicea, Hamamelis and Pulsatilla. 11. Calcarea sulphurica (Sulphate of Lime).—Acts on the connective tissue and is the most useful remedy in suppurations. Abscesses, mattery discharges, tubercular ulcers, rheumatism. Compare with Hepar, Calendula and Silicea. 12. Silicea (Quartz).—Is useful in suppurations, but it promotes the formation of pus, maturing abscesses, while Calcarea sulph. comes in later to heal the wound. Diseases of the nervous system, paralytic symptoms, spasms, rheumatic pain in limbs, etc. Compare with Rhus and Calcarea. PART IV. CLINICAL DIRECTORY. The object of the Clinical Directory is to enlarge the utility of this Manual by prescribing for numerous dis- eases and conditions, arranged alphabetically, that could not otherwise be included in the work, and to give at a glance some of the leading remedies that the author and other physicians have found valuable in practice. To use this portion intelligently, it is essential to pos- sess a knoAVledge of Materia Medica, as it is only in- tended to refreshen the memory of the initiated, or to consult it always in connection Avith a good work of that description. While we have endeavored to arrange the remedies in the order of their importance, or in that in Avhich they are most likely to be required, our success cannot always be taken for granted; and, indeed, in some cases, our necessarily brief list may not include the true homoeo- pathic remedy at all. Individuality and idiosyncrasy may greatly modify the choice. The perfection of pre- scribing lies in a concentration of attention on individ- uals, and in bringing into the focus of thought, as it were, the morbid symptoms and signs present, with the various circumstances of parentage, habits of life, pro- clivities to diseased action, and any peculiarities which may influence the patient. Finally, we take the liberty to add, the Directory consists of prescriptions that have been largely tested and amply confirmed by clinical (bedside) experience. *V* The contractions alt., int., and ext., signify alternately with, in- ternally, and externally, respectively. (237) CLINICAL DIRECTORY. Abscess.—Acute: Bell., Hepar sulph.; Merc. Chronic: Sil., Calc, Sulph., Phos.; Chin, (excessive discharge). Mammary: Phytol., Bry. (for the earliest symptoms); Bell. alt. Hepar sulph.; Phos. (chronic cases); Merc, Chin. Threatening : Ferr. phos. Acid Dyspepsia (heartburn): Carbo veg.,Bry., Nux vom.; Lyc.(w elderly persons); Pulsat., Veratr. alb., Natr. phos. Acne: Kali mur. After-Pains: Sec, Kali mur., Puis., Arn., Cham., Magn. phos. Ague: Chin, or Quin.; Ars. (chronic); Veratr. alb. (severe and obsti- nate); Phos. ac, Cedron; Nux vom. or Ipec. (much gastric dis- turbance); Sulph.quin. (obstinate, symptoms variable); Ign. (much' chill with frequent paroxysms); Natr. sulph. Alcohol.—Effects of Excessive Use of: Nux vom., Opium, Ars., Caps.; Ant.tart, (gastric irritation); Laches* Alopecia (loss of hair).—From Previous Illness, Grief, etc.: Phos. ac, Ign., Calc, Sil., Chin., Canth. (and ext. in pomade). Thorough brushing with long-bristled hair-brushes. From Mercury : Carbo veg., Hepar sulph. With Frequent Headache: Fluor, ac, Nitr. ac, Phos., Sep. Amenorrhcea (absent or deficient monthly period): Puis., Sep., Calc phos., Conium (chronic); Ferr. (with ancemia); Senec, Sulph. See also Menstruation. Anaemia (deficiency or poverty of blood): Ferr., Chin., Calc. phos. Anger.—Effects of : Cham., Aeon., Bry., Coloc Angina Pectoris (breast-pang): Ars., Dig., Samb., Veratr. alb., Cact., Laches., Veratr. vir., Strych. Ankles.—Swelling of: Ars., Chin., Bry., Phos., Ferr., Apis. Also rest in the prone posture. Weakness of : Calc, Phos., Sulph., Sil. Anus.—Itching of: Sulph., Nitr. ac; Cina, Ign. or Merc, (from worms); Ars., Aeon, (burning itching with dryness). Apply Ver- bascwm ointment. Prolapsus of : Ign., Nux vom., Podoph., Merc. Local bathing, injections, and carefully returning the prolapsus. Anxiety, Care, Grief, etc.—Effects of: Ign., Aur., Nux vom., Phos. ac, Puis., Gels., Chin. Aphonia (loss of voice): Aeon., Caust. (catarrhal); Bar. carb., Phos., Merc; Ign. or Bell, (hysterical); Kali hydr. (syphilitic); Arn. (from overuse); Ferr. phos. Chronic: Kali, bich., Hepar sulph., Phos., Carbo veg., Caust., Kali mur. *See the admirable small treatise on the "Treatment of Alcoholism," by Dr. Gallavardin. (238) CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 239 Aphthae (thrush): Borax int. and ext.; Merc, Ars., Sulph.; Sulphur- ous acid spray (one part to ten of water); Kali mur. Apoplexy: Aeon., Opium, Bell., Glonoin, Nux vom. Predisposition to: Strict temperance in eating and drinking; avoidance of excitement, haste, heated rooms, etc Appetite—Loss of: Chin., Nux vom., Puis., Khus, Ars., Ferr. Voracious or Depraved: Calc, Cina, Nux vom., Sil., Veratr. Ascarides (sec Threadworms): Natr. phos., Cina. Ascites (abdominal dropsy): Apoc. can., Ars., Apis, Dig., Chin. Asthma: Ars., Aeon., Ipec, Lob., Euphr., Cupr., Sulph. Of Children : Ant. tart., Samb., Ipec, Ars., Cupr., Natr. sulph. Atrophy (wasting): Iod., Calc, Sulph., Phos., Ars., Calc. phos. From Worms: Cina, Merc, Ant. crud. Backache.—From Exertion: Arn., Khus, Bry., Gels., Natr. mur. From Painful Period : Bell., Puis., Sec, Cocc, Plat. From Spinal Irritation: Chin., Ign., Nux vom., Gels., Kali phos. See also Lumbago, Menstruation: Painful. Baldness. See Alopecia. Barber's Itch: Ant. tart., Cinnab., Ars. Bed-Sores : Glycerine cream or Calendula lotion; also Calend., Arnica oil, or Arnica plaster. In bad chronic cases a water- or air-bed. Prevention of: Washing the parts exposed to pressure morn- ing and evening with tepid water; and, after drying with a soft towel, a little Glycerine or Arnica oil should be rubbed evenly over the parts. When there is much redness, and the skin is unbroken, a little brandy or other spirit of proof strength should be applied. Belching (see Eructations): Chin. Bilious Attacks: Iris (sick-headache); Ipec.; Cham, (in children and excitable females); Bry., Natr. sulph., Nux vom., Puis., Ars. Bites and Stings: Ledum, Apis, Rhus, Canth., all int. and ext. Blaok Eye: Arn. ext., immediately; Ham. (broken skin or discolora- tion) ; Ferr. phos. Bladder.—Catarrh of: Ant. crud., Puis., Ferr. phos., Canth., Cann. Inflammation of : Canth., Tereb., Apis, Aeon., Ferr. phos. Paralysis of : Bar. carb., Nux vom., Ars., Bell., Opium, Kali phos. See also'jJrine. Blear-Eyes: Euphr., Sulph., Puis., Merc, Ars., Calc, Clemat. Bleeding (see Hemorrhage): Ferr. phos. Bloody Urine. See Hemorrhage: From the Bladder. Blotches: Ars., Bell., Flepar sulph., Ant. crud., Graph., Lye, Clemat. Boils: Bell., Sulph., Hepar sulph.; Arn. (muchpain); Apis (numer- ous and small); Sulph., Hepar sulph. (to prevent recurrence). Bones.—Caries (decay) of: Sil., Phos. ac, Sulph., Calc fluor. Curvature of: Calc, Sil., Sulph. Exostosis (abnormal growth of): Aur., Merc, iod., Calc. fluor. Pains in: Merc, Aur., Me/.., Ars., Merc, iod., Eup. pur. 240 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. Bowels.—Inflammation of: Aeon., Bell., Coloc, Merc, cor., Ars., Bry.; also hot fomentations, poultices, or wet compresses. Pain in. See Colic. See also Constipation, Diarrhoea, Anus, etc. Brain.—Concussion of: Arn., Aeon., Bell. Congestion of: Glonoin, Bell., Aeon. Inflammation of : Aeon., Bell., Veratr. vir., Bry., Hyosc, Opium. Breast-Pang. See Angina Pectoris. Breath.—Fetid : Merc, Carbo veg., Spig., Aur., Aeon., Puis. Breathing.—Difficult. See Asthma, Bronchitis, Croup, etc. Bright's Disease : Ars., Phos., Merc, cor., Tereb., Canth. Bronchitis.—Acute: Aeon., Ant. tart., Bry., Ipec, Phos., Kali bich., Ferr. phos.' In Children: Phos., Ant. tart., Ferr. phos. In the Aged: Carbo veg., Ant. tart., Senega, Squill. Chronic: Kali bich., Hepar sulph., Phos., Carbo veg., Ars., Kali mur. Bruises: Arn. (externally). See also Contusion and Ecchymosis. Bunions : Veratr. vir., Arn. or Ruta, as a paint. Arnica oil. Burns and Scalds: Canth., Rhus, Kreos. or Urtica, ext., very dilute; Canth. cerate. Cancer: Ars., Hydrast., Conium, Phytol. Canker of the Mouth: Kali mur., Merc, Ars. (idiopathic); Carbo veg., Nitr. ac. (mercurial); Sulphurous acid spray, locally. Carbuncle: Bell., alt. Sulph. (early stage); Apis (much swelling); Ars. (bad cases); Aeon, (much inflammation); Sil. (indolent). Caries (decay) of Bones: Sil., Phos. ac, Aur., Nitr. ac, Merc. Of Teeth: Kreos., Merc, Staph., Phos. Cataract: Conium, Phos., Cann., Calc, Sil., Sulph. Catarrh.—General Tendency to : Calc. phos., Natr. mur. Thick Yellow Discharge : Calc. sulph. Chronic : Sulph., Kali sulph. Chancre (« syphilitic sore): Merc, Nitr. ac, Kali hydr., Phytol. Change of Life (see Menstruation^: Cessation of. Chapped Hands : Am., Calend. cerate, Arnica oil. Chickenpox: Rhus, Sulph., Ant. tart. Chilblains: Petrol., Rhus, Cantharis cerate ext. Child-bed Fever. See Puerperal Fever. Chlorosis (green-sickness): Natr. mur., Ferr., Puis., Sep., Calc. phos. Cholera.—Infantum : Calc phos., Veratr. Malignant : Camph., Veratr., Cupr., Ars. Chordee : Aeon. int. and ext.; Gels., Bell., Canth., Chloral. Chorea (St. Vitus' Dance): Cupr., Agar., Veratr. vir., Bell., Ign., Cimic, Ars. Circulation.—Feeble : Calc. phos.,- Carbo in old people. Clergyman's Sore Throat: Ferr. phos., Phos., Hepar. Cirrhosis (a diseased, contracted liver): Phos., Merc, cor., Dig., Ars. Cold in the Head: Aeon.; Ars., Merc; Nux vom. (stuffy cold); Euphr. (lachrymation); Kali bich., Kali hydr., or Sulph. (chronic). CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 241 Cold on the Chest: Bry. alt. Aeon, or Ferr. phos. See also Bron- chitis. Cold Feet. See Feet. Colic: Coloc. (with diarrhoea), Nux vom. or Plumb, (constipation); Iris (flatulent colic); Collin., Magn. phos. Lead : Opium, Alum., Sulph. ac. Menstrual : Cocc, Plat., Nux vom., Sec, Magn. phos. Congestion of the Brain: Aeon., Bell., Glon., Opium, Gels. Of the Liver: Merc, Bell., Aloes, Bry., Chin., Ars., Iod., Aeon. Of the Lungs : Aeon., Phos., Veratr. vir., Ant. tart., Ferr. phos. Constipation: Nux vom. (frequent ineffectual efforts); Bry. or Opium. (torpor); Lye. (with flatulence); Sulph., Collin., or .Escul. (with piles); Plumb, (obstinate). Consumption: Phos., Ars., Phos. ac, Ferr. iod., Dros., Calc iod., Lycop., Cannab. Of the Bowels: Iod., Calc, Ferr., Sulph., Merc, iod., Ars. Contusion: Arn.; Ham. (with discoloration); Conium (of the female breast); Ruta (of the shin-bone); all int. and ext. Convulsions: Bell., Cham., Veratr. vir. (with cramp); Gels, (rigidity); Opium (from fright). Also ertemata of Warm water. See also Epilepsy. Hysterical: Camph., Magn. phos., Moschus, Ign., Hyosc. Corns: Calc, Sulph. Also Arn. (simple), or Veratr. vir. (inflamed), ext. use of. Corpulency. See Obesity. Cough.—Catarrhal : Aeon., Bell., Bry., Caust., Ferr. phos., Phytol. Chronic: Kali bich., Sulph., Phos., Bry. Croupous: Spong., Hepar sulph., Cupr. Hysterical : Coral., Hyosc, Ign. Whooping : Ipec, Dros.', Coral., Veratr. vir., Gels, or Bell, (head symptoms); Magn. phos. In most cases cough may be modified by strong efforts of the will to resist it. Cracks of the Lips, etc.: Graph., Merc. Also Arn. Or Calend. cerate. Cramps.—In the Abdomen. See Colic. In the Calves: Veratr., Nux vom.; Arn. (from fatigue); Bell., Cupr., Gels. In the Stomach : Nux vom., Diosc, Cocc, Magn. phos. Crick in the Neck: Aeon. alt. Bell, (cold); Cimic, Bry. Critical Age. See Menstruation: Cessation of. Croup: Aeon. alt. Spong., Iod., or Hep. Cyanosis (blue disease): Dig., Ars., Cupr., Veratr. Cystitis (inflammation of the bladder): Canth., Tereb., Apis. Dandruff (scurf on the head): Ars., Graph., Lye, Sulph., Rhus. Deafness.—From Cold: Aeon., Merc, Bell., Puis., Dulc, Kali mur. Mullein oil locally is of marked benefit. From Enlargement of Tonsils: Merc, iod., Bell., Calc. phos., Bar. carb.; Iod. or Kali hydr. (chronic). After Measles: Puis., Sulph., Bell. 242 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. Deafness.—After Scarlatina: Bell., Hepar sulph., Calc. After Smallpox : Merc, Sulph., Bell. From Nervous Disease: Phos., Phos. ac, Chin.; Petrol, (noises). Debility: Chin., Ferr., Phos., Phos. ac (from loss of blood, etc.); Calc. phos., Ign., Iod., Nux vom. (nervous); Kali phos. Delirium Tremens : Stram., Opium, Bell., Hyosc, Nux vom. Dentition (difficult): Calc. phos., Cham., Aeon., Kreos., Veratr. vir., Phvtol. Depression of Spirits: Ign., Aur., Chin., Nux vom., Plat.; Merc, or Podoph. (from disordered liver); Kali phos. Determination of Blood. See Congestion. Diabetes (excessive sugary urine): Phos. ac, Ars., Nux vom., Ilelon., Uran. nit. Diarrhoea.—From Indigestible Food: Ant. crud., Puis., Ipec. From Cold: Aeon., Dulc, Merc, Camph. (sudden). From Worms: Cina, Ars., Merc, Natr. phos. With Colic : Coloc, Veratr., Magn. phos. Nocturnal: Puis., Chin., Rhus (morning). Summer : Chin., Veratr., Cham., Ars., Iris. In Children : Cham., Merc, Rheum, Ipec, Dulc, Calc. phos. In the Aged : Phos., Ars., Chin., Ant. crud. Diphtheria: Merc, cy., Bell., Phytol., Mere, iod., Ferr. phos. and Kali mur. in alternation every hour. Phytol. as a gargle. Dizziness: Aeon., Bell., Nux vom., Cocc, Bry., Puis., Gels. Dropsy: Ars., Apis, Dig., Bry., Chin., Apoc. can. Of the Abdomen. -See Ascites. Of the Brain. See Water in the Head. Of the Chest : Dig., Ars., Bry., Helleb. Of the Extremities. See (Edema. Post-Scarlatinal : Apis, Ars., Canth., Helleb. Of the Scrotum : Iod., Rhod., Graph., Aur. Drowsiness: Opium, Aeon., Bell.; Lye. (after dinner); Gels. Dysentery: Merc cor., Ipec, Ars., Aloes (chronic, with piles), Ham., Kali mur. Dysmenorrhcea. See Menstruation: Painful. Dyspepsia. See Indigestion. Ear.—Aching of: Bell., Puis., Merc, Cham., Aeon., Plantag. Discharge from : Hepar sulph., Calc, Puis., Carbol. ac, Merc, Caust., Kali mur. Soreness of: Mur. ac, Puis; Caust. (eruption about the ear). Inflammation of : Aeon., Bell., Puis., Merc. sol. Noises in : Aeon., Chin, sulph., Nux vom., Sulph., Natr. salic. Ecchymosis (blackness under the skin): Ham., Arn., Rhus. Eczema (a non-contagious itching eruption): Ars., Calc, Merc, Rhus; Crot. tig., Sulph. (much itching); Kali mur. Enuresis (see Urine).—Incontinence: Mullein oil. Epilepsy: Bell., Cupr., Hyosc, Stram., Veratr. vir., Ign.; Ars., Zinc, Calc. (chronic); Bufo. CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 243 Epistaxis (bleeding from the nose): Ham. (dark blood); Ipec. (bright blood); Puis, (absent or deficient period); Bry., Aeon., Ferr. phos. Eructations: Bry., Nux vom.. Puis., Sulph. ac, Lye, Carbo veg., Ars., Cham., Arg., Natr. Eruptions: Sulph., Ars., Kali mur. Erysipelas: Aeon., Bell., Rhus, Veratr. vir., Apis, Canth. Excoriations of Infants : Cham., Calc, Lye, Sulph. AIso Hydrast. or Calend. ext.; or the parts dusted with powdered starch. Preventive: Tepid washing, followed by careful drying, morning and evening. Eyelids.—Agglutination (gumming) of: Merc, Hepar sulph., Calc, Sulph., Puis. Eyes.—Inflammation of. See Ophthalmia. Sore: Merc, Clematis, Nitr. ac, Euphr., Bell., Merc. cor. Squinting of (strabismus): Bell., Hyosc, Gels., Stram. Weak : Sulph., Phos., Iod., Bell. Wounds of : Am. alt. Aeon.; Bell., Ham. Faoeaohe: Aeon., Bell., Coloc, Spig.; Cimic. (ivhen the eyeballs are affected); Cham., Sticta. See also Gumboils. Fainting: Mosch., Camph., Ign., Veratr., Iod., Chin., Magn. phos. Feet.—Burning in: Sulph., Sil. Blistered, etc., from walking: Arnica bath. Cold : Sep., Puis., Ferr. The daily use of the skipping-rope. Fetid Sweat of: Sil., Petrol., Nitr. ac, Graph. Fever.—Simple: Aeon, or Ferr. phos. Fistula: Sil., Fluor, ac, Calc; also Hydrast. ext. Flatulence: Nux vom., Carbo veg. (stomach); Lye. (bowels); Chin. Flooding. See Menstruation: Excessive. Flushing: Aeon, (from excitement): Nux vom. (after food); Bell. (with headache); Cimic, Sep. (change of life); Amyl nit. Fright.—Consequences of: Opium, Aeon., Ign., Cham. Gall-stones: Aeon., Merc, Podoph., Nux vom., Chin, (preventive). Ganglion (an encysted tumor on a tendon of the foot or back of the hand): Ruta, Arn., Iod., Sil., Calc, Benz. ac. Locally, Benz. ac. cerate. Giddiness: Bell., Nux vom., Bry., Aeon., Puis., Gels. Glands.—Enlarged : Merc, iod., Bar. carb., Bell., Hepar sulph., Iod., Sil., Calc. phos., Phytol. Gleet: Cinnab., Canth., Cann., Puis., Nux vom., Sulph., Kali sulph. Goitre : Merc, Calc fluor. Gonorrhoea: Cann., Gels., Thuja. Gout: Aeon., Colch. or Bry. (during an attack); Rhod., Cimic, Puis., Nux vom., Lye; Arn. or Aeon, ext.; Arnica oil. Gravel: Lye, Ant. crud., Nux vom., Bry. Green-Sickness (chlorosis): Ferr., Puis., Sep., Conium, Natr. mur. Gumboils: Aeon. alt. Bell, (first symptoms); Merc, Sil., Hepar sulph.; Phos. (to prevent recurrence); Calc. sulph. Gums.—Scurvy of: Merc, Nitr. ac, Carbo veg., Ars., Kali mur. Haemoptysis (spitting of blood). See Hemorrhage. Hemorrhage.—From the Bladdl:i: Canth., Tereb., Ham., Arn. 244 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. Hemorrhage.—From the Anus (see Piles): Ham. extract. From the Lungs : Ipec, Ham., Am., Mill., Aeon., Ferr. phos. From the Nose: Aeon., Ipec, Ham.^Bry., Am., Ferr. phos. From the Stomach : Ipec, Ham., Nitr. ac. From the Womb: Croc, Sab., Sec, Plat., Ipec, Cauloph. In all cases of hemorrhages, iced water should be sipped or small pieces of ice swallowed. Hands.—Undue Moisture of: Fluor, ac. Habitual Cold: Ferr. phos., Sulph. Hair.—Loss of. See Alopecia. Hay-fever: Sabad., Euphr., Ipec, Ars. Headache.—Bilious: Iris, Bry., Nux vom., Puis., Ipec, Gep. Catarrhal: Aeon., Bell., Merc, Nux vom., Bry. In Children: Ferr. phos., Calc. phos. Chronic : Plat., Arg. nitr., Plumb., Zinc, Phos. Congestive: Bell.,