Chapter II: Part 2

In the early stage, _Aconite_ and _Phosphorus_ should be used at intervals of from half an hour to one hour, in alternation, until the fever abates, and the oppression in the chest is relieved. If, however, there is bloody expectoration, _Bryonia_ may be used in place _of Phosphorus_, though I prefer to use it in rotation with the two others. These will soon, in all ordinary cases, subdue the most distressing symptoms, and effect a perfect cure in a day or two. _Belladonna_ should be used, when there is much delirium, or great pain in the head. Occasionally, the cough from the beginning, is apparently loose; there being a rattling sound, but the expectoration is difficult, the fever high, with some chilly sensations, or at least, coldness of the knees, feet and hands, a white or brownish fur upon the tongue, and pain in the bowels, For such symptoms, especially with the pain in the bowels, as though a diarrhoea would come on, give _Tartar emet._ It is often one of the best remedies in this disease, affording relief when others have failed.

After subduing the high febrile symptoms, if there remains cough, indicating much irritation, or inflammation of the lungs, _Macrotin_ should be used in place of Aconite, with _Phosphorus_ and _Copaiva_, the three in rotation, two hours between doses.

Acute Bronchitis,

_Inflammation of the Bronchial Tubes._

This is attended with distressing cough, profuse expectoration, oppressed breathing, pain in the forehead, and general catarrhal symptoms. _Baptisia_, _Copaiva_ and _Eupatorium arom._ given every hour, in rotation, will, in general, relieve from the acute affection in a short time; but the

Chronic Bronchitis

requires the use of _Copaiva_, _Macrotin_ and _Arum triphyllum_, to be taken morning, noon, and night, in the order named; or, if the cough be severe, they should be used every three hours. These will be sufficient to effect a cure.

Coughs

Generally, unless they arise from consumption, yield readily to the alternate use of _Copaiva_, _Phosphorus_ and _Macrotin_, a dose given once in from three to six hours. If, however, there is soreness of the throat, redness and soreness of the tonsils, palate, and fauces, or soreness of the larynx, with hoarseness, _Arum triphyllum_ and _Hydrastus Can._ are the surest remedies. They rarely ever fail of effecting a complete cure in a few days. They should be used three or four times a day. They may be used with the other medicines recommended for coughs. In acute

Sore Throat,

arising from sudden cold, _Arum triphyllum_ and _Eupatorium aromaticum_ are the remedies to be relied upon. If the tonsils seem to be mainly involved, constituting

Quinsy--Tonsilitis,

_Belladonna_ and _Aconite_ should be given, while there is high fever, then substitute for them, _Arum tri._ and _Phosphorus_; or, these may be used in rotation with the former, a dose every hour or oftener.

Inflammation of the Bowels.--Enteritis.

This consists in inflammation of the muscular and peritoneal coats of the intestines, sometimes also involving the mucous coat.

The pain in the abdomen is constant, intense and burning in its character, felt most at the navel; the abdomen is extremely tender to pressure, and often bloated or tympanetic.

Thirst is intense, but cold drinks distress and vomit the patient. The pulse is small, feeble and frequent, and the bowels costive. This is a very dangerous disease. It is sometimes connected with inflammation of the stomach, then called gastro-enteritis. The tongue is then red and pointed, the nausea and vomiting are more violent and constant, the thirst burning and insatiable.

TREATMENT.

The same medicines are applicable to both _Gastritis_ and _Enteritis_.

_Aconite_, _Arsenicum_ and _Baptisia_ should be used one following the other every half hour until the symptoms begin to subside, then let the intervals be lengthened.

In addition to these remedies, I allow the patient to drink often and freely of hot water, as hot as can be swallowed, and though it is at first almost instantly rejected by the stomach, by repeating it in a few minutes in moderate quantities, it gives relief and will soon so allay the irritation as to remain. In some cases the vomiting is severe, the bowels are loose, and pain burning. For such, _Tart. Emet._ is the proper remedy. Cold drinks should not be taken.

Cloths wet in cold water, ice water if it is at hand, and wrung out so as not to drip, should be laid over the whole abdomen and instantly covered with two or three thicknesses of warm dry flannel, and the patient's feet kept warm. This may be considered harsh treatment, but there is no danger in it; on the contrary I have, in the worst and most alarming cases of _gastritis_ and _peritonitis_, made such applications, and in less than an hour have seen my patient easy and beginning to perspire freely, all danger having passed. It always affords more or less relief and is never attended with danger. Covering the wet cloths immediately with plenty of dry ones is very essential.

After the acute inflammation has subsided, it is well to have the bowels moved, but don't give drastic cathartics. _Nux Vomica_ given at night and repeated morning and noon, will generally serve to cause an evacuation. Injections may be used.

Croup.

This is a disease of children. Comes on in consequence of a sudden cold. Children suffering from Hooping Cough are more subject to it. The cough is of a peculiar whistling kind, like the crowing of a young chicken, with rattling in the throat and difficult breathing, fever is present, and often very violent. It is properly an inflammation of the Larynx, but the inflammation may also exist in the Pharynx, the tonsils may be involved, and it may extend to the trachia, (wind pipe). A false membrane forms in the larynx if the disease is not arrested, and so obstructs the breathing as to cause death from suffocation.

TREATMENT.

Give at first _Aconite_, _Phosphoric Acid_, and _Spongia_, giving them in the order here named once in ten minutes in a very violent case, and as the patient improves at intervals of half an hour, and then an hour.

Should the fever subside, and still the tightness in the throat and cough continue to be troublesome, give _Ipecac_ in place of Aconite. And when the cough seems to be deep seated use _Bryonia_ instead of spongia.

The patient should be kept in a warm room, and free from exposure to currents of cold air. The application of a cloth wrung out of cold or ice water to the throat, covered immediately with dry warm flannels so as to exclude the air from the wet cloth, will often exert a decidedly beneficial effect, and there is no danger if managed as here directed. The feet should be kept warm and the head cool, but _don't_ put _cold_ water on a child's head.

Asthma.

If an attack comes on from sudden cold, take _Aconite_ and _Ipecac_ every hour for a day, and if any symptoms remain, in place of the Aconite use _Copaiva_, _Arsenicum_ and _Phos. Acid_ with the _Ipecac_, giving them in rotation, a dose every hour.

In _Chronic Asthma_, where the patient is liable to an attack at any time, great benefit will be derived from taking these four in rotation about two hours apart for a day or two, at any time when symptoms of an attack begin to appear.

I have recently succeeded in alleviating several bad cases, at once, by these four remedies in succession as here recommended, on whom (some of them) I had at various times tried all of them, as well as other medicines, singly at longer intervals, as directed in the Books, without any decided benefit. After trying these in succession, as here directed, I found no trouble in arresting the paroxysm in a few hours, and I am strong in the faith that with some, at least, I have effected _cures_. It is worth much to _arrest_ the _paroxysm_ if no more.

Hooping Cough.

According to my experience, though this disease may not be entirely arrested in its course, and not generally much abridged in its duration, still the use of appropriate medicines will greatly modify it, and render it a comparatively trifling affection.

In treatment, give at the commencement of the attack _Bell._ and _Phos. acid_ alternately every twelve hours for a week, then once in six hours, and if the child should take cold so as to bring on fever, give one every hour. Continue these, as above directed, for the first two or three weeks, then, in their stead, after the cough becomes loose, and the patient vomits easily, give _Copaiva and Ipecac_ in the same manner as directed, for the two former remedies.

Dyspepsia.

This term is applied so loosely and so indiscriminately to all chronic derangements of the stomach, that it is difficult to define it. I shall therefore point out some of the more common ailments of the stomach and their proper remedies.

For sour eructations with hot, burning, scalding fluid rising up in the throat, with or without food, give _Phos. acid and Pulsatilla_ in alternation every half hour, until the stomach is easy. For a feeling of weight and pain in the stomach, with dull pain in the head, with or without dizziness, give _Nux. Vom._ every hour until it relieves. If there is a _burning_ feeling in the stomach as well as the heavy load, _without_ eructations and rising of fluid, _Arsenicum_ should be alternated with the _Nux. Vom._, at intervals of two hours. There are persons who, from imprudence in eating or drinking or both, or which is more frequent, from _harsh drug medication_, have so enfeebled their stomachs, that, though by care in selecting their food, and prudence in taking it, they may suffer but little, are, nevertheless, when from home or on special occasions, liable to overeat or take the wrong kind of food, from which unfortunate circumstance they are made to suffer the most tormenting and intolerable distress in the stomach and bowels, which may last, more or less severe, for several days. Soon after the unfortunate meal, perhaps the next morning, or, it may be, in a few hours, the stomach begins to bloat, by accumulating gas within, which is belched up every few minutes in large quantities; the stomach and bowels are racked with the most torturing pains; cold sweat stands on the brow, and he is the very picture of misery. Thus he may roll and tumble all night, and remain in misery the next day and several days longer, before the food will digest. It often passes from the stomach without digestion, and on its way through the bowels inflicts constant pain. If he does not take some emetic substance, he is not apt to vomit, his stomach cramping so as to prevent it.

I have here described one of the bad cases, but bad as it is they are by no means _very_ rare. There are such cases in abundance, of all grades from the one here described down to a slight derangement. They all require a similar course of _treatment_.

It is useful for such patients to take at once large quantities of lukewarm water, and repeat the draught every ten to fifteen minutes, until free and thorough vomiting is induced, so as to throw off all the food from the stomach.

But even this does not often cure these bad cases. If it did, it is not always convenient to do it. The medicine that is quite certain to afford relief at once is _Podophyllin_. Let it be given, and the dose repeated in an hour. A third dose is rarely necessary. After relief from this attack, the medicine should be taken night and morning for a month or more until the stomach is restored. In the meantime care should be taken not to overload the stomach.

Constipation.

The medicine for this affection is _Nux vom._, to be taken at night on retiring. If there is fulness and pain in the head from costiveness, _Bell._ should be used in the morning, and at noon. Let the patient contract a habit of drinking _cold water_ freely on rising in the morning, at least half an hour before eating. The patient _should not take physic_.

For constipation of children, _Nux_ and _Bryonia_ are to be given Nux at night and Bryonia in the morning. _Opium_ is useful.

Much needless alarm is often felt by persons on account of a costive state of the bowels. If no pain is felt from it, there is no cause for alarm.

"Heartburn."

This peculiar burning and distressed feeling at the stomach depends on imperfect digestion, but is _not_ ordinarily, as is generally supposed, connected with a sour or acid state of the fluids in the stomach. The condition of the fluids is alkaline, in most cases, though it is sometimes acid. If it depends upon biliary derangement, _Nux Vomica_ and _Podophyllin_ are the remedies for a male; _Pulsatilla_ and _Podophyllin_ for a female.

Erysipelas.

This is a disease of the skin, producing redness, burning and itching pains, appearing in patches, in adults, most apt to appear about the head and face, but in children, upon the limbs, or in very young children, beginning at the umbilicus. It sometimes begins at one point, and continues to spread for a time, then suddenly disappears, and reappears at some other point.

_Simple Erysipelas_ only affects the surface, with redness and smarting. _Vessicular_, produces vessicular eruption, or blisters filled with a limpid fluid, somewhat like the blisters from a burn.

The _Phlegmonous Erysipelas_ affects the whole thickness of the skin and cellular tissues beneath it, producing swelling, and not unfrequently, resulting in suppuration, ulceration or gangrene and sloughing of the parts. It is a dangerous disease, especially when on the head.

TREATMENT.

For the simple kind, _Bell._ is all that will be needed, unless there should be considerable fever, when _Aconite_ should be alternated with the _Bell._ For the _vessicular_ kind, where there are blisters, _Rhus tox._ should be used with _Bell_. For the _Phlegmonous_, with deep seated swellings, _Apis mel_ is the most important remedy. I prefer to use three of these remedies, giving them in rotation, beginning with the _Bell._, followed with _Rhus_, and then by _Apis mel._ giving them one hour apart. In a mild case, or after the patient begins to recover, give them at longer intervals. The _Apis_ alone will often be sufficient. During the whole time, the affected parts should be kept covered with dry, superfine flour, some say Buckwheat flour acts most favorably. The diet should be very spare. Eat as little as possible, until the disease begins to subside.

A very important part of the treatment of this affection is to keep the patient in a room that is comfortably warm, say at a temperature of from 65 to 75°, and keep the temperature _uniformly the same_, as nearly as possible, night and day. Do not, by any means, expose him suddenly to cold air, or a cold breeze, as on going into a cold room, going out into cold air, or undressing or dressing in a cold room. Uniformly warm temperature is of great importance.

Burns and Scalds.

No matter what the nature and extent of the burn may be, the very best of all medicines of which I have any knowledge, is _Soap_. If the parts affected, are immediately immersed or enveloped in Soft Soap, the pain will be greatly lessened, and the inflammation that would otherwise follow, will be essentially modified, if not entirely prevented. It acts like magic; no one who has never tried it can have any idea of its potency for the relief of pain, together with the prevention of bad consequences following severe burning. Under the influence of the _Soap_ applications, burns and scalds will often be rendered comparatively insignificant injuries. Instead of endangering the life of the sufferer from the excessive pain, or the ulceration, or gangrene and sloughing that would follow if the pain in the first instance does not destroy life, the pain ceases, or becomes bearable in a short time, and either little or no suppuration or sloughing takes place, or the sore assumes the appearance of healthy suppuration, and heals kindly--avoiding those unsightly deformities that so commonly follow severe burning. If practicable, the soap, as before suggested, should be applied immediately after the burn, the sooner the better. The part may be put into soft soap, or cloths saturated with it can be wrapped around or covered over the affected surface, to any desirable extent. The parts should not be exposed to the air for a single moment, when possible to prevent it. During the first two or three days, dressings need not be removed, unless they cause irritation after the first severe pain has subsided. They should be kept all of the time moist, and as far as practicable, in a condition to be impervious to the air.

When it is necessary to remove them, let the affected surface be immersed in strong soap suds, at a temperature of about 75 or 80°, and the dressing removed while it is under water, and others applied while in the same situation. In ordinary cases, however, even of extensive burns, after the fever consequent upon it has subsided, and the part is tolerably free from pain and smarting, the dressings may be removed in the air, but others should be in readiness and applied as speedily as possible. The soap dressings are to be continued from the beginning until the inflammation has subsided and the sore has lost all symptoms that distinguish it from an ordinary healthy suppurating sore.

After the first few days, or in case of a slight burn at the beginning, an excellent mode of applying the soap, is to make a strong thick "_Lather_" with soft water and good soap, such as Castile, or any other good hard soap, as a barber would for shaving, and apply that to the affected part with a soft shaving brush; apply it as carefully as possible, so as to cover every part of the surface, and go over it several times, letting the former coat dry a little before applying another, forming a thick crust impervious to the air. In small burns, and even in pretty extensive and severe ones, this is the best mode of application, and the only one necessary.

In many cases of very severe and dangerous burns, under the influence of this application, the inflammation subsides, and after a week or more, the crust of lather comes off, exposing the surface smooth and well. Although it is important to apply the _soap_ early, and the case does much better if that has been done, still I have found it the best remedy even as late as the second or third day. In such a case, the _lather_ application is the best.

For the fever and general nervous disturbance, _Aconite_ and _Bell._ should be given alternately, as often as every half hour, and the _Aconite_ should be given in appreciable doses; it acts powerfully as an anodyne. The soap treatment, or at least, the mode of applying it was first suggested to me by Dr. J. TIFFT, of Norwalk, Ohio, some six or seven years ago, since which time I have had opportunities of testing its virtues in all forms of burns and scalds, some of which were of the severest and most dangerous character, and I am quite sure in several cases, no other remedy or process known to the medical profession, could have relieved and restored as this did.

The application of finely pulverized common salt, triturated with an equal part of superfine flour, acts very beneficially on burns. It seems to have the specific effect to "extract the heat," literally putting out the fire. It is particularly useful for deep burns where the surface is abraded. Some may suppose this would be severe and cause too much pain when applied to a raw surface, but so far from that being the case, it is a most soothing application. It often so changes the condition of even the severest burns, in a short time, as to render them of no more importance and no more dangerous than ordinary abrasions to the same extent, by causes unconnected with heat. _Urtica urens_ is directed for burns, and is useful, but the _Urtica dioica_ is better. For

Chilblains,

That follow freezing or chilling the feet, causing most distressing uneasiness and itching of the feet and toes, take these remedies, _Rhus_ and _Apis_, the former at night and the latter in the morning. In bad cases, they should be used once in six hours. Applications of _Oil of Arnica_ to the affected parts at night, warming them before a fire, will serve greatly to palliate the sufferings, and frequently effect a perfect cure. The _Urtica Dioica_ will relieve recent cases, immediately, and is one of the best remedies for the chronic affection. It should be taken at the 2d dilution, and the tincture applied to the affected part every night.

Hoarseness.

This arises generally, from inflammation of the mucous membrane of the _Larynx_, in ordinary cases but slight. It is a frequent accompaniment of Bronchitis.

The remedies most useful, and those which will, in almost all ordinary cases, remove this affection at once, are _Arum tri._ and _Copaiva_, to be taken a dose every three hours in alternation.

If there is present a dry hacking cough, it will be well to take _Bell._ in the interval between the other medicines, for a day, or until the cough is relieved, or changed to a moist condition.

Inflammation of the Brain.

_Brain Fever._

Though this affection is not strictly what is called "brain fever," it is attended with more or less general fever, while in what is called "Brain fever," there is great irritation of the brain, requiring in many respects similar treatment. As the treatment proper for inflammation of the brain, with some slight modifications in relation to the existing fever, will be applicable to both, I shall treat of them under one head.

Some of the principal symptoms are delirium and drowsiness, fullness of the blood vessels of the head, beating of the temporal arteries, redness and fullness of the face, the pupils dilated, (though in the very early stage they may be contracted.) If the membranes of the brain be the seat of the disease, the pain is more intense, and frequently the limbs are in a palsied state. The patient sometimes vomits immoderately, and the pulse is slow and irregular, but full. The breathing becomes stertorous. The fever is very considerable, and the head hot.

TREATMENT.

_Aconite_, _Belladonna_ and _Bryonia_ should be given in rotation, one dose every hour in a violent case, lengthening the intervals as the symptoms abate. Applying _hot cloths_ to the head, removing them occasionally to let the water evaporate, will greatly palliate and will not in the least, interrupt the action of the medicines. Never apply cold to the head of any person, when hot or inflamed, much less to that of a child. Children are often killed by the application of ice to the head, producing congestion and paralysis of the brain. Hot applications are Homoeopathic to the state then existing, and always beneficial. The feet may also be placed in hot water, but children should never be put into a hot or warm bath when sick, so as to cover more than the lower extremities.

Convulsions of Children--Fits.

These generally occur, either from the irritation of worms, or as precursors of ague, or they may arise from diarrhoeal irritation, affecting the brain. They sometimes occur in hooping cough.

If convulsions occur from worms, the child appearing to be choked, give at once some salt and water, and as soon as the first paroxysm is over, give a dose of _Bell._, and after an hour a dose of _Santonine_. If they come on at the commencement of an ague chill, give _Aconite_ and _Bell._ every half hour for three or four doses alternately, then leave off the _Bell._ and give _Baptisia_. If diarrhoea is the cause, give _Bell._ and _Cham omilla_. If from hooping cough, _Bell._ alone should be used.

Measles.

This is a contagious disease, and always begins with symptoms like a cold, with high fever, and a severe dry cough, thirst and restlessness. _Pulsatilla_ is the proper medicine to palliate and regulate the symptoms. If the fever is high, _Aconite_ should be used every two hours alternately with _Puls._ Should the eruption subside suddenly, give _Bryonia_ with _Pulsatilla_ until it reappears.

Let the child drink freely of cold water, and avoid stimulants of every kind. If the eruption is tardy in its appearance, a hot bath may be administered, being careful to have the room quite warm, and to rub the patient dry, very suddenly after the bath. Frictions by the healthy hand over the surface, will do much towards bringing out measles. After the eruption is out, quiet, freedom from sudden exposure to cold, cold water and light diet is all that is necessary. In some of the most obstinate cases, where the eruptions failed to appear in the proper time, as well as where they had receded too soon, I have been able to bring them out in a short time with an infusion of Sassafras root, sweetened and taken quite warm, in doses of half an ounce in fifteen to thirty minutes. It is a remedy for measles well worth attention.

Mumps.

This is a contagious disease, consisting in an inflammation of the Parotid gland. There is, at first, a sense of stiffness and soreness on moving the jaw, soon after the gland begins to swell, and continues to be sore and painful, with more or less headache, and general fever for from six to eight days. It is not ordinarily a dangerous disease, unless translated to some other part. It may remove from the original seat to the brain, the testicles, or in females to the breasts.

TREATMENT.

_Mercurius_ should be given three times a day during the attack. If the brain becomes affected, use _Bell._ and _Apis mel._ in alternation. Should it recede to the testicles, or to the female breasts, _Apis mel._ is _the_ remedy. _Mercurius_ may be used in connection with the _Apis_ as soon as the violent symptoms have subsided, in order to prevent permanent glandular swellings.

Stings of Insects.

The effect produced by the sting of Bees, Wasps, and Hornets of all kinds, is so nearly, if not quite identical, that I shall make no distinction between them. There are very few, if any persons, who do not know the symptoms, at least the local effects of the Bee sting. Pungent, stinging, aching pain, redness and swelling of the part. The wound has at first, and for some time, a white spot or point where the sting entered, surrounded by an areola of bright scarlet, growing fainter and paler as it recedes. The swelling is not pointed, but a rounded elevation, with a feeling of hardness. If upon the face, it not unfrequently causes the whole face to swell so as to nearly if not entirely close the eyes. In some instances, the brain becomes affected and death ensues.

TREATMENT.

I have for many years, used but _one remedy_, and that has in all cases, and under all circumstances, when applied at any stage of the affection, produced prompt and perfect relief; therefore I shall recommend no other. It is the common garden _Onion_, (_Allium cepa_) applied to the spot where the sting entered. I cut the fresh Onion and apply the raw surface to the spot, changing it for a fresh piece every ten to fifteen minutes, until the pain and swelling, and all disagreeable symptoms disappear. If it is applied immediately after the stinging, the first application will afford perfect relief in a few minutes, and no further effect from it will be experienced. Applied later, it must be continued longer, and this may be done one or two days after the stinging, with just as much certainty of removing whatever symptoms may still exist.

I treated one case when three days had elapsed, the patient (a young lady) was delirious and speechless, the whole face was so swollen as to entirely disfigure her features, raising the cheeks to a level with the nose, and closing the eyes. Her life was almost despaired of. The surface of a freshly cut onion was applied to the point where the sting entered, and changed about once an hour for a fresh piece. In a few hours consciousness returned, and a rapid recovery followed. All the swelling and disagreeable symptoms were gone in three days.

_Ledum_ is highly recommended by some Physicians, and is doubtless of some value, but it is not to be compared with the _Allium_.

The most potent and certain remedy for the poison caused by the

Bite of the Rattlesnake

is _Alcohol_, in the ordinary form, or in common Whisky, Brandy, Rum or Gin. Let the patient drink it freely, a gill or more at a time, once in fifteen to twenty minutes, until some symptoms of intoxication are experienced, then cease using it. The cure will be complete as soon as enough has been taken to produce even slight symptoms of intoxication. It is remarkable how much alcohol a patient suffering from the poison of the Rattlesnake will bear.

An intelligent medical friend of mine in Kanawha County, Virginia, gave a little girl of ten years, who had been bitten by a Rattlesnake, over three quarts of good strong Whisky, in less than a day, when but slight symptoms of intoxication were produced, and that seemed to arise entirely from the last drink. She recovered from the intoxication in a few hours, and suffered no more from the poison of the serpent.

Instances of cures with whisky are numerous, and I have never heard of a failure, when it was used as here directed. I presume it will do the same for the poison of other serpents.

Headache.

This symptom or affection, (if it can be classed as a disease) may depend upon so many causes, and be so very different in its effects, degrees of intensity, and the kind of pain or sensation attending it, that one will find it very difficult to mark out any definite treatment. I shall, therefore, only point out some of the more frequent cases, and the indications for certain remedies.

What is called "_sick headache_," or "nervous headache," begins by a sense of blindness or blur, before the eyes, of green or purple colors, dazzling or swimming in the head, without, for some time at first, any positive aching or pain. In the course of an hour, a longer or shorter time, the dimness of vision goes off, and the head begins to ache. This may or may not be accompanied with nausea and vomiting. Some persons are always more or less sick at the stomach, when these "nervous headaches" come on, others are not thus affected.

TREATMENT.

If taken as soon as the first blur before the eyes is noticed, or before any pain is felt in the head, _Nux Vomica_ will, in nearly all cases, arrest the disease at once. It may be necessary to take two or three doses at intervals of an hour. Later in the case, though _Nux_ may palliate, it will not cure.

If headache with sickness comes on, _Macrotin_ and _Podoph._ should be given in alternation, every half hour, if the symptoms are very severe, and the nausea great; but in a mild case, give it once an hour, lengthening the interval as the symptoms abate.

If the feet are cold, as is often the case, putting them into hot water will palliate the symptoms, and not interfere with the medicines.

If the head feels hot, apply _hot_ water to it. Never apply cold to the head, when there are any symptoms of congestion, as of fullness of the blood vessels. For

Common Headache,

If the face is red, and the arteries of the neck and temples throb violently, give _Bell._ If there is paleness and faintness, _Pulsatilla_ is the remedy, especially if the forehead is principally affected. If the pain is mostly in the back of the head, _Nux_ is to be used; if in the front, and is sharp, affecting the eyes, _Aconite_; if at the angles of the forehead, with a sense of pinching, _Arnica_; if a sense of fullness and pressing outwards, or with an enlarged feeling, _Macrotin_; if intermitting or remitting, _Mercurius_; if there is ringing in the ears, _China_. Headache from fright should have _Aconite_.

For that kind of _headache_ that often occurs during the prevalence of fevers, and is not unfrequently a premonitory symptom of an attack of fever, I have found _Baptisia_ and _Podophyllin_ to be specifics. I give them alternately, every two hours a dose, until the headache ceases. It often subsides in a few minutes after the first dose of either, though I have sometimes failed with one alone and succeeded in the same cases afterwards with both in alternation. _I have no doubt_ but that they act in many cases, as _Prophylactics_, entirely warding off and preventing fevers, or at least arresting them at the premonitory stage. _Podophyllin_ is a most valuable remedy for headache.

Nose Bleed--Epistaxis.

If it arises from fullness of the vessels of the head, with throbbing of the temples, redness of the face and eyes, _Belladonna_ is the remedy. If fever is present, _Aconite_ must be alternated with _Bell._

In females or children who have habitual nose-bleed, _Pulsatilla_ and _Podophyllin_ are to be used alternately, night and morning. During the paroxysm of bleeding, _Arnica_ should be used, one dose repeated in a half hour if it continues.

If it is produced by over-exertion, _Rhus_ is the proper remedy. If it occurs in the _early stage_ of fever, _Aconite_ and _Bell._; in the latter stage, _Rhus_ and _Phos._ are to be used. _Hamamelis_ will frequently arrest nose-bleed _immediately_ after one or two doses.

Worms.

It is difficult to determine the presence of _worms_ in children, much more in adults, yet both are affected by them occasionally. In children, there is more or less fever and restlessness, screaming out in sleep, starting, pain in the bowels, vomiting, choking, diarrhoea, picking at the nose, fetid breath, voracious and variable appetite.

TREATMENT.

_Santonine_ is a remedy which I have used for years, and I have treated many hundreds of cases, with such unvariable success, that I feel disinclined to use or to recommend any other. It brings away the worms entire, and relieves the patient of all morbid symptoms immediately, or in much less time than any other remedy of which I have any knowledge. It seems to act specifically upon the worms, causing them to leave the bowels by being evacuated with the feces, without producing any sensible impression upon the bowels, the evacuations remaining natural, if they were so, or becoming so, if deranged, and the worms coming away not quite lifeless.

I have often prescribed this remedy for children suffering under intermittent or remitting, and even typhoid fever, in the summer season, when there were not present any well defined symptoms of worms, and yet the fever would soon abate, and in due time worms appear in the fecal evacuations. It often arrests entirely intermittent fever, when worms are present, and are the probable cause of the fever.

I give either the crude salt in from one-fourth to one-half grain doses, or a trituration of one grain to four of sugar, giving in the latter case, from one to two grains of the trituration. Give one dose at bed-time, or in an urgent case at any other time, but never repeat the dose under thirty-six hours, and in an ordinary case, under forty-eight hours.

This is _the_ medicine _par excellence_ for worms. It may be repeated once a week, when there is a tendency in the patient to the development of worm symptoms, or, in other words, the breeding of worms. The idea held out by some that it is hurtful, or unimportant to remove the worms, in itself considered, is simply _nonsense_, and _worse_, for children are sometimes sacrificed to this idea.

Earache--Otalgia.

This may arise from various causes, but a common one is sudden cold. If it arises from cold, and there is general fever, or if the ear is red, or the side of the head and ear hot, _Bell._ and _Baptisia_ should be given in alternation, every hour, or in a violent case, more frequently. These remedies will soon relieve such cases. Cloths wrung out of hot water should be laid over the ear, or the side of the head steamed, or it may be laid into water quite warm, with good effect.

Where the disease is a chronic affection, and the patient is subject to frequent attacks of pain in the ear, especially on a change of the weather, from dry to moist, _Mercurius_ is the proper remedy, especially if it is worse at night, when warm in bed.

If it arises from a shock or blow, _Arn_. is to be used. In scrofulous persons, whether there is ulceration or not, _Phosphorus_ and _Pulsatilla_ are the remedies.

Children and even adults, not unfrequently suffer from earache, without any known cause sufficient to account for it. On examination into the ear you will often find either the cavity filled or nearly so, with a hard black substance, (the inspissated "earwax") almost as hard as horn, or else the ear will be quite empty, and the sides of the cavity _dry_ and red, though perhaps not properly in a state of inflammation.

The natural condition of the cavity as it can be seen by straining the ear outwards and backwards a little in a strong sun light, is moist, the surface covered slightly with a yellowish, greasy, soft substance (the cerumen) "earwax." When this is wanting or in excess, or its character changed, it is evidence of disease, and pain is likely to occur. The

TREATMENT

for this condition is to remove the accumulation when that exists, as the first step. But this must be first softened by pouring some warm oil, pure olive oil, or good pure sperm oil, into the ear, and repeat it two or three times a day for several days, until it is so far softened as to be easily removed with the probe end of common small tweezers, having a spoon-bowl point.

When there is dryness, moisten the surface with oil. In either case, it is best, for a while, to protect the delicate surface from the air, by putting oiled wool into the external ear.

If the ear was filled, give _Mercurius_ once a day until there appears a natural secretion. If dry, use _Belladonna_.

Toothache.

It is difficult to determine the cause of toothache, and more difficult to select the remedy. It often depends upon decay of the tooth, and exposure of the nerve to air, and contact with food or drinks, or even saliva, which irritate and produce pain.

_Pulsatilla_ will as often relieve such cases as any other remedy, yet if it has been aggravated by a recent cold, _Bell._ and _Nux V._ may be better. If the nerve is not exposed, and there is a disposition to a return of the pain on exposure to cold air, or a change of weather, the pain being of a _rheumatic_ character, give _Rhus_ and _Macrotin_ in alternation. These will relieve many cases. For decayed teeth, the pain being dull aching, with soreness, use _Chamomilla_. The body of the tooth, that is the dentine, sometimes becomes very sensitive when there is no decay or cavity, the pain being experienced when some hard substance hits, or the air or water, either cold or hot, comes in contact with the tooth. The temporary pain will generally yield to _Arnica_, and in most instances, the daily use of _Arnica_ at the first decimal dilution, applied to the surface, and upon the jaws, will effect a cure.

The _chloride of Zinc_ applied to the surface of such teeth for a few moments will destroy the sensitiveness of the dentine.

Teeth that are ulcerated at the roots, or have ulcerated gums around them, the teeth being decayed, should be extracted at once, for, besides the pain and inconvenience they cause, they are a _very prolific_ source of _disturbance_ to the digestive organs, from the positive poison generated by the decaying process.

If people will use soft brushes upon the teeth with soap and water, followed by rinsing with simple water only, after each meal, brushing both inside and out and crossways, so as to clean between them, they will be saved much pain and decay, and disease of other parts, arising from foul and diseased teeth.

Teething of Children.

Affections arising from teething of children, are often of a serious character. The most prominent of which is _Diarrhoea_. _Fever_ frequently accompanies the diarrhoea, and _convulsions_ occasionally occur. _Aconite_ and _Chamomilla_ should be used in alternation, every one or two hours, according to the violence of the fever, and if convulsions occur, or are threatened, as will be known by twitching, starting, and screaming, use _Nux_ and _Bell_. These may be given in rotation with the others, following the remedies, one after the other, every hour. I have relieved the most alarming cases in a day by this method of procedure, that had not yielded to either of the single remedies for several days, given as directed in the books; the patient growing worse continually. If the gums over the teeth look white and the teeth, (one or more,) are near the surface, the gums should, by all means, be cut. Press the point of a lancet or penknife down upon the top of the gum, until the tooth is plainly felt, and be sure to make the cut as wide as the tooth. Rub the gums with _Arnicated water_ once or twice a day. _Pulsatilla_ should be given at night and _Chamomilla_ in the morning, during the whole summer while the child is teething, as a prophylactic against the fever and diarrhoea that is likely to occur. It will generally save all trouble.

If the diarrhoea is profuse, watery and light colored or brown, give _Phos. acid_ and _Veratrum_ alternately, as often as the discharges occur. For the restlessness of infants at night, _Coffea_ is the specific.

Apthæ--Thrush.

This is a disease peculiar to nursing children. The mouth becomes sore, and the tongue, lips, and fauces are covered with a white crust, looking like milk curds, which, when removed, leaves the surface red, inflamed and very tender. It sooner or later, extends to the stomach and bowels, producing severe and dangerous diarrhoea.

TREATMENT.

Of all the medicines known to our Materia Medica, none, according to my experience, will in the least, compare with the _Eupatorium aromaticum_. It is almost, if not quite certain to relieve speedily in all cases. I say this, not only from my own experience and observation, but from the testimony of several other Homoeopathic Physicians, who have, within the last year, used it.

It should be given at the first or second dilution, once in four or six hours, and three or four drops of the tincture put into a teaspoonful of water, and the mouth occasionally washed with the mixture.

In summer, where agues prevail, and the child is feverish and restless, _China_ will aid in the cure, to be given once in six hours between the doses of the _Eupatorium_. If the diarrhoea is obstinate, the discharges colored, and the child is sick at the stomach, give _Podophyllin_ with the other remedies.

Inflammation of the Eyes--Ophthalmia.

For common Ophthalmia, in the early stages, while there is more or less fever and headache, with flushed face, bloodshot eyes and throbbing of the temporal arteries, _Bell._ and _Aconite_ should be used alternately every two hours, and a wash made with ten drops of tincture of Aconite to one gill of pure water, applied to the eyes as hot as the patient can bear. This application should be repeated every two hours, in a violent case, until the eyes are easy, and then about twice a day until all inflammation and redness pass off. This will relieve a large proportion of cases in from one to four days.

If, however, the case continues obstinate for a longer time, or has been of a week or more standing before the treatment is commenced, in the place of Bell., or after using it one or two days, use _Hydrastus_ with the _Aconite_, giving them alternately at intervals of two to six hours, according to the stage of the case--more frequently as the symptoms are more urgent, using washes prepared of each separately, as directed for Aconite, except that the Hydrastus wash may be twice as strong; and apply each about half as often as the same medicine is taken internally. The wash should, in all cases of acute inflammation of the eyes, be as hot as it can be borne. Let it be put into the eyes so as to come directly in contact with the inflamed surface.

Simple hot water applied to inflamed eyes for hours together, allowing short intervals between the applications, will often cure most painful cases.

_Never apply cold_ to inflamed eyes. It always aggravates. When the inflammation is in a scrofulous person, especially in infants, it assumes a purulent character, and may leave the cornea in clouded (nebulous) condition, and the sight more or less obliterated. For this condition use _Conium_ first, and apply it _in tinct._, half water, to the eyes every four hours.

Wounds and Bruises.

On this subject, I must necessarily be very brief. When a wound is inflicted, the first and most important thing to be done is to _arrest the flow of blood_. Every one should know how to do this. The bleeding is to be stopped, and the wounded vessels to be secured, so that no further flow can take place.

First, then, to stop the bleeding, _pressure_ is to be made upon the artery leading to the wound. If the wound is in the leg or foot, pressure is to be made, either on the vessel above and near the wound, or, where that cannot be easily found and compressed, make firm pressure with the thumb or some hard substance, in the groin, about two and a half inches at one side of the center of the pelvis, (wounded side) just below the lower margin of the belly, towards the inner side of the thigh, where the great artery (Femoral artery) can be felt pulsating. By pressing firmly upon this artery, the blood is arrested in its flow into the limb, and of course the bleeding from the wound soon ceases. If the wound is in the arm or hand, _pressure_ is to be made, either just above the wound, or on the inside of the arm, about one-third of the way from the shoulder to the elbow, where the artery (Brachial) can be felt. To secure the parts from further bleeding, the wounded artery must be taken up and tied. Let it be seized by forceps, or the point of a needle may be thrust into it, and the vessel stretched out a little, a thread put round it and tied; cut off one end of the tie, and let the other hang out of the wound, until it comes out by the vessel sloughing off. Bring the lips of the wound together, and if it is large, put in stitches enough to hold them, and put on an adhesive plaster, compress of cloths, and bandages to keep it from straining the stitches, and protect it from the air. The _Arnica_ plaster, made by JOHN HALL, of Cleveland, is the best adhesive plaster of which I have any knowledge. Give the patient _Aconite_ once in two hours, for a day after the accident.

_Slight Cuts_ about the joints, especially the knee, are dangerous, from their liability to affect the ligaments, inflame, and produce _Lockjaw_. Therefore, such wounds, ever so slight, are of great importance. They should be at once closed up, whether they bleed or not, and covered with an adhesive plaster, (Arnica plaster is the best) a bandage, and the knee should not be bent, even when walking or sitting, until the wound is healed. It is best to apply a splint from the hip to the heel, and bandage the limb to it, so as to prevent bending of the joint.

_Bruises_ are to be treated with _Arnica_, applied to the part affected, by putting twenty drops of the tincture into a gill of water, if the skin is _not_ ruptured, or three drops into the same if it is, and bathing freely. The _Arnica_ is to be taken internally at a higher dilution. Keep the parts covered with cloths and wet in _Arnica_ water.

If a blow is received upon the head, by a fall, or in any other way, producing a "stunning" effect, (concussion of the brain) so that the patient appears lifeless for a time, and delirious when he begins to come to, there is great danger of inflammation of the brain, and death from the re-action, or in some cases, the shock is so great that the patient will never revive unless he has the proper aid.

_Arnica_ is the great remedy to bring on reaction, arouse the patient, and prevent _dangerous_ inflammation or congestion of the brain.

When a patient is "stunned" by a blow or fall, he should be conveyed soon as possible, to some _quiet_ place, and as little noise as practicable made about him, and the room kept darkened. _Arnica_ 3d should be given immediately, and the nostrils wet with strongly arnicated water.

If fever arise after he comes to, _Aconite_ should be given with _Arnica_, and if the head aches, or becomes hot, _Bell._ is to be used. This will prevent or arrest all symptoms of inflammation.

_Torn and Mangled_ wounds should not be handled much. If they bleed, the blood must be stopped as in any other case. If they are dirty, warm water may be gently applied to cleanse them. The wound should be covered with some soft cloths, and kept constantly wet in Arnicated water of the strength of four drops of the _tincture_ to a pint of water.

Piles--Hemorrhoids.

One important matter in all cases of habitual piles, is, to keep the bowels regular. Much can be done for this purpose by diet and regimen. On rising from bed in the morning drink freely, from a gill to half a pint of cold water, at least half an hour before breakfast; use such diet as is easily digested, and drink no alcoholic beverages. To relieve the bowels when costive, take a dose of _Nux Vomica_ at night, and _Podophyllin_ in the morning. This may be repeated from day to day until the proper effect is produced.

To relieve from a severe attack of Piles, use _Bell._ and _Podophyllin_ in alternation every four hours, and apply to the tumors when inflamed, cloths wrung out of hot water, or sit in hot water for a time.

A poultice made of fine-cut _Tobacco_ wet in hot water and crowded firmly up against the pile-tumors, secured by a T bandage, will relieve the most desperate cases for the time, and is attended with no danger or disagreeable symptoms except in rare cases, when it produces sickness at the stomach, which soon subsides on the poultice being removed. _Oil of Arnica_ is an excellent application for inflamed Piles.

A most important point in the management of Piles, and one often neglected, is to replace the prolapsed tumors. The tumors will be protruded from within the anus by the act of evacuating, and if left in that condition, will be pressed upon by the external parts, chafed and inflamed. In all such cases, the patient should take particular pains to return the tumors into the rectum; and to aid in that process a little oil may be applied when they will be easily pushed back, and the sphincter of the bowel will close below them, preventing any chafing, and the consequent inflammation.

For _Bleeding Piles_, _Ipecac_ and _Bell_. are very efficient remedies. They may be alternated every half hour, or oftener if the bleeding is severe, or at longer intervals when it is only slight.

_Hamamelis V._, (Witch Hazel,) will in nearly all cases arrest the bleeding at once. It should be applied to the parts and taken internally at the same time. Drop doses to be put on the tongue once in fifteen or twenty minutes.

An infusion of the _Hamamelis_ may be taken internally in doses of half a teaspoonful, and the same injected into the bowel with excellent effect.

The most effectual way, and the best for obtaining permanent relief from Piles when the tumors have become hard, and remain all the time so as to pass out of the anus at every evacuation, being constantly more or less tender and painful, and often becoming inflamed, is to have them taken off. But never let that be done with a knife. The bleeding would, in such a case, be very excessive, and most likely fatal. The history of knife operations for the excision of Pile tumors is written in blood, and the tombstone stands as a monument of condemnation of the practice. No trustworthy surgeon will at this day attempt it.