Chapter XXVIII: Part XI: Health and Wealth (1)

_How to Preserve Health--Bathing,
etc.--Medicine--Ointments--Blisters--Poultices,
etc.--Cholera--Domestic Surgery, etc.--Riches--Temperance--Dr.
Franklin's Way to Wealth._

THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH.

2908. In another place (see "Health and Beauty," p. 89, etc.), I have given many useful hints on this subject.

2909. Still more may be told; and new suggestions, cautions, and remedies will be found in the following pages.

2910. _These Rules_ are given to persuade people to take care and preserve their health; not to induce them needlessly to doctor themselves.

2911. _The First Rule_ for those in health is--take no medicine.

2912. _The Second Rule._--In sickness, send for the best physicians; viz., those who give least medicine.

2913. Pure atmospheric air is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and a _very_ small proportion of carbonic acid gas. Air once breathed has lost the chief part of its oxygen, and acquired a proportionate increase of carbonic acid gas.

2914. Therefore, health requires that we breathe the same air once only.

2915. The solid part of our bodies is continually wasting, and requires to be repaired by fresh substances.

2916. Therefore, food, which is to repair the loss, should be taken with due regard to the exercise and waste of the body.

2917. The fluid part of our bodies also wastes constantly; there is but one fluid in animals, which is water.

2918. Therefore, water only is necessary, and no artifice can produce a better drink.

2919. The fluid of our bodies is to the solid in proportion as nine to one.

2920. Therefore, a like proportion should prevail in the total amount of food taken.

2921. Light exercises an important influence upon the growth and vigor of animals and plants.

2922. Therefore, our dwellings should freely admit the solar rays.

2923. Decomposing animal and vegetable substances yield various noxious gases, which enter the lungs and corrupt the blood.

2924. Therefore, all impurities should be kept away from our abodes, and every precaution be observed to secure a pure atmosphere.

2925. Warmth is essential to all the bodily functions.

2926. Therefore, an equal bodily temperature should be maintained by exercise, by clothing, or by fire.

2927. Exercise warms, invigorates, and purifies the body; clothing preserves the warmth the body generates; fire imparts warmth externally.

2928. Therefore, to obtain and preserve warmth, exercise and clothing are preferable to fire.

2929. Fire consumes the oxygen of the air, and produces noxious gases.

2930. Therefore, the air is less pure in the presence of candles, gas, or coal fire, than otherwise; and the deterioration should be repaired by increased ventilation.

2931. The skin is a highly-organized membrane, full of minute pores, cells, blood-vessels, and nerves; it imbibes moisture or throws it off, according to the state of the atmosphere and the temperature of the body. It also "breathes," as do the lungs (though less actively). All the internal organs sympathize with the skin.

2932. Therefore, it should be repeatedly cleansed.

2933. Late hours and anxious pursuits exhaust the nervous system, and produce disease and premature death.

2934. Therefore, the hours of labor and study should be short.

2935. Mental and bodily exercise are equally essential to the general health and happiness.

2936. Therefore labor and study should succeed each other.

2937. Man will live most healthily upon simple solids and fluids, of which a sufficient but temperate quantity should be taken.

2938. Therefore, strong drinks, tobacco, snuff, opium, and all mere indulgences should be avoided.

2939. Sudden alternations of heat and cold are dangerous, especially to the young and the aged.

2940. Therefore, clothing, in quantity and quality, should be adapted to the alterations of night and day, and of the seasons.

2941. And therefore, also, drinking cold water when the body is hot, and hot tea and soups when cold, are productive of many evils.

2942. Moderation in eating and drinking, short hours of labor and study, regularity in exercise, recreation, and rest, cleanliness, equanimity of temper and equality of temperature, these are the great essentials to that which surpasses all wealth, _health of mind and body_.

2943. _Bed Clothes._--The perfection of dress, for day or night, where warmth is the purpose, is that which confines around the body sufficient of its own warmth, while it allows escape to the exhalations of the skin.

2944. Where the body is allowed to bathe protractedly in its own vapors, we must expect an unhealthy effect upon the skin.

2945. Where there is too little ventilating escape, insensible perspiration is checked, and something analogous to fever supervenes; foul tongue, ill taste, and lack of morning appetite betray the evil.

2946. _Early Rising._--Dr. Wilson Philip, in his "Treatise on Indigestion," says: "Although it is of consequence to the debilitated to go early to bed, there are few things more hurtful to them than remaining in it too long."

2947. Getting up an hour or two earlier, often gives a degree of vigor which nothing else can procure.

2948. For those who are not much debilitated, and sleep well, the best rule is to get out of bed soon after waking in the morning.

2949. This at first may appear too early, for the debilitated require more sleep than the healthy; but rising early will gradually prolong the sleep on the succeeding night, till the quantity the patient enjoys is equal to his demand for it.

2950. Lying late is not only hurtful, by the relaxation it occasions, but also by occupying that part of the day at which exercise is most beneficial.

2951. The difference between rising every morning at six and at eight, in the course of forty years, amounts to 29,200 hours, or three years one hundred and twenty-one days and sixteen hours, which are equal to eight hours a day for exactly ten years.

2952. Thus, rising at six will be the same as if ten years of life (a weighty consideration) were added, wherein we may command eight hours every day for the cultivation of our minds and the dispatch of business.

2953. _Development of the Lungs._--Much has been said and written upon diet, eating and drinking, but I do not recollect ever noticing a remark in any writer upon breathing, or the manner of breathing. Multitudes, and especially ladies in easy circumstances, contract a vicious and destructive mode of breathing.

2954. They suppress their breathing, and contract the habit of short, quick breathing, not carrying the breath half way down the chest, and scarcely expanding the lower portions of the chest at all.

2955. Lacing the bottom of the chest also greatly increases this evil, and confirms a bad habit of breathing. Children that move about a great deal in the open air, and in no way laced, breathe deep and full to the bottom of the chest, and every part of it.

2956. So also with most out-door laborers, and persons who take much exercise in the open air, because the lungs give us the power of action; and the more exercise we take, especially out of doors, the larger the lungs become, and are the less liable to disease.

2957. In all occupations that require standing, keep the person straight.

2958. If at table, let it be high; raised up nearly to the armpits, so as not to require you to stoop; you will find the employment much easier--not one half so fatiguing; whilst the form of the chest and symmetry of the figure will remain perfect.

BATHS, &C.

(SEE PAGES 124 AND 125.)

2959. Water is the means of personal purification. Use it freely.

2960. _Bathing._--If to preserve health be to save medical expenses, without even reckoning upon time and comfort, there is no part of the household arrangement so important to the domestic economist as cheap convenience for personal ablution.

2961. Whoever fits up a bath in a house already built, must be guided by circumstances; but it will always be proper to place it as near the kitchen fire-place as possible.

2962. From thence it may be heated, or at least have its temperature preserved by means of hot air through tubes, or by steam prepared by the culinary fire-place, without interfering with its ordinary uses.

2963. A small boiler may be erected at a very small expense, in the bath-room, where circumstances do not permit these arrangements.

2964. Whenever a bath is wanted at a short warning, to boil the water necessary will always be the shortest mode; but where it is in general daily use, the heating the water by steam will be found the cheapest and most convenient method.

2965. _Bathing tubs_ should never be left with water in them that has been used. Let off the water, and keep them dry as possible.

2966. _A hand-bath_ is always to be had when regular bathing is not convenient. With a piece of sponge or an extra towel to wash with, your ablutions may be well performed every day.

2967. _Tepid water_, or even quite warm water, will greatly refresh the system after violent fatigue; but if a warm bath is taken, do not stay in it over ten minutes--indeed _five minutes_ is long enough.

2968. _In cold bathing_ it should never be forgotten that every thing depends upon the general power of the individual, the state of the system, especially of the skin, at the moment of immersion, and the season of the year.

2969. If the reaction does not speedily take place, means must be employed to insure its so doing, or the use of the cold bath must be abandoned.

2970. Delicate and feeble persons of all ages require a higher temperature of the bath, and a shorter stay in it than others.

2971. No person should bathe immediately after a full meal, particularly if there be an apoplectic tendency.

2972. For a person in good health, early in the morning is the best time to bathe; for one more delicate, from two to three hours after breakfast is preferable.

2973. Never think of undressing and going into the water when greatly fatigued, or when the skin is covered with perspiration.

2974. In most cases moderate exercise is advantageous before bathing, but not exercise of a violent kind.

2975. _Hints about Children._--The attempt to harden children by exposure to too great a degree of cold, is of the most injurious nature.

2976. For infants and young children, it is clear that water of a lower temperature than what feels cool to the hand of the nurse should be used; but not _cold_ water.

2977. _Cold bathing_ either produces acute diseases of the lungs, which are then very sensible to external impressions, or disease of the digestive organs, leading to disease of the mesenteric glands, scrofula, water in the brain, or, if they survive a few years, to early consumption.

2978. _Wet the Head._--It is a good rule to wet the head before taking a plunge or a bath.

2979. "_Cleanliness_ is next to godliness," is a maxim of Christian philosophy.

2980. _Exercise._--Exercise in the open air is of the first importance to the human frame, yet how many are in a manner deprived of it by their own want of management of their time!

2981. Women with slender means are for the most part destined to in-door occupations, and have but little time allotted them for taking the air, and that little time is generally sadly encroached upon by the ceremony of dressing to go out.

2982. Whereas, if all were in readiness, the preparations might be accomplished in a few minutes, the walk not being curtailed by unnecessary delays.

2983. It may appear a simple suggestion, but experience only will show how much time might be redeemed by habits of regularity; such as putting the shawls, cloaks, gloves, shoes, &c., &c., or whatever is intended to be worn, in readiness, instead of having to search one drawer, then another, for possibly a glove or collar--wait for shoes being cleaned, &c.--and this when (probably) the out-going persons have to return to their employment at a given time.

2984. Three principal points in the manner of taking exercise are necessary to be attended to:--1. The kind of exercise. 2. The proper time for exercise. 3. The duration of it.

2985. With respect to the kinds of exercise, the various species of it may be divided into active and passive. Among the first, which admits of being considerably diversified, may be enumerated, walking, running, leaping, swimming, riding, fencing, the military exercise, different sorts of athletic games, &c.

2986. Among the latter, or passive kinds of exercise, may be comprised riding in a carriage, sailing, friction, swinging, &c.

2987. The first, or active exercises, are more beneficial to youth, to the middle-aged, to the robust in general, and particularly to the corpulent and the plethoric.

2988. The second or passive kinds of exercise, on the contrary, are better calculated for children; old, dry, and emaciated persons of a delicate and debilitated constitution; and particularly to the asthmatic and consumptive.

2989. The time at which exercise is most proper, depends on such a variety of concurrent circumstances, that it does not admit of being regulated by any general rules, and must therefore be collected from the observations made on the effects of air, food, drink, &c.

2990. With respect to the duration of exercise, there are other particulars, relative to a greater or less degree of fatigue attending the different species and utility of it in certain states of the mind and body, which must determine this consideration as well as the preceding.

2991. That exercise is to be preferred which, with a view to brace and strengthen the body, we are most accustomed to, as any unusual one may be attended with a contrary effect.

2992. Exercise should be begun and finished gradually, never abruptly.

2993. Exercise in the open air has many advantages over that used within doors.

2994. To continue exercise until a profuse perspiration or a great degree of weariness takes place, is far from being wholesome.

2995. In the forenoon, when the stomach is not too much distended, muscular motion is both agreeable and healthful; it strengthens digestion, and heats the body less than with a full stomach; and a good appetite after it is a proof that it has not been carried to excess.

2996. But, at the same time, it should be understood, that it is not advisable to take violent exercise immediately before a meal, as digestion might thereby be retarded.

2997. Neither should we sit down to a substantial dinner or supper immediately on returning from a fatiguing walk, at a time when the blood is heated, and the body in a state of perspiration from previous exertion, as the worst consequences may arise, especially where cooling dishes, salad, or a glass of cold drink is begun with.

2998. Exercise is always hurtful after meals, from its impeding digestion, by propelling those fluids too much toward the surface of the body which are designed for the solution of the food in the stomach.

2999. _Climate._--The action of medicines is modified by climate and seasons. In summer, certain medicines act more powerfully than in winter, and the same person cannot bear the dose in July that he could in December.

3000. _General Health._--Persons whose general health is good, bear stronger doses than the debilitated and those who have suffered for a time.

3001. _Idiosyncrasy._--Walker will inform you that this long term means a peculiar temperament or disposition not common to people generally.

3002. For example, some persons cannot take calomel in the smallest dose without being salivated, or rhubarb without having convulsions; others cannot take squills, opium, senna, &c., therefore it is wrong to _insist_ upon their taking these medicines.

3003. _Forms best suited for Administration._--Fluids act quicker than solids, and powders sooner than pills.

3004. _Best method of Preventing the Nauseous Taste of Medicine._--Castor oil may be taken in milk, coffee, or spirits such as brandy; but the best method of covering the nauseous flavor, is to put a table-spoonful of strained orange-juice in a wine-glass, pour the castor oil into the centre of the juice, and then squeeze a few drops of lemon-juice upon the top of the oil.

3005. Cod-liver oil may be taken, like castor oil, in orange-juice.

3006. Peppermint water almost prevents the nauseous taste of Epsom salts; a strong solution of extract of liquorice covers the disagreeable taste of aloes; milk, that of cinchona bark; and cloves that of senna.

3007. An excellent way to prevent the taste of medicines is to have the medicine in a glass, as usual, and a tumbler of water by the side of it, then take the medicine and retain it in the mouth, which should be kept closed, and if you then commence drinking the water, the taste of the medicine is washed away.

3008. Even the bitterness of quinine and aloes may be prevented by this means.

3009. _Giving Medicine to Persons._--Medicines should be given in such a manner that the effect of the first dose should not have ceased when the next dose is given, therefore the intervals between the doses should be regulated accordingly.

3010. _Doses of Medicine for different Ages._--It must be plain to every one that children do not require such powerful medicine as adults or old people.

3011. Be careful to give the least possible dose that will have effect. The less medicine swallowed, the better for the patient.

TERMS EXPRESSING THE PROPERTIES OF MEDICINES.

3012. These _terms_ or names should be carefully remembered, and their explanations.

3013. Absorbents are medicines which destroy acidities in the stomach and bowels, such as magnesia, prepared chalk, &c.

3014. Alteratives are medicines which restore health to the constitution, without producing any sensible effect, such as sarsaparilla, sulphur, &c.

3015. Analeptics are medicines that restore the strength which has been lost by sickness, such as gentian, bark, &c.

3016. Anodynes are medicines which relieve pain, and they are divided into three kinds, _paregorics_, _hypnotics_, and _narcotics_ (see these terms); camphor is anodyne as well as narcotic.

3017. Antacids are medicines which destroy acidity, such as lime, magnesia, soda, &c.

3018. Antalkalies are medicines given to neutralize alkalies in the system, such as citric, nitric, or sulphuric acids, &c.

3019. Anthelmintics are medicines used to expel and destroy worms from the stomach and intestines, such as turpentine, cowhage, male fern, &c.

3020. Antibilious are medicines which are useful in bilious affections, such as calomel, &c.

3021. Antirheumatics are medicines used for the cure of rheumatism, such as colchicum, iodide of potassium, &c.

3022. Antiscorbutics are medicines against scurvy, such as citric acid, &c.

3023. Antiseptics are substances used to correct putrefaction, such as bark, camphor, &c.

3024. Antispasmodics are medicines which possess the power of overcoming spasms of the muscles, or allaying severe pain from any cause unconnected with inflammation, such as valerian, ammonia, &c.

3025. Aperients are medicines which move the bowels gently, such as dandelion root, &c.

3026. Aromatics are cordial, spicy, and agreeably-flavored medicines, such as cardamoms, cinnamon, &c.

3027. Astringents are medicines which contract the fibres of the body, diminish excessive discharges, and act indirectly as tonics, such as oak-bark, galls, &c.

3028. Attenuants are medicines which are supposed to thin the blood, such as ammoniated iron, &c.

3029. Balsamics are medicines of a soothing kind, such as Tolu, Peruvian balsam, &c.

3030. Carminatives are medicines which allay pain in the stomach and bowels, and expel flatulence, such as aniseed-water, &c.

3031. Cathartics are strong purgative medicines, such as jalap, &c.

3032. Cordials are exhilarating and warming medicines, such as aromatic confections, &c.

3033. Corroborants are medicines and food which increase the strength, such as iron, gentian, sago, &c.

3034. Demulcents correct acrimony, diminish irritation, and soften parts by covering their surfaces with a mild and viscid matter, such as linseed tea, &c.

3035. Deobstruents are medicines which remove obstructions, such as iodide of potash, &c.

3036. Detergents clean the surfaces over which they pass, such as soap.

3037. Diaphoretics produce perspiration, such as tartrate of antimony, &c.

3038. Digestives are remedies applied to ulcers or wounds, to promote the formation of matter, such as resin ointments, warm poultices, &c.

3039. Discutients possess the power of repelling or resolving tumors, such as galbanum, &c.

3040. Diuretics act upon the kidneys and bladder, and increase the flow of urine, such as nitre, squills, &c.

3041. Drastics are violent purgatives, such as gamboge, &c.

3042. Emetics produce vomiting, or the discharge of the contents of the stomach, such as mustard, tartar emetic, warm water, bloodroot, &c.

3043. Emollients are remedies used externally to soften the parts they are applied to, such as spermaceti, palm oil, &c.

3044. Epispastics are medicines which blister or cause effusion of serum under the cuticle, such as Spanish flies, &c.

3045. Errhines are medicines which produce sneezing, such as tobacco, &c.

3046. Escharotics are medicines which corrode or destroy the vitality of the part to which they are applied, such as lunar caustic, &c.

3047. Expectorants are medicines which increase expectoration, or the discharge from the bronchial tubes, such as ipecacuanha, &c.

3048. Febrifuges are remedies used in fevers, such as antimonial wines, &c.

3049. Hydragogues are medicines which have the effect of removing the fluid of dropsy, by producing water evacuations, such as gamboge, calomel, &c.

3050. Hypnotics are medicines that relieve pain by procuring sleep, such as hops, &c.

3051. Laxatives are medicines which cause the bowels to act rather more than natural, such as manna, &c.

3052. Narcotics are medicines which cause sleep or stupor, and allay pain, such as opium, &c.

3053. Nutrients are remedies that nourish the body, such as sugar, sago, &c.

3054. Paregorics are medicines which actually assuage pain, such as compound tincture of camphor, &c.

3055. Prophylactics are remedies employed to prevent the attack of any particular disease, such as quinine, &c.

3056. Purgatives are medicines that promote the evacuation of the bowels, such as senna, &c.

3057. Refrigerants are medicines which suppress an unusual heat of the body, such as wood-sorrel, tamarinds.

3058. Rubefacients are medicaments which cause redness of the skin, such as mustard, &c.

3059. Sedatives are medicines which depress the nervous energy, and destroy sensation, so as to compose, such as fox-glove, &c.

3060. Sialagogues are medicines which promote the flow of saliva or spittle, such as salt, calomel, &c.

3061. Soporifics are medicines which induce sleep, such as hops, &c.

3062. Stimulants are remedies which increase the action of the heart and arteries, or the energy of the part to which they are applied, such as sassafras, which is an internal stimulant, and savine, which is an external one.

3063. Stomachics restore the tone of the stomach, such as gentian, &c.

3064. Styptics are medicines which constrict the surface of a part, and prevent the effusion of blood, such as kino, &c.

3065. Sudorifics promote profuse perspiration or sweating, such as ipecacuanha, &c.

3066. Tonics give general strength to the constitution, restore the natural energies, and improve the tone of the system, such as chamomile, &c.

3067. Vesicants are medicines which blister, such as strong liquid ammonia, &c.

3068. _Lotions, &c._--Lotions are usually applied to the parts required, by means of a piece of linen rag wetted with them, or by wetting the bandage itself.

3069. _Emollient._--Use decoction of marsh-mallow or linseed.

3070. _Elder-flowers._--Add two drachms and a half of elder-flowers to one quart of boiling water, infuse for one hour, and strain. _Use_ as a discutient.

3071. _Sedative._--Dissolve one drachm of extract of henbane in twenty-four drachms of water.

3072. _Opium._--Mix two drachms of bruised opium with half a pint of boiling water, allow it to grow cold, and _use_ for painful ulcers, bruises, &c.

3073. _Decoctions._--These preparations soon spoil, and therefore should only be made in small quantities, particularly in summer.

3074. _Of Chimaphila._--Take one ounce of pyrola, (chimaphila or winter-green) and boil it in a pint and a half of water until it is only one pint; then strain.

3075. _Dose_, from one to two ounces, four times a day. Use in dropsies, as a diuretic.

3076. _Of Logwood._--Boil one ounce and a half of bruised logwood in two pints of water until it comes to one pint; then add one drachm of bruised cassia, and strain.

3077. _Dose_, from one to two ounces. Use as an astringent.

3078. _Of Dandelion._--Take two ounces of the freshly-sliced root, and boil in two pints of water until it comes to one pint; then add one ounce of compound tincture of horse-radish.

3079. _Dose_, from two to four ounces. Use in a sluggish state of the liver.

OINTMENTS AND CERATES.

3080. These remedies are used as topical applications to parts, generally ulcers, and are usually spread upon linen or other materials.

3081. _Camphorated._--Mix half an ounce of camphor with one ounce of lard, having, of course, previously powdered the camphor.

3082. Used as a discutient and stimulant in indolent tumors.

3083. _Chalk._--Mix as much prepared chalk as you can into some lard, so as to form a thick ointment.

3084. Use as an application to burns and scalds.

3085. _For Itch._--Mix four drachms of sublimed sulphur, two ounces of lard, and two drachms of sulphuric acid together. This is to be rubbed into the body.

3086. _For Scrofulous Ulcerations._--Mix one drachm of ioduret of zinc and one ounce of lard together.

3087. Use twice a day in the ulcerations.

EMBROCATIONS AND LINIMENTS.

3088. These remedies are used externally as local stimulants, to relieve deep-seated inflammations when other means cannot be employed, as they are more easily applied locally.

3089. _Liniments_ are to be rubbed on the skin as the patient can bear.

3090. _Anodyne and Discutient._--Take two drachms of scraped white soap, half a drachm of extract of henbane, and dissolve them by a gentle heat in six ounces of olive oil.

3091. Used in doses of two or three drachms at a time, for glandular enlargements which are painful and stubborn.

3092. _Strong Ammoniated._--Add one ounce of strong liquid ammonia (_Liquoris ammoniæ fortis_) to two ounces of olive oil; shake them well together until they are properly mixed.

3093. Use--employed as a stimulant in rheumatic pains, paralytic numbness, chronic glandular enlargements, lumbago, sciatica, &c.

3094. _Compound Ammoniated._--Add six teaspoonsful of oil of turpentine to the strong ammoniated liniment above.

3095. Use for the diseases mentioned under the head of strong ammoniated liniment, and chronic affections of the knee and ankle-joints.

3096. _Lime and Oil._--Take equal parts of common linseed oil and lime-water (_Liquor calcis_), and shake well.

3097. Use, applied to burns, scalds, sun-peelings, &c.

3098. _Camphorated._--Take half an ounce of camphor, and dissolve it in two ounces of olive oil.

3099. Use as a stimulant, soothing application in stubborn breasts, glandular enlargements, dropsy of the belly, and rheumatic pains.

3100. _Soap Liniment with Spanish Flies._--Take three ounces and a half of soap-liniment, and half an ounce of tincture of Spanish flies: mix and shake well.

3101. Use as a stimulant to chronic bruises, sprains, rheumatic pains, and indolent swellings.

3102. _Turpentine._--Take two ounces and a half of resin cerate (_ceratum resinæ_), and melt it by standing the vessel in hot water; then add one ounce and a half of oil of turpentine, and mix.

3103. Use as a stimulant application to ulcers, burns, scalds, &c.

ENEMAS

3104. Are a peculiar kind of medicine, administered by injecting them into the rectum or outlet of the body.

3105. The intention is either to empty the bowels, kill worms, protect the lining membrane of the intestines from injury, restrain copious discharges, allay spasms in the bowels, or nourish the body. These clysters, or glysters, are administered by means of bladders and pipes, or a proper apparatus.

3106. _Laxative._--Take two ounces of Epsom salts, and dissolve in three-quarters of a pint of gruel, or thin broth, with an ounce of olive oil. Use as all enemas are used.

3107. _Nutritive._--Take twelve ounces of strong beef tea, and thicken with hartshorn shavings or arrow-root.

3108. _Turpentine._--Take half an ounce of oil of turpentine, the yolk of one egg, and half a pint of gruel.

3109. Mix the turpentine and egg, and then add the gruel. Use as an anthelmintic.

3110. _Common._--Dissolve one ounce of salt in twelve ounces of gruel.

3111. _Castor Oil._--Mix two ounces of castor oil with one drachm of starch; then rub them together, and add fourteen ounces of thin gruel.

3112. Use--purgative.

3113. _Opium._--Rub two grains of opium with two ounces of starch, then add two ounces of warm water.

3114. Use as an anodyne, in colic, spasms, &c.

3115. _Oil._--Mix four ounces of olive oil with half an ounce of mucilage and half a pint of warm water.

3116. Use as a demulcent.

3117. _Assafœtida._--Dissolve two drachms of the gum in a pint of barley-water.

3118. Used in convulsions from teething.

3119. _Gargles._--See pages 107, 245, and 246.

3120. _Extracts_ are made by evaporating the liquors obtained by infusion or decoction, but these can be bought much cheaper and better of chemists and druggists, and so can tinctures, confections, cerates, plasters, and syrups.

3121. _Method of Ascertaining the State of the Lungs._--Persons desirous of ascertaining the true state of their lungs, are directed to draw in as much breath as they conveniently can; they are then to count as far as they are able, in a slow and audible voice, without drawing in more breath.

3122. The number of seconds they can continue counting must be carefully observed; in a consumption the time does not exceed ten, and is frequently less than six seconds; in pleurisy and pneumonia it ranges from nine to four seconds. When the lungs are in a sound condition, the time will range as high as from twenty to thirty-five seconds.

3123. _Appetite._--Appetite is frequently lost through excessive use of stimulants, food taken too hot, sedentary occupation, costiveness, liver disorder, and want of change of air. The first endeavor should be to ascertain and remove the cause.

3124. Change of diet, and change of air, will frequently be found more beneficial than medicines.

3125. _Bile, Bilious or Liver Complaints._--Abstinence from malt liquors, cool homœopathic cocoa for drink, no tea or coffee, few vegetables, and little bread; bacon in a morning, and well-cooked fresh animal food once a day.

3126. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers is the want of cleanliness.

POULTICES.

[SEE PAGES 112, 113, AND 230, 231.]

3127. Poultices should be applied as hot as the patient can bear. Cold poultices do no good; remove them.

3128. _Apple Poultice._--Apples pared, cored and well boiled, then well washed into a pulp, form a very good poultice.

3129. _Starch Poultice._--Starch, any quantity; thicken with boiling water. When a little cool, stir in a little lard or oil.

3130. _Slippery Elm Poultice._--Take slippery elm in powder, and mix with water until somewhat thick, then boil it a few minutes. It is to be applied warm.

3131. _Yeast Poultice._--Wheat flour, one pound; yeast, half a pint. Mix them together over a gentle heat until the mixture begins to rise, then apply warm.

3132. _Mustard Poultice._--Flour of mustard, one part; flax-seed meal, one part. Make into a paste with water. A little oil or lard should be added to prevent its sticking.

3133. _Poultice made of Hops._--Boil a handful of hops for a few minutes in a pint of water, in a covered vessel, squeeze out the juice and strain. This liquor is now to be put again on the fire and thickened with Indian meal, and a little lard added as it becomes cool.

3134. _Spice Poultice._---Cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and ginger, of each equal quantities; honey or molasses to mix.

3135. _Alum Poultice._--Put the white of a couple of eggs into a plate, and then with a piece of alum between the thumb and finger stir it into a curd.

3136. _Ginger Poultice._--Wet flannel in hot vinegar and sprinkle on ground ginger--good for toothache.

3137. _Hot Water._--In bruises, hot water is most efficacious, both by means of insertion and fomentation, in removing pain, and totally preventing discoloration and stiffness. It has the same effect after a blow. It should be applied as quickly as possible, and as hot as it can be borne.

3138. Insertion in hot water will cure that troublesome and fearful thing called a whitlow.

3139. The efficacy of hot water in preventing the ill effects of fatigue is too well known to require notice.

3140. _Blisters._--See pages 113 and 374.

3141. _Plasters, Cerates, etc._--See page 238.

3142. _Food for the Sick._--See page 230, &c.

3143. _Fevers and Remedies._--See pages 111, 112.

3144. _Mucilage of Gum Arabic._--Rub one ounce of gum arabic in a mortar, with four ounces of warm water. Use for coughs, &c.

3145. _Mucilage of Starch._--Rub one drachm of starch with a little water, and gradually add five ounces of water, then boil until it forms a mucilage.

3146. Use for enemas, topical application and demulcent.

3147. _Cutaneous Eruptions._--The following mixture is very useful in all cutaneous eruptions:

3148. Ipecacuanha wine, four drachms; flowers of sulphur, two drachms; tincture of cardamoms, one ounce. Mix.

3149. Dose--one teaspoonful to be taken three times a day, in a wine-glassful of water. (See page 232.)

3150. _Small Pox Marks._--Long observation has convinced me that nothing so effectually removes these disfigurements as gently rubbing the face with a soft towel immediately after washing. This practice, which is free from the objections which may be made against external applications (which are usually violent irritants), quickens the circulation of the blood, producing exfoliation and the formation of new tissues, and at the same time restoring to the cheek its healthy color, which is generally lost by confluent small-pox.--_Dr. Cox._

3151. Mental and bodily exercise are equally essential to the general health and happiness.

3152. Therefore, labor and study should succeed each other.

3153. Man will live most healthily upon simple solids and fluids, of which a sufficient but temperate quantity should be taken.

3154. Therefore, strong drinks, tobacco, snuff, opium, and all mere indulgences should be avoided.

SPECIAL RULES FOR THE PREVENTION OF CHOLERA.

3155. We urge the necessity, in all cases of cholera, of an instant recourse to medical aid.

3156. Also under every form and variety of indisposition: for all disorders are found to merge in the dominant disease.

3157. Let immediate relief be sought under disorder of the bowels especially, however slight. The invasion of cholera may thus be readily prevented.

3158. Let every impurity, animal and vegetable, be quickly removed to a distance from the habitations, such as slaughter-houses, pig-sties, cesspools, necessaries, and all other domestic nuisances.

3159. Let all uncovered drains be carefully and frequently cleansed.

3160. Let the grounds in and around the habitations be drained, so as effectually to carry off moisture of every kind.

3161. Let all partitions be removed from within and without habitations, which unnecessarily impede ventilation.

3162. Let every room be daily thrown open for the admission of fresh air; this should be done about noon, when the atmosphere is most likely to be dry.

3163. Let dry scrubbing be used in domestic cleansing in place of water cleansing.

3164. Let excessive fatigue, and exposure to damp and cold, especially during the night, be avoided.

3165. Let the use of cold drinks and acid liquors, especially under fatigue, be avoided, or when the body is heated.

3166. Let the use of cold acid fruits and vegetables be avoided.

3167. Let excess in the use of ardent and fermented liquors and tobacco be avoided.

3168. Let a poor diet, and the use of impure water in cooking, or for drinking, be avoided.

3169. Let the wearing of wet and insufficient clothes be avoided.

3170. Let a flannel or woolen belt be worn round the person.

3171. Let personal cleanliness be carefully observed.

3172. Let every cause tending to depress the moral and physical energies be carefully avoided. Let exposure to extremes of heat and cold be avoided.

3173. Let crowding of persons within houses and apartments be avoided.

3174. Let sleeping in low or damp rooms be avoided.

3175. Let fires be kept up during the night in sleeping or adjoining apartments, the night being the period of most danger from attack, especially under exposure to cold or damp.

3176. Let all bedding and clothing be daily exposed during winter and spring to the fire, and in summer to the heat of the sun.

3177. Let the dead be buried in places remote from the habitation of the living.

3178. By the timely adoption of simple means such as these, cholera or other epidemics will be made to lose its venom.

RULES FOR A SICK ROOM.

3179. See pages 236 and 237.

3180. Keep the patient, and all about him, perfectly clean; and secure, as far as possible, pure air.

3181. The chamber should be ventilated at least once a day, or twice if it can be borne.

3182. The bed clothes should be carried out into the open air, if it is dry, if not, into the next room; and if the patient is unable to sit up meanwhile, let them be supplied by others.

3183. Keep the room quiet, and in perfect order.

3184. Let the sick be addressed in a gentle voice, and the conversation, if any is admitted, be pleasant and cheering.

3185. The nurse and friends should express sympathy with the sufferer, but at the same time seek to inspire courage, and patience to endure.

3186. All vials and powders should be labeled, to prevent fatal mistakes.

3187. The beds should be made at least once a day, and if the patient can bear it, twice. Carry the beds out into the open air, or if damp, into another room.

3188. Keep the skin clean by daily ablutions: change the garments frequently, and rinse the mouth often.

3189. A nurse should be of a pleasant, agreeable, persuasive, and even temper, with great patience to bear with the whims and unreasonable fretfulness that often appear in the sick.

3190. Never dispute with a very sick person, nor reprove him for any seeming inconsistency. Remember that he is scarcely a responsible being.

3191. _To prevent Pitting after Small-Pox._--Spread a sheet of thin leather with the ointment of ammoniacum with mercury, and cut out a place for the mouth, eyes, and nostrils.

3192. This forms what is called a mask, and after anointing the eye-lids with a little blue ointment (_unguentum hydrargyri_), it should be applied to the face, and allowed to remain for three days for the distinct kind, and four days for the running variety. _Period to apply it_:

3193. _Before_ the spots fill with matter, although it will answer sometimes even after they have become pustulous. It may be applied to any part in the same way.

3194. _Precautions to be Observed in giving Medicines.--Sex._--Medicines for females should not be so strong as those for males, therefore it is advisable to reduce the doses about one-eighth.

3195. _Temperament._--Persons of a phlegmatic temperament bear stimulants and purgatives better than those of a sanguine temperament; therefore the latter require smaller doses.

3196. _Habits._--Purgatives never act so well upon persons accustomed to take them, as upon those who are not; therefore it is better to change the form of purgative from pill to potion, powder to draught, or aromatic to saline. Purgatives should never be given when there is an irritable state of the bowels.

3197. Stimulants and narcotics never act so quickly upon persons accustomed to use spirits freely as upon those who live abstemiously.

DOMESTIC SURGERY.

3198. This will comprise such hints and advice as will enable any one to act on an emergency, or in ordinary trivial accidents requiring simple treatment; and also to distinguish between serious and simple accidents, and the best means to adopt in all cases that are likely to fall under a person's notice.

3199. These hints will be of the utmost value to the heads of families, to emigrants, and to persons who are frequently called upon to attend upon the sick.

3200. We strongly recommend the parent, emigrant or nurse to read over these directions occasionally, to regard it as a duty, to do so at least three or four times a year, so as to be prepared for emergencies whenever they may arise.

3201. When accidents occur, people are too excited to acquire immediately a knowledge of what they should do; and many lives have been lost for want of this knowledge.

3202. Study, therefore, at moderate intervals, the domestic surgery, treatment of poisons, rules for the prevention of accidents, how to escape from fires, &c., which will be found in various pages of this book.

3203. Let it be impressed upon your mind that the _Index_ will enable you to refer to any thing you may require in a moment.

3204. _Dressings_ are substances usually applied to parts for the purpose of soothing, promoting their reunion when divided, protecting them from external injuries, as a means of applying various medicines, to absorb discharges, protect the surrounding parts, and securing cleanliness.

3205. Certain instruments are required for the application of dressings in domestic surgery, viz.--Scissors, a pair of tweezers, or simple forceps, a knife, needles and thread, a razor, a lancet, a piece of lunar caustic in a quill, and a sponge.

3206. The materials required for dressings, consist of lint, scraped linen, carded cotton, tow, ointment spread on calico, adhesive plaster, compresses, pads, poultices, old rags of linen or calico, and water.

3207. The following rules should be attended to in applying dressings. Always prepare the new dressings before removing the old ones.

3208. Always have hot and cold water at hand, and a vessel to place the foul dressings in.

3209. Have one or more persons at hand ready to assist, and tell each person what they are to do before you commence, it prevents confusion; thus, one is to wash out and hand the sponges, another to heat the adhesive plaster, or hand the bandages and dressings, and, if requisite, a third to support the limb, &c.

3210. Always stand on the outside of a limb to dress it. Place the patient in as easy a position as possible, so as not to fatigue him. Arrange the bed _after_ changing the dressings, but in some cases you will have to do so before the patient is placed on it.

3211. Never be in a hurry when applying dressings, do it quietly. When a patient requires moving from one bed to another, the best way is for one person to stand on each side of the patient, and each to place an arm behind his back, while he passes his arms over their necks; then let their other arms be passed under his thighs, and by holding each other's hands, the patient can be raised with ease, and removed to another bed.

3212. If the leg is injured, a third person should steady it, and if the arm, the same precaution should be adopted.

3213. Sometimes a stout sheet is passed under the patient, and by several people holding the sides, the patient is lifted without any fatigue or much disturbance.

3214. _Lint_ may be made in a hurry, by nailing the corners of a piece of old linen to a board, and scraping its surface with a knife. It is used either alone or spread with ointment.

3215. Scraped lint is the fine filaments from ordinary lint, and is used to stimulate ulcers and absorb discharges; it is what the French call _charpie_.

3216. Scraped lint is made into various shapes, for particular purposes.

3217. For example, when it is screwed up into a conical or wedge-like shape, it is called _a tent_, and is used to dilate fistulous openings, so as to allow the matter to escape freely, to plug wounds, so as to promote the formation of a clot of blood, and thus arrest bleeding.

3218. When it is rolled into little balls they are called _boulettes_, and are used for absorbing matter in cavities, or blood in wounds.

3219. Carded cotton is used as a dressing for superficial burns, and care should be taken to free it from specks, as flies are apt to lay their eggs there, and generate maggots.

3220. Tow is chiefly employed as a padding for splints, as compresses, and also as an outer dressing where there is much discharge from a surface.

3221. Ointments are spread on calicoes, lint, or even thin layers of tow by means of a knife; they should not be spread too thick.

3222. Adhesive plaster is cut into strips, ranging in width according to the nature of the wound, &c., but the usual width is about three-quarters of an inch.

3223. Isinglass plaster is not so irritating as diachylon, and is more easily removed.

3224. _Compresses_ are made of pieces of linen, calico, lint, or tow, doubled or cut into various shapes.

3225. They are used to confine dressings in their places, and to apply an equal pressure on parts.

3226. They should be free from darns, hems, and knots.

3227. Ordinary compresses are square, oblong, and triangular.

3228. The _pierced compress_ is made by folding up a square piece of linen five or six times on itself, and then nicking the surface with scissors, so as to cut out small pieces.

3229. It is then opened out, and spread with ointment.

3230. It is applied to discharging surfaces, for the purpose of allowing the matter to pass freely through the holes, and is frequently covered with a thin layer of tow.

3231. Compresses are also made in the shape of a Maltese cross, and half a cross, sometimes split singly, and at other times doubly: or they are graduated by placing square pieces of folded cloth on one another, so arranged that they decrease in size each time.

3232. They are used for keeping up pressure upon certain parts.

3233. _Pads_ are made by sewing tow inside pieces of linen, or folding linen and sewing the pieces together. They are used to keep off pressure from parts, such as that caused by splints in fractures.

BANDAGES.

3234. Bandages are strips of calico, linen, flannel, muslin, elastic webbing, bunting, or some other substance, of various lengths, such as three, four, eight, ten, or twelve yards, and one, one and a-half, two, two and a-half, three, four, or six inches wide, free from hems or darns; soft and unglazed.

3235. They are better after they have been washed.

3236. Bandages are simple and compound; the former are simple slips rolled up tightly like a roll of ribbon.

3237. There is also another simple kind which is rolled from both ends--this is called a double-headed bandage.

3238. The compound bandages are formed of many pieces.

3239. Bandages for the head should be two inches wide and five yards long; for the neck, two inches wide and three yards long; for the arm, two inches wide and seven yards long; for the leg, two inches and a half wide and seven yards long; for the thigh, three inches wide and eight yards long; and for the body, four or six inches wide and ten or twelve yards long.

3240. To apply a single-headed bandage, lay the _outside of the end_ next to the part to be bandaged, and to hold the roll between the little, ring, and middle fingers and the palm of the left hand, using the thumb and fore-finger of the same hand to guide it, and the right hand to keep it firm, and pass the bandage partly round the leg toward the left hand.

3241. It is sometimes necessary to reverse this order, and therefore it is well to be able to use both hands.

3242. _Circular_ bandages are used for the _neck_, to retain dressings on any part of it, or for blisters, setons, &c.; for the _head_, to keep dressings on the forehead or any part contained within a circle passing round the head; for the _arm_, previous to bleeding; for the _leg_, above the knee; and for the _fingers_, &c.

3243. _To confine the ends of bandages_ some persons use pins, others slit the end for a short distance, and tie the two strips into a knot, and some use a strip of adhesive plaster.

3244. Always place the point of a pin in such a position that it should not be likely to prick the patient, or the person dressing the limb, or be likely to draw out by using the limb: therefore, as a general rule, turn the head of the pin from the free end of the bandage, or toward the upper part of the limb.

3245. The _oblique_ bandage is generally used for arms and legs, to retain dressings.

3246. The _spiral_ bandage is generally applied to the trunk and extremities, but it is apt to fall off even when very carefully applied: therefore we generally use another called the recurrent, which folds back again.

3247. The _recurrent_ bandage is the best kind of bandage that we can employ for general purposes.

3248. The _circular_ bandage is formed by horizontal turns, each of which overlaps the one made before it.

3249. The _spiral_ consists of spiral turns.

3250. The _oblique_ follows a course oblique or slanting to the centre of the limb.

3251. The _recurrent_ folds back again to the part whence it started.

3252. A _bandage for the chest_ is always placed upon the patient in a sitting posture; and it may be put on in circles or spirally.

3253. Use, in fractures of the ribs, to retain dressings, and after severe contusions.

3254. _A bandage for the belly_ is placed on the patient as directed in the last; if spirally, carrying it from above downward.

3255. Use, to compress the belly after dropsy, or retain dressings.

3256. The _hand_ is bandaged by crossing the bandage over the back of the hand.

3257. Use, to retain dressings.

3258. For the _head_, a bandage may be circular, or spiral or both; in the latter case, commence by placing one circular turn just over the ears; then bring down from left to right, and round the head again, so as to alternate a spiral with a circular turn.

3259. Use, to retain dressings on the head or over the eye; but this form soon gets slack. The circular bandage is the best, crossing it over both eyes.

3260. _For the Foot._--Place the end just above the outer ankle, and make two circular turns, to prevent its slipping; then bring it down from the inside of the foot over the instep toward the outer part; pass it under the sole of the foot, and upward and inward over the instep toward the inner ankle, then round the ankle, and repeat again.

3261. Use, to retain dressings to the instep, heel or ankle.

3262. _For the leg and foot_, commence and proceed as directed in 2213; then continue it up the leg as ordered in 3247.

3263. As it sometimes happens that it is necessary to apply a bandage at once, and the materials are not at hand, it is desirable to know how to substitute something else _that any one may apply with ease_.

3264. This is found to be effected by handkerchiefs, and an experienced surgeon has paid great attention to this subject, and brought it to much perfection. It is to him, therefore, that we are indebted for most of these hints.

3265. Any ordinary handkerchief will do; but a square of linen, folded into various shapes, answers better.

3266. The shapes generally required are as follows:--The triangle, the long square, the cravat, and the cord.

3267. The _triangular handkerchief_ is made by folding it from corner to corner. Use, as a bandage for the head.

3268. _Application._--Place the base round the head, and the short part hanging down behind, then tie the long ends over it.

3269. The _long-square_ is made by folding the handkerchief into three parts, or double it once upon itself.

3270. Use, as a bandage to the ribs, belly, &c. If one handkerchief is not long enough, sew two together.

3271. The _cravat_ is folded as usual with cravats. Use, as a bandage for the head, arms, legs, feet, neck, &c.

3272. The _cord_ is used to compress vessels, when a knot is made in it, and placed over the vessel to be compressed. It is merely a handkerchief twisted in its long diameter.

3273. Sometimes it is necessary to apply two or more handkerchiefs, as in a broken collar-bone, or when it is necessary to keep dressings under the arm.

3274. It is applied by knotting the two ends of one handkerchief together, passing the left arm through it, then passing another handkerchief under the right arm, and tying it.

3275. By this means we can brace the shoulders well back, and the handkerchief will press firmly over the broken collar-bone; besides, this form of bandage does not readily slip or get slack, but it requires to be combined with the sling, in order to keep the arm steady.

3276. When a woman has an inflamed breast that requires support or dressings to be kept to it, tie two ends of the handkerchief round her neck, and bring the body of it over the breast, and pass it upward and backward under the arm of that side, and tie the ends of those around the neck.

3277. An excellent sling is formed by placing one handkerchief around the neck, and knotting the two ends over the breast-bone, then placing the other in triangle under the arm, to be supported with the base near to the hand; tie the ends over the handkerchief, and pin the top to the other part after passing it around the elbow.