Chapter VII: Part II: Health and Beauty (1)

_Rules for the preservation of Health, and simple Recipes
found often efficacious in common diseases and slight
injuries_--_Directions for preparing Remedies and ministering to
the Sick and Suffering_--_The Toilet, or hints and suggestions for
the preservation of Beauty, with some useful Recipes for those who
need them_.

335. _Means of preserving Health._--Light and sunshine are needful for your health. Get all you can; keep your windows clean. Do not block them up with curtains, plants, or bunches of flowers: these last poison the air in small rooms.

Fresh air is needful for your health. As often as you can, open all your windows, if only for a short time, in bad weather; in fine weather, keep them open, but never sit in draughts. When you get up, open the windows wide, and throw down the bed-clothes, that they may be exposed to fresh air some hours daily before they are made up. Keep your bed-clothes clean; hang them to the fire when you can. Avoid wearing at night what you wear in the day. Hang up your day clothes at night. Except in the severest weather, in small crowded sleeping-rooms, a little opening at the top of the window-sash is very important; or, you will find one window-pane of perforated zinc very useful. You will not catch cold half so easily by breathing pure air at night. Let not the beds be directly under the windows. Sleeping in exhausted air creates a desire for stimulants.

Pure water is needful for your health. Wash your bodies as well as your faces, rubbing them all over with a coarse cloth. If you cannot wash thus every morning, pray do so once a week. Crying and cross children are often pacified by a gentle washing of their little hands and faces--it soothes them. Babies' heads should be washed carefully, every morning, with yellow soap. No scurf should be suffered to remain upon them. Get rid of all slops and dirty water at once, but do not throw them out before your doors; and never suffer dead cabbage-leaves or dirt of any kind to remain there; all these poison the air, and bring fevers. All bad smells are _poison_; never rest with them. Keep your back yards clean. Pig-sties are very injurious; slaughter-houses are equally hurtful: the smells from both excite typhus fever, and cause ill health. Frederick the Great said, that one fever was more fatal to him than seven battles. Disease, and even death, is often the consequence of our own negligence. Wash your rooms and passages at least once a week; use plenty of clean water; but do not let your children stay in them while they are wet--it may bring on croup or inflammation of the chest. If you read your Bibles--which it is earnestly hoped you do--you will find how cleanliness, both as to the person and habitation, was taught to the Jews by God himself; and we read in the 4th chapter of Nehemiah, that when they were building their second temple, and defending their lives against their foes, having no time for rest, they contrived to put off their clothes for washing. It is a good old saying, that _Cleanliness is next to Godliness_. See Heb. x. 22.

Wholesome food is needful for your health. Buy the most strengthening. Pieces of fresh beef and mutton go the farthest. Eat plenty of fresh salt with food; it prevents disease. Pray do not let your children waste their pocket-money in tarts, cakes, sugar-plums, sour fruit, &c.; they are very unwholesome, and hurt the digestion. People would often, at twenty years of age, have a nice little sum of money to help them on in the world, if they had put in the savings-bank the money so wasted. Cocoa is cheaper and much more nourishing than tea. None of these liquids should be taken _hot_, but lukewarm; when hot, they inflame the stomach, and produce indigestion. All kinds of intoxicating drinks are to be avoided, or taken in the utmost moderation. If possible, abstain from them altogether. Money saved from drink, will help to educate your children, and make your homes happier.

We are all made to breathe the pure air of heaven, and therefore much illness is caused by being constantly in-doors. This is especially the case with mothers of families, young milliners, ironers, shoe-makers, tailors, &c. Let such persons make a point, whenever it is possible, of taking exercise in the _open air_ for at least an hour and a half, _daily_. Time would be saved in the long-run, by the increased energy and strength gained, and by the warding off of disease.

Be sure to get your children vaccinated, between the third and sixth month after birth, before teething begins, and when they are in a good state of health for it. This would save a great many lives. On no account give your children laudanum, or any kind of sleeping medicine; numbers are killed by it.

336. _Directions in severe Sickness._--Whenever any one of your family is taken violently ill, send as soon as possible for the most skilful physician--and follow, carefully, his orders. But, many times, the mother is the best physician, and the only one needed for her children, if she has been trained to take proper care of her own health, as every woman should be. The following recipes and directions may be of great service to young mothers, and those who have not been accustomed to minister to the sick.

337. _To purify the Chambers of the Sick._--Close the windows and doors of the room to be purified, except one door; close also the chimney aperture, except two or three inches at the bottom, and remove all the iron and brass furniture; then put three table-spoonsful of common salt into a dish or pan, place it upon the floor of the apartment, and pour at once upon the salt a quarter of a pint of oil of vitriol; retire, and close the room for forty-eight hours, during which time vapor will continue to rise and diffuse itself completely through the room, so as to destroy the matter on which infection depends. The room may then be entered, the doors and windows thrown open, and a fire made in the grate, so that the apartment may be perfectly ventilated.

338. _To prevent Infection._--As a preservative, carry with you and smell occasionally, a handkerchief sprinkled with this mixture; half an ounce of spirits of camphor, half a pint of water, and five ounces of pyroligneous acid.

Cascarilla bark is good to smoke, to prevent the effects of malaria, and in sick rooms to correct bad effluvia. It yields a fine aromatic odor, and is very wholesome for sedentary and studious people to smoke, if mixed with good tobacco. The proportions for either of these purposes are as follow: one pound of Turkey tobacco, four ounces of Dutch canister tobacco, and one ounce of Cascarilla bark, broken small; mix the above, and smoke a pipe of it every evening, when the house is shut up; it is also a good digester after meals.

339. _Fumigating Pastilles._--Pound and mix gum benjamin and frankincense in powder, of each two drachms; gum myrrh, storax, cascarilla bark, and nitre, of each, powdered, one ounce and a half; and charcoal powder, one ounce: moisten, and shape into pastilles with gum-water, and a very little turpentine.

The stalks of dried lavender, if burnt, have an agreeable scent, and form a substitute for pastilles; they may be cut small, and burnt in little vessels.

340. _To use Chloride of Lime._--This preventive of contagion may be used as follows: stir one pound of the chloride of lime into four gallons of water; allow it to settle for a short time, pour off the clear solution, and keep it in well-corked bottles.

In houses infected, sprinkle the rooms morning and evening with the above liquid; and pour some of it into shallow dishes or basins. Sprinkle it about the room and bed-linen occasionally, and admit fresh air. Infected linen should be dipped in the mixture about five minutes, and then in common water, before it is sent to the wash.

A wine-glassful added to the water of a night-chair or bed-pan, will prevent any smell. To destroy the effluvia from drains, sewers, cesspools, &c., pour into them a quart of the mixture, with a pail of water.

Meat sprinkled with, or dipped in the mixture, and hung in the air, will not be attacked by flies, nor be tainted, for some time.

Water in cisterns may be purified, and its animalcula killed, by putting about a pint of the mixture to one hundred gallons of water.

This mixture will also destroy bugs, if the joints and crevices of bedsteads be washed with it. It will likewise remove the smell of paint in a day, if the newly painted room be sprinkled with it, and if some be placed there in dishes or saucers.

341. _Disinfecting Liquid._--In a wine-bottle full of cold water dissolve two ounces of sugar of lead, and add two ounces of aqua-fortis. Shake the mixture well. A very small quantity of the liquid in its strongest form should be used for cleansing all chamber utensils. To remove offensive odors, dilute the liquid with eight or ten parts of water, moisten clean cloths thoroughly with it, and hang them in various parts of the room. The offensive gases are neutralized by chemical action. Fumigation is merely substituting one odor for another. In all practicable cases, _fresh air_, and plenty of it, is far the best disinfectant.

342. _To prevent Abrasions of the Skin in persons confined to their beds; a very valuable recipe._--Apply occasionally to the tender parts of the body, with a feather, this mixture. Beat to a strong froth the white of an egg, then drop in gradually, while beating it, two tea-spoonfuls of spirits of wine. Bottle it for use.

343. _To prevent Discolorations of the Skin after a blow or fall._--Moisten a little dry starch or arrow-root with cold water, and lay it on the injured part. It should be done immediately, so as to prevent the action of the air upon the skin; however, it may be applied with good effect some hours afterwards. It is a French receipt, and is quite valuable.

344. _A recipe for Neuralgia in the Face._--Make a lotion with half a pint of rose-water and two tea-spoonfuls of white vinegar. Apply it to the part affected, three or four times a-day, using a fresh linen cloth each time. In two or three days the pain will pass away. This has been an effectual cure with many, but as the disease arises from various causes, there is no specific for it.

345. _Eye Water for weak eyes._--Infuse in boiling water, till cold, half an ounce of poppy heads, and the same quantity of chamomile flowers. Strain this mixture, and add two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and one of brandy. Apply it warm, night and morning.

346. _Another._--Put into a two-ounce phial fifteen drops of laudanum, fill it with two-thirds of rose-water, and one-third of rectified spirits of Mindererus. Use it with a sponge.

347. _To cure a Bruise in the Eye._--Take conserve of red roses, or a bruised apple, put them in a fold of thin cambric, apply it to the eye, and it will draw the bruise out.

348. _Cold or Inflammation of the Eyes._--Mix a few bread crumbs with the white of an egg, put it in a bag of soft muslin, and apply it to the eye. It will afford relief in a few minutes, and generally a cure in a day. It is best applied at night, or when lying down. When removed, bathe the eye well with warm water, using a bit of muslin, not a sponge.

349. _Carvacrol, the new remedy for the Tooth-ache._--Dr. Bushman gives (in the _Medical Times_) the following account of this new compound, which, though well known in Germany as a quick and effectual cure for one of the most worrying ills "that flesh is heir to," is now for the first time published in England. Carvacrol is an oily liquid, with a strong taste and unpleasant odor. It may be made by the action of iodine on oil of caraway or on camphor. A few drops applied on cotton wool (to a decayed and painful tooth) give immediate relief. Carvacrol much resembles creosote in appearance, and is used in similar cases of tooth-ache, but its effect is much more speedy and certain.

350. _To cure Tooth-ache._--A remedy, often effectual, is to fill the mouth with warm water, and immediately after with cold.

351. _Another cure for Tooth-ache._--Powdered alum will not only relieve the tooth-ache, but prevent the decay of the tooth.

352. _Gum-boils._--A gum-boil is sometimes a primary disease, depending on an inflammation of the gums from accidental and common causes, in which case the lancet, or leaving it to nature, soon restores the gum to a healthy state; but it more generally arises from a carious tooth, in which case extraction is necessary. If there be any constitutional disturbance about the face, leeches and purgatives, and the usual means for subduing inflammation may be resorted to.

353. _Diseases of the Ear._--Sometimes ear-ache is connected with chronic ulceration in the internal and external part of the ear--when injections of warm water and soap are advisable. In this case, there is sometimes a constant fœtid discharge--for which the following mixture has been recommended:--Mix three drachms of ox-gall and one drachm of balsam of Peru. Put a drop on a little cotton in the ear.

354. _Temporary Deafness._--If the ear be inflamed, inject water into it with a syringe, as warm as the patient can bear it, and foment the part with the decoction of poppy-heads and chamomile flowers. Should this not relieve the pain, a drop of oil of cloves with a little oil of almonds should be dropped into the ear, and cotton wool put into it. If the ear discharge much, inject warm water with Castile soap into it.

355. _For a Pain in the Ear._--Oil of sweet almonds, two drachms, and oil of amber, four drops. Apply four drops of this mixture, when in pain, to the part affected.

356. _Another cure for the Ear-ache._--Dip a little cotton into a mixture of oil of sweet almonds and laudanum, and put it into the ear; or, apply a small poultice, in which is put a raw chopped clove of garlic; or, roast a small onion, and put as much of the inside into the ear as you conveniently can.

357. _To kill Earwigs, or other Insects, which may accidentally have crept into the Ear._--Let the person under this distressing circumstance lay his head upon a table, the side upwards that is afflicted; at the same time, let some friend carefully drop into the ear a little sweet oil or oil of almonds. A drop or two will be sufficient, which will instantly destroy the insect and remove the pain, however violent.

358. _Bleeding at the Nose._--In obstinate cases, blow a little gum Arabic powder up the nostrils through a quill, which will immediately stop the discharge.

359. _Another cure for Bleeding at the Nose._--_Elevating the patient's arm_ will often have the desired effect. The explanation is based upon physiological grounds: the greater force required to propel the blood through the vessels of the arm, when elevated, causes the pressure upon the vessels of the head to be diminished, by the increased action which takes place in the course of the brachial arteries. If the theory be sound, both arms should be elevated.

360. _To destroy Corns and Warts._--Put into an earthen pipkin a quarter of a pint of linseed oil, to which add one ounce of resin and a little litharge. Warm them together; spread them upon leather, and apply them to corns or warts.

361. _To destroy Warts._--Dissolve as much common washing soda as the water will take up; wash the warts with this for a minute or two, and let them dry without wiping. Keep the water in a bottle, and repeat the washing often. It will remove the largest warts.

Caustic is an effectual though troublesome application. The juice of the common annual spurge plant is as efficacious a remedy; as is the bark of the willow tree, burnt to ashes, mixed with vinegar, and applied to the warts. The juice of the marigold is another remedy.

362. _A certain cure for Warts._--Steep in vinegar the inner rind of a lemon for twenty-four hours, and apply it to the wart. The lemon must not remain on more than three hours, and should be applied fresh every day. To apply acetic acid with a camel's hair-brush, is still better.

363. _Corns on the Feet._--These are usually made by wearing shoes over-tight; but, walking on pavement in very thin shoes will cause corns and bunions, because of bruising the feet on the hard stones.

364. _To prevent Corns from growing on the Feet._--Easy shoes; frequently bathing the feet in lukewarm water, with a little salt or potashes dissolved in it.

365. _Sir H. Davy's Corn Solvent._--Potash, two parts; salts of sorrel, one part; each in fine powder. Mix, and lay a small quantity on the corn for four or five successive nights, binding it on with a rag.

366. _To cure Corns._--_An effectual remedy._--The cause of corns, and likewise the torture they occasion, is simply friction; and to lessen the friction, you have only to use your toe as you do in like circumstances a coach wheel--lubricate it with some oily substance. The best and cleanest thing to use, is a little sweet oil rubbed on the affected part (after the corn is carefully pared) with the tip of the finger, which should be done on getting up in the morning, and just before stepping into bed at night. In a few days the pain will diminish, and in a few days more it will cease, when the nightly application may be discontinued.

367. _Another cure for Corns._--Place the feet for half an hour for two or three nights successively, in a pretty strong solution of common soda. The alkali dissolves the indurated cuticle, and the corn falls out spontaneously, leaving a small excavation, which soon fills up. This is an almost certain remedy.

368. _To cure soft Corns._--Dip a soft linen rag in turpentine, and place it over the corn night and morning. In a few days the corn will disappear. A little sweet oil rubbed on them is often of great service. Or, a small piece of cotton placed between the toes is sometimes efficacious; or, the juice or pulp of a lemon.

369. _To cure Bunions in their commencement._--Bind the joint tightly, either with broad tape or adhesive plaster. The strip should be kept on as long as the least uneasiness is felt. It should wrap quite round the foot.

370. _Lotion for Chilblains._--Mix distilled vinegar and spirit of mindererus, of each four ounces, with half an ounce of borax.

In common cases of chilblains, apply pieces of soft linen, moistened with spirits of camphor, soap liniment, camphor liniment, &c. When the swellings break, apply emollient ointments for a few days. Equal quantities of sweet oil, lime water, and spirits of wine, are also an excellent remedy for chilblains.

371. _Simple remedy for Chilblains._--Soak them in warm bran and water, then rub them well with mustard-seed flour; but it will be better if they are done before they break.

372. _Another remedy._--Cut an onion in thick slices, and with these rub the chilblains thoroughly, on two or three nights, before a good fire, and they will soon disappear.

373. _Sir A. Cooper's Chilblain Liniment._--One ounce of camphorated spirit of wine, half an ounce of liquid subacetate of lead; mix, and apply in the usual way three or four times a day. Some persons use vinegar as a preventive; its efficacy might be increased, by the addition to the vinegar of one-fourth of its quantity of camphorated spirit.

374. _Note._--Those who are most liable to chilblains, should, on the approach of winter, cover the parts most subject to be affected, with woollen gloves or stockings, and not expose the hands or feet too much to wet and cold.

375. _To stop violent Bleeding from a Cut._--Make a paste, by mixing fine flour with vinegar, and lay it on the cut.

376. _An excellent Styptic._--The outside woof of silk-worms has been tried with great success by several people, more especially by a lady, who, in mending a pen, cut her thumb to the bone, and through part of the nail; it bled profusely; but, by trying this styptic, and binding up the wound, the hemorrhage stopped, and the wound healed in three days.

377. _A new and useful Styptic._--Take brandy, or common spirit, two ounces; Castile soap, two drachms; potash, one drachm; scrape the soap fine, and dissolve it in the brandy; then add the potash, and mix it well together, and keep it close stopped from the air in a phial. When you apply it, warm it in a vessel, or dip pledges of lint into it, and the blood will immediately congeal. It operates by coagulating the blood, both a considerable way within the vessels, as well as the extravasated blood without, and restraining, at the same time, the mouths of the vessels.

It forms a valuable embrocation, in cases of tumors or swellings from bruises, by being frequently rubbed on the part. It is also used in a similar manner for rheumatic pains.

378. _To prevent Wounds from mortifying._--Sprinkle sugar on them. The Turks wash fresh wounds with wine, and sprinkle sugar on them. Obstinate ulcers may be cured with sugar dissolved in a strong decoction of walnut leaves.

379. _To cure Ring-worms._--Dissolve borax in water, and apply it at first, it will produce a burning sensation and redness; it should then be discontinued for a few days, and being resumed, the ring-worm will soon disappear.

To sponge the head daily with vinegar and water, in the proportion of half a pint of vinegar to a pint and a half of water, will prevent or cure ring-worms.

380. _Another cure for Ring-worms._--To one part of sulphuric acid, add about twenty parts of water. Use a brush or feather, and apply it to the part, night and morning. A very few dressings will generally cure. If the solution is too strong, dilute it with more water; and if the irritation is excessive, rub a little oil or other softening applicant; but avoid soap.

While the patches are in an inflamed and irritable condition, it is necessary to limit the local applications to regular washing or sponging with warm water, or some softening fomentation.

381. _Cure for Erysipelas._--A simple poultice made of cranberries, pounded fine, and applied in a raw state, has proved a certain remedy.

382. _Remedy for fainting._--First place the patient in the horizontal posture, throw cold water over the face, and bathe the hands with vinegar and water; loosen the dress, and admit a free current of fresh, cool air. Pungent salts, ether, or _eau de Cologne_, should be held occasionally to the nose, and the temples should be rubbed with either of the two latter. When the patient has partly recovered, a small quantity of wine, cold water, or ten or twenty drops of sal-volatile or ether, in water, should be given.

383. _Remedy for Fits._--If a person fall in a fit, let him remain on the ground, provided his face be pale; for should it be fainting or temporary suspension of the heart's action, you may cause death by raising him upright, or by bleeding; but if the face be red or dark-colored, raise him on his seat, throw cold water on his head immediately; cold water is the best restorative.

384. _German method of preventing Hysterics._--Caraway seeds, finely pounded, with a small proportion of ginger and salt, spread upon bread and butter, and eaten every day, especially early in the morning, and at night, before going to bed, are successfully used in Germany, as a domestic remedy against hysterics.

385. _Stomachic Mixture._--Camphor julep, one ounce; sweet spirit of nitre, half an ounce; compound tincture of cardamoms, spirit of anise-seed, of each five drachms; oil of caraway, twelve drops; syrup of ginger, two drachms; peppermint-water, two drachms. Mix. A table-spoonful occasionally in flatulency and dyspepsia.

386. _Red lavender drops for Nervous Attacks._--Fill a quart bottle with the blossoms of lavender, and pour on it as much brandy as it will contain; let it stand ten days, then strain it, and add of nutmeg bruised, cloves, mace, and cochineal, a quarter of an ounce each, and bottle it for use. In nervous cases, a little may be taken dropped on a bit of sugar; and in the beginning of a bowel complaint, a tea-spoonful, taken in half a glass of peppermint water, will often prove efficacious.

387. _Eggs in Jaundice._--The yolk of an egg, either eaten raw, or slightly boiled, is perhaps the most salutary of all the animal substances. It is a natural soap, and, in all jaundice cases no food is equal to it. When the gall is either too weak, or, by accidental means, is not permitted to flow in sufficient quantity into the duodenum, our food, which consists of watery and oily parts, cannot unite so as to become chyle. Such is the nature of the yolk of an egg, that it is capable of uniting water and oil into an uniform substance, thereby making up for the deficiency of natural bile.--_Dr. A. Hunter._

388. _Aperient for Children._--Gingerbread made with oatmeal instead of flour, is a very useful aperient for children.

389. _Cramp._--Cramp in the calves of the legs is a very disagreeable complaint, to which those who have their legs confined in tight boots are subject in travelling. An effectual preventative of this pain, is to stretch out the heel of the leg as far as possible, at the same time drawing up the toes towards the body.

A garter applied tightly round the limb affected will, in most cases, speedily remove this complaint. When it is more obstinate, a brick should be heated, wrapped in a flannel bag, and placed at the foot of the bed, against which the person troubled may place his feet. _No remedy, however, is equal to that of diligent and long-continued friction._

Cramp is apt to attack the calves of the legs and toes soon after retiring to rest. Get out of bed, and exercise the muscles vigorously.

390. _For Spasms._--Mix four table-spoonsful of camphor julep and twenty drops of sal-volatile, for a dose, to be repeated twice or thrice a day.

391. _To apply Leeches._--Make the part clean and dry, and dry the leeches in a clean cloth; if this fail, scratch the surface of the skin with a point of a lancet, and apply the leech on the spot, moistened with the blood. To apply a number of leeches, put them into a very small wine-glass, which hold over them till they are fixed. If the skin be much inflamed and heated, pour a little tepid water into the water containing the leeches, before they are taken out to be applied. If sulphur be taken internally, or applied externally, leeches will not bite; neither will they bite if the skin be covered with perspiration; or if there be tobacco smoke or vinegar-vapor in the room.

All that is requisite to stop the bleeding, after the leech is taken away, is constant pressure on the spot; a piece of sponge or cotton, the size of a pin's head, is to be put upon the aperture, and kept there by cross slips of adhesive plaster spread upon linen, or the surgeon's strapping: if greater pressure be necessary, some linen may be placed between the stopper and the plaster.

392. _A useful embrocation for Rheumatism, Lumbago, or Strains._--Half an ounce of strongest camphorated spirit, one ounce spirits of turpentine, one raw egg, half pint best vinegar. Well mix the whole, and keep it closely corked. To be rubbed in three or four times a day. For rheumatism in the head, or face-ache, rub all over the back of the head and neck, as well as the part which is the immediate seat of pain.

393. _For Gout and Rheumatism._--Mix in one pound of honey one ounce of flour of sulphur, half an ounce of cream of tartar, two drachms of ginger, in powder, and half a nutmeg, grated: for rheumatism, add half a drachm of gum-guaiacum, powdered. The full dose is two tea-spoonsful at bed-time and early in the morning, in a tumbler of hot water. This is "the Chelsea Pensioners' recipe."

394. _Influenza._--Influenza is an Italian word, and means what we express in English by almost the same word, influence. The word as applied to this disease, originated from the belief held by our ancestors, of the influence of the stars upon human affairs. When a complaint suddenly appeared, and affected great numbers without an obvious cause, the visitation was ascribed to the stars. Whatever might have been the origin of the name, it is an appropriate one, for the Influenza certainly springs from some pervading influence. It may, for anything we can prove to the contrary, be occasioned by some subtle poison diffused throughout the atmosphere, which medical men call a _miasm_. Bad air, rising from marshy ground, occasions ague; and bad air arising from drains in towns, from cess-pools, and other collections of filth, gives rise to the worst kinds of fever. And it is not a matter of chance: the ague will continue in marshy countries till these are drained; and in the dirty quarters of a large town, there is sure to be typhus fever. If we cannot, in these cases, see, taste, or touch the bad air, or even smell it, we know that fens poison the air with a matter that causes ague, and animal refuse with what causes fever and many other diseases. But, the existence of a peculiar poison in the air in influenza, is very doubtful. It is likely, however, and generally believed by medical men, that influenza arises from certain states or changes in the air connected with heat and moisture. Now, though it appears in hot weather and cold, in dry and wet, it may still depend on certain conditions of the weather, just as a person will sometimes take a cough in a warm moist day, and again in a dry east wind; and just, in fact, as we see a fog, which depends on atmospheric changes, produced under different circumstances. The brisk air of the country often gives town-people a head-cold, and country people sometimes suffer in the same way when they visit town. During every season, certain people have "head-colds," coughs, and "feverish colds." These are produced by certain states of climate acting on certain states of constitution. At particular seasons such complaints abound--at others they abound still more; and again, from some singularity, they prevail so much, that people say, there is an _Influenza_.

In simple cases, confinement to a pure and temperate air, warm drinks, and a warm bath, or at least a warm foot-bath, with an extra blanket, and a little more rest than usual, keeping to mild food and toast and water, and taking, if necessary, a dose of aperient medicines--is all that is required. In serious cases, the domestic treatment must become professional. Mustard plasters to the back, relieve the head-ache. Squills, and other medicines, "loosen" the outstanding cough. Bark and wine, and even cold baths, are sometimes requisite for the weakness left behind. But these things can only be used with discrimination by a regular professional man.

395. _For the Breath._--Persons who suffer from difficulty of breathing and oppression on the chest, will find great relief from the following simple contrivance. A tea-kettle is to be kept boiling, either over a fire or over a common night-lamp or nursing-candlestick. A tin tube is to be fitted on to the spout of the tea-kettle, of such length and form as to throw the steam in front of the sick person, who will then breathe in it. This prevents the distressing sensation occasioned by inhaling the cold night air, which will be felt by persons suffering from asthma or water on the chest, and which is not obviated either by clothing or fire.

396. _To relieve Asthma._--Soak some blotting-paper in a strong solution of saltpetre; dry it, take a piece about the size of your hand, and on going to bed, light it, and lay it upon a plate in your bed-room. By doing so, persons, however badly afflicted with asthma, will find that they can sleep almost as well as when in health. (Many persons have experienced relief from the use of this specific.)

397. _Relief for Asthma--another way._--Mix two ounces of the best honey with one ounce of castor oil, and take a tea-spoonful, night and morning.

398. _Gargle for Sore Throat._--On twenty-five or thirty leaves of the common sage, pour a pint of boiling water; let the infusion stand half an hour. Add vinegar enough to make it moderately acid, and honey to the taste. Use it as a gargle, several times a day. This combination of the astringent and emollient principle seldom fails to produce the desired effect.

399. _To prevent Lamps from being pernicious to Asthmatic persons, or others liable to Complaints of the Chest._--Let a sponge, three or four inches in diameter, be moistened with pure water, and in that state be suspended by a string or wire, exactly over the flame of the lamp, at the distance of a few inches; this substance will absorb all the smoke emitted during the evening or night; after which, it should be rinsed in warm water, by which means it will be again rendered fit for use.

400. _The use of Tar-water in expanding the Lungs of Public Speakers, &c._--It has been found by the experience of many, that drinking tar-water very much deterges and opens the lungs, and thereby gives a very sensibly greater ease in speaking. A quart of tar is to be stirred six minutes in a gallon of water; but if there be somewhat less tar, it may do as well, especially at first, to try how it sits on the stomach. Take about one-fourth of a pint, at four several times, at a due distance from meals. Begin taking it in the spring for about fourteen days, and continue it for a greater length of time, as occasion may require.

401. _To prevent Danger from Wet Clothes._--Keep if possible in motion, and take care not to go near a fire or into any very warm place, so as to occasion a sudden heat, till some time after you have been able to procure dry clothes.

402. _Cold and Damp Feet._--Nothing can be more erroneous than the notion that by pouring spirits into boots and shoes, when the feet are wet, will prevent the effects of cold; on the contrary, the practice often produces cold, inflammation, and obstruction in the bowels. When the spirit reaches the feet, it immediately evaporates: the stronger it is, the more quickly it evaporates, and the greater is the cold produced.

403. _For Whooping Cough._--Mix two tea-spoonfuls of paregoric elixir, one table-spoonful of oxymel of squills, and the same quantity of water and mucilage of gum-arabic. A tea-spoonful may be taken three or four times a-day, or when the cough is troublesome.

Treat the whooping cough with the same care as you would any other cough. Keep the children warmly clothed, and dryly lodged, and in the house, at all times, except in warm sunny days, when air and exercise in moderation, observing that they do not overheat themselves, may do good. Put their feet in a pan of warm water just before they go to bed, and be careful to wipe them dry and wrap them in flannel. During the day they must wear woollen stockings and thick-soled shoes. Let their drink be toast-water, tea and raspberry vinegar mixed with water, two table-spoonfuls to a half-pint, or less if it be very sharp. Red or black currant-jelly dissolved in water makes a pleasant, cool drink. Be sure you give no kind of quack medicines--but an occasional dose of simple opening medicine, if the bowels are confined; and a quarter of a grain, or half a grain of plain ipecacuanha powder in a tea-spoonful of gruel or jelly at bed-time. Rub the chest and between the shoulders, with equal parts of rum and turpentine, adding a little oil, if it is too harsh for the skin. The child might suck an ipecacuanha lozenge two or three times a-day. Effervescent, saline draughts are very grateful and beneficial, where there is not only continual nausea, but frequent sickness from the spasmodic nature of the cough. If it be attended with pain in the chest or side, seek advice from a medical man without delay.

404. _For common Coughs._--Mix one ounce of oil of almonds, one drachm of powdered gum arabic, one ounce of syrup, and one ounce and a half of water; take a tea-spoonful or two occasionally.

405. _Winter Cough._--Mix two ounces of oxymel of stramonium with six ounces of the decoction of Iceland moss; take a dessert-spoonful when the cough is troublesome.

406. _For Cough and Hoarseness._--Beat well a newly laid egg, and stir it into a quarter of a pint of new milk, warmed, to which add a table-spoonful of capillaire.

A piece of anchovy will almost instantly restore the just tone of voice to any one who has become hoarse by public speaking.

407. _White Mixture for Coughs._--Beat well the yolk of an egg, mix with it in a mortar half a drachm of powdered spermaceti, a little loaf sugar and twenty drops of laudanum (tincture of opium); add a gill of water, and mix well: a table-spoonful of this mixture will relieve an obstinate cough.

Or, mix half a pint of almond emulsion, two drachms of syrup of poppies, the same of oxymel of squills, and one drachm of powder of gum tragacanth; two table-spoonfuls to be taken often.

408. _Colds._--A daily exposure to the outward air is absolutely necessary to secure us against the injurious influence of our variable climate. For cure of catarrh, reduce the amount of food, take exercise, keep the bowels open, and bathe the feet in warm water at bed-time.--_Henderson._

409. _For a Cold in the Head._--What is called a head-bath is useful. Fill a wash-hand basin with boiling water, and add an ounce of flour of mustard; then hold the head, covered with a cloth to prevent the escape of the steam, over the basin as long as any steam arises.

410. _For a troublesome Cough._--Take of treacle and the best white wine vinegar six table-spoonfuls each; add forty drops of laudanum; mix it well, and put it into a bottle. A tea-spoonful to be taken occasionally when the cough is troublesome.

411. _For a sudden Hoarseness._--Mix one tea-spoonful of sweet spirits of nitre in a wine-glassful of water. This may be taken two or three times a day.

412. _Hoarseness._--A piece of flannel, dipped in brandy, and applied to the chest, and covered with a dry flannel, is to be worn all night. Four or six small onions, boiled, and put on buttered toast, and eaten for supper, are likewise good for colds on the chest.

413.--_Children's Coughs._--A few tea-spoonfuls of warm treacle taken occasionally, and particularly at bed-time, or when the cough is troublesome, will be found beneficial, especially for infants and children.

414. _For a "hacking" Cough._--Dissolve an ounce of mutton suet in a pint of milk, and drink it warm.

415. _For a Cough._--Mix vinegar and treacle in equal quantities, and let a tea-spoonful be taken occasionally, when the cough is troublesome. This is the recipe of Dr. James, of Carlisle.

416. _Quinsy, or Ulcerated Sore Throat._--Bake or roast three or four large onions or six smaller ones, till soft. Peel them quickly, and beat them flat with a rolling-pin or glass bottle. Then put them immediately in a thin muslin bag that will reach from ear to ear, and about three inches deep. Apply it speedily, and as warm as possible, to the throat. Keep it on day and night, changing it when the strength of the onions appears to be exhausted, and substituting fresh ones. Flannel must be worn round the neck after the poultice is removed.

417. _Saline Draught._--Dissolve one scruple of carbonate of potassa, (salt of tartar), in a table-spoonful of lemon-juice, and three table-spoonfuls of water; sweeten with lump sugar, and drink while it effervesces. This is an excellent remedy for sore throats, nausea, &c.

418. _Another._--Dissolve one drachm each of nitric acid and carbonate of potassa in three-quarters of a pint of water; add one ounce each of syrup of orange-peel and spirit of nutmeg, and mix. Two table-spoonfuls to be taken in fevers and inflammatory sore throats.

419. _To make Gargles._--For relaxed sore throat, mix five ounces of Cayenne pepper gargle, two ounces of infusion of roses, and one ounce of syrup of roses.

Or, mix with the Cayenne pepper gargle, three ounces of vinegar, three drachms of tincture of myrrh, and four drachms of honey of roses.

For inflammatory sore throats, mix six ounces of infusion of roses, one ounce of tincture of myrrh, and one ounce of honey of roses.

Or, mix one drachm and a half of saltpetre, two ounces of honey, and six ounces of rose-water.

For scorbutic gums, mix six ounces of infusion of roses, one ounce of borax, and one ounce of honey of roses.

To make the Cayenne pepper gargle, pour six ounces of boiling water upon one scruple of Cayenne pepper; cover it, and let it stand for three hours.

420. _To cure Hiccough._--This is caused by flatulency, indigestion, and acidity. It may be relieved generally by a sudden fright or surprise, or any sudden application of cold; also by drinking cold water slowly; eating a small piece of ice, taking a pinch of snuff, or anything that excites coughing. Or, take one tea-spoonful of common vinegar.

421. _A simple cure for Dysentery--which has never failed._--Take some butter off the churn, immediately after being churned, just as it is, without being salted or washed; clarify it over the fire like honey. Skim off all the milky particles when melted over a clear fire. Let the patient (if an adult) take two table-spoonfuls of the clarified remainder, twice or thrice within the day. This has never failed to effect a cure, and in many cases it has been almost instantaneous.

422. _For Diarrhœa._--Fill a tea-cup with dry flour, press it down, and cover it with a buttered cloth, tying it very closely; boil it three hours, when turn it out to cool into a hard mass. Grate a tea or a dessert-spoonful of it into peppermint water for children, or into a glass of port wine for adults.

423. _Chalk Mixture._--Mix half an ounce of prepared chalk, the same of lump sugar, and one ounce of powdered gum Arabic, with a pint of water. This is an excellent remedy for diarrhœa.

424. _Fig Paste for Constipation._--Cut up small one pound of figs, and mix it with two ounces of senna carefully picked over, and one tea-cupful of molasses; stew it till it becomes thoroughly mixed and firm; then cool it. A piece about half as large as a fig will generally be sufficient.

425. _Laxatives._--Infusions of Epsom salts and senna are often taken as laxatives, or opening medicines. It is a well-known fact, that a tea-spoonful of salts in a tumbler of cold water, if drunk before breakfast, is as effectual a dose as the usual ounce. Senna, too, if steeped in cold water, is equally efficacious, and free from the nauseous bitter taste which it has when infused in boiling water.

426. _To cure Boils._--Boil in half a pint of milk one table-spoonful of shot; pour it off, and drink it in small doses.

427. _To cure a Felon._--A felon generally appears on the end of the fingers or thumbs; it is extremely painful for weeks, and sometimes for months, and, in most cases, cripples or disfigures the finger or thumb that falls a victim to it. But it can easily be cured, if attended to in time. As soon as the pain is felt, take the thin white skin of an egg, which is found inside next to the shell; put it round the end of the finger or thumb affected, and keep it there until the pain subsides. As soon as the skin becomes dry, it will be very painful, and likely continue so for half an hour or more; but be not alarmed. If it grows painful, bear it; it will be of short duration in comparison to what the disease would be. A cure will be certain.

BURNS AND SCALDS.

428. We mention several remedies which have obtained popular reputation in these accidents, and which are valuable not only as giving more or less relief, but as being generally at hand, or to be readily procured in every dwelling. They are, wheat flour, which may be thickly sprinkled over the injured parts with a common kitchen dredger, till a perfect crust is formed--an excellent application. Finely-scraped chalk or magnesia, applied in the same way. These act both by excluding the atmospheric air, and absorbing the fluid secreted by the vessels of the inflamed surface. Another application reported to be very efficacious in allaying the pain, is a piece of lint wetted with a saturated solution of carbonate of soda. A poultice of grated raw turnip or potato, applied cold, is quickly productive of ease in slight burns, but requires renewing often enough to keep up the sensation of coldness.

429. _Burns._--Apply to, or wrap round the burnt part, some folds of cotton bought in sheets; however severe the pain may be, it will abate in a few hours. Should blisters arise, they may next day be carefully pricked with a needle, so as to break the skin as little as possible; and the cotton kept on till the cure is effected.

430. _A remedy for a Burn or Scald._--Apply immediately a thick covering of wool to the burnt part, and bind it on tight; in the course of half an hour very little pain will be felt, and scarcely any blister will remain. As this remedy is so simple, no housekeeper should be without loose wool at hand, in case of an accident. This remedy was discovered by the child of a woolcomber having been dreadfully scalded: its mother laid it in a basket of newly carded wool, whilst she ran for a doctor; when she returned, she found the child fast asleep amongst the wool, and when it awoke the excessive pain had subsided. We have frequently tried it, and invariably with success.

431. _For Burns and Scalds._--Plunge the injured part into cold spring or ice water; or, lay on it pounded ice wrapped in linen.

Or, dissolve four ounces of alum in a quart of hot water; dip a cloth into it, and lay it on the part. As soon as it becomes hot and dry, repeat the application.

Apply to a burn, bruise, or cut, the moist surface of the inside coating of the shell of a raw egg; it will adhere of itself, and heal without pain.

432. _Efficacy of Vinegar in curing Burns and Scalds._--Vinegar is a great antiseptic and corrector of putrescence and mortification. The progressive tendency of burns of the unfavorable kind, or those that are ill-treated, is to putrescence and mortification. When the outward skin is not broken, it may be freely used every hour or two; where the skin is broken, and if it gives pain, it must be gently used. But, equal parts of tepid vinegar and water applied every three or four hours, is the best rule to be directed by.

433. _Vitriol Accidents._--For a burn by vitriol, or any similar cause, lay on, with a feather, the white of eggs mixed with powdered chalk, and immediate relief will follow.

Or, immediately after the accident, plunge the scalded limb in spirit of turpentine, and keep it there a few minutes.

Or, dissolve in water or fresh soap-boilers' lees, a little soda or potash, and apply it instantly, and it will prevent all injury to the person or clothing.

FEVERS.

434. Feverish symptoms in young children may be reduced, and often entirely cured by sponging in tepid or cold water, according to the age and condition of the patient. Rest, in a clean bed, after sponging, is necessary. Should the fever continue, a gentle emetic may be given. Cold water is the best beverage in fevers, but if very thirsty, give the child a little warm tea.

435. _Dr. Dickson's cure for a Fever._--When a man is hot, and his skin dry all over, no matter what the cause be, you may bring his condition to the state of health by throwing cold water over him. You may do the same by an emetic. Oh! an emetic has a wonderful power in fever; and the old physicians treated all fevers in the first instance by emetics. They did not trouble themselves much about the cause. The _state_ of the patient was what they cared most about. When he was cold, they warmed him, sometimes with one thing, sometimes with another. When hot, they cooled him; not in the Sangrado fashion of these days, by draining him of his life's blood; but by the employment of an emetic, or by sponging him over with cold water!

436. _Easy and almost instantaneous cure for the Fever and Ague._--An hour or two before the fit comes on, take a new-laid egg, in a glass of vinegar or brandy, and go to bed immediately.

This very simple recipe has cured a great many, after more celebrated preparations have proved unsuccessful.

437. _Cure for Yellow Fever._--The New Orleans Tropic gives the following recipe, which is said to be used with great success in Mexico, in cases of yellow fever: "A tumbler two-thirds full of olive oil, well mixed with the juice of _two limes_, and a tea-spoonful of fine table salt, is the common remedy in that country; that he has seen it used in hundreds of cases, many of them the most desperate he ever saw, and that he never knew it fail to produce a cure in a solitary instance! It sometimes causes the patient to vomit; in such cases it should be repeated until the stomach will retain it."

438. _Treatment of Scarlet Fever--important prescription._--Dr. Lindsly, of Washington, strongly recommends the mode of treatment of scarlet fever, resorted to by Dr. Schneemann, physician to the King of Hanover. It is as follows, and exceedingly simple:

_Treatment of Scarlet Fever by inunction._--From the first day of the illness, and as soon as we are certain of its nature, the patient must be rubbed morning and evening over the whole body with a piece of bacon, in such a manner that, with the exception of the head, a covering of fat is everywhere applied. In order to make this rubbing-in somewhat easier, it is best to take a piece of bacon the size of the hand, choosing a part still armed with the rind, that we may have a firm grasp. On the soft side of this piece slits are to be made, in order to allow the oozing out of the fat. The rubbing must be thoroughly performed, and not too quickly, in order that the skin may be regularly saturated with the fat. The beneficial results of the application are soon obvious; with a rapidity bordering on magic, all, even the most painful symptoms of the disease are allayed; quiet, sleep, good humor, appetite, return; and there remains only the impatience to quit the sick room.

439. _Inflammatory Fevers._--In diseases termed "inflammatory," what measure so ready or so efficacious as to dash a pitcher or two of cold water over the patient--_Cold Affusion_, as it is called? Whilst serving in the army, I cured hundreds of inflammatory fevers in this manner--fevers, that, in the higher ranks of society, under the bleeding and starving systems--would have kept an apothecary and physician--to say nothing of nurses and cuppers--visiting the patient twice or thrice a day for a month, if he happened to live so long.

Gentlemen, with the cold dash you may easily,

"While others meanly take whole months to slay,
Produce a cure in half a summer's day."--DR. DICKSON.

440. _Beverage for Fevers._--Boil two drachms of powdered alum in a pint of milk, and strain. The draught is a wine-glassful.

441. _Mustard Poultices._--Make a bag of the size required of fine, close muslin; mix equal quantities of mustard and flour, (or a larger proportion of mustard, should the case require it), with boiling water, until of a proper consistency. Fill the bag with it; sew it up, and, covering it with a handkerchief or piece of clean, soft linen, apply it to the part affected. When it has been on long enough, take it off, and lay on another piece of soft linen.