medical brethren know of my plan, so that

they may be able to supply the same remedy without delay. All the cases in

which I used it, were very marked, and the epidermis (outer or scarfskin) on the

arms, in each case, came away like the skin of a snake. The following was

the exact treatment followed in each case:

" The patients were thoroughly anointed twice daily with sulphur ointment

[the sulphur ointment used was made by the London Pharmacopoeia as follows:

sulphur, 4 ozs. lard, 3^ lb. oil of bergamot, 20 minims (drops); mixed]; giving

5 to 10 grains of sulphur in a little jam, or jelly, 3 times a day, according to

the age of the child and severity of the case.

Sufficient sulphur was also

burned, twice daily (on coals on a shovel), to fill the room with the fumes, and,

of course, was thoroughly inhaled by the patient.

" Under this mode of treatment each case improved immediately, and none

was over 8 days in making a complete recovery; and I firmly believe in each;

it was prevented from spreading by the treatment adopted.

Having had a large

experience in scarlet fever last year and this, I feel some confidence in my own

judgment, and I am of the opinion that the very mildest cases I ever saw do

not do half as well as bad cases do by the sulphur treatment, and as far as I

can judge sulphur is as near a specific (positive cure) for scarlet fever as pos;

;

sible."

Remarks.

—I can see no reason why the milk, as indicated under the head

of milk in diarrhea, dysentery, etc., may not be given with the sulphur treat-

ment; I believe both to be good; and as I see the medical journals speak with

such confidence of Dr. Pigeon's sulphur treatment, I place also great confidence in it, and recommend it most heartily.

2. Scarlet Fever, Sulphurous Acid Treatment of.— Dr. L.

Waterman, of Indianapolis, Ind., in an epidemic there, in 1876, gives his experience in the use of sulphurous acid.

He says:

"I early adopted an anti-zymotic (anti-poisoning) principle, the administration of 10 to 30 drops, every 2, 3, or 4 hours, of sulphurous acid, diluted,

in a little water.

I treated eleven severe cases.

The ten treated after its adoption recovered.

3.

Scarlet Fever, Simple Remedy, or "Warm Lemonade for.

—An eminent physician says he cures 99 out of every 100 cases of scarlet fever

by giving the patient warm lemonade with gum arable dissolved in it.

A cloth

wrung out in hot water and laid upon the stomach should be removed as rapidly

as it becomes cool.

A

Remarks.

writer in Good HeaXih gives the philosophy of the above

treatment, with the warm lemonade, with an addition (which I know to be valuable), the wet hot sheet, or pack, over or around the whole body, guaranteeing

that not one in one hundred will die of scarlet fever, if this treatment is pro-

perly carried out.

4.

He says:

Scarlet Fever, Unnecessary for a Child to die with it.—

" It is as unnecessary for a child to die of scarlet fever, as it is that it should be

blind with cataract.

Let us see: At any time before the body has finished its

by wonderful medicines, but by

* * * *

the knowledge of anatomy, and the application of common sense.

ineffectual struggle we are able to help it, not

Undress the child and place it in bed at the very first sign of sickness. Give it,

has already fever, sourish warm lemonade, with some gum arable in it,

if it

DR. CEASE'S RECIPES.

64

Then cover its abdomen with some dry flannel. Take a well folded bed sheet

and put it in boiling water; wring it out and put this over the whole body and

The hot

wait.

cloth will perhaps require repeated heating; according to the

Perspiration will commence in the

The child then is saved; it soon falls

severity of the case and its stage of progress.

child in from 10 minutes to 2 hours.

asleep.

place.

The hot, wet sheet must be continued, however, till perspiration takes

Soon after the child awakes it shows slight symptoms of returning in-

clinations for food; help its bowels, if necessary, with injections of

and water, and its recovery

oil,

"oap

will be as steady as the growth of a green-house

Of course if the child is already dying nothing can

With this treatment I will guarantee that not one in a hundred chil-

plant, if well treated.

save

it.

dren with scarlet fever will die."

Remarks. I once succeeded in curing scarlet fever in one of my own children, before I had read medicine, by the cold pack, or sheet, but I should not

try it again I know the hot is better the strain or struggle of the system

being much less, and consequently the most safe and satisfactory. There is no

doubt of the value of the foregoing treatment, but any of the others may be

tried, according to the conveniences to be obtained in different places.

—

—

5.

—

Scarlet Fever

and Small Pox— Successful Treatment. —

Dr. W. Fields, of Wilmington, Delaware, says to one of the medical journals:

" Having had much experience in the cure of scarlet fever and small pox

of the most malignant type, I would thank you, for the sake of humanity, to

publish a recipe, which, if faithfully carried out, will cure 45 cases out of every

50, without calling on a physician.

Scarlet Fever.

I.

" For adults give 1 table-spoonful of brewers' yeast in

3 table-spoonfuls of water, 3 times a day; and if the throat is much swollen garfle with the yeast, and apply the yeast to the throat as a poultice; mix with

ndian meal. Use plenty of catnip tea to keep the eruption out on the skin for

several days.

II.

Small Pox. " Use the above doses of yeast 3 times a day, and milk

diet throughout the disease.

Nearly every case can be cured without leaving a

—

—

pock mark."

Remarks.

— I have had this used, in scarlet fever, with very great satisfaction.

Scarlet Fever— Length of Time Dangerous to Others.—

In this disease the parent and the school teacher are often concerned to know

how long a time must elapse before it is safe to admit those who have had the

disease to mingle with other children, or with the family, and go to school.

For a month, at least, the body of a scarlet fever patient is casting off

scales, or particles, from the skin.

The nose, throat, bowels and kidneys are

also throwing off poisonous matter for this length of time, which will communicate the disease to others.

The cliief danger, however, is from the skin, as

this is the main outlet for the blood poison to escape, and every scale or particle of dry dust from the skin carries the infection.

6.

Therefore greasing tlie patient, by rubbing a bacon rind over them, which,

by some, has been recommended as beneficial to the patient, will certainty do

this good, i. e. it will keep these minute scales from rising into the air, and thus

prevent the communication of the disease to others from this source. Bu* a

Dr. Chapin, in a communication to the Brief, of St. Louis, informs its readers

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

that he has used the ham fat (as he calls the

65

bacon rind) in every case for 20

have treated some

years, and has lost but few patients since using it, and must

hundreds, and gives the following as his plan;

"As soon as I diagnose (i. e.,

determine it to be) a case of scarlet fever, I have the patient put on Canton flannel, or better, if in winter, tine all wool underclothing; then cut a piece of rind

from a pretty fat, fresh smoked ham, with a half inch of the fat upon it; then

warm the hand, also the slice of ham, rub the hand on the fat, and then on the

(The author cannot see why

patient, till they are well covered, except the face.

the fat may not be rubbed directly upon the surface, rather think it is the best

plan, then rub it in with the hand.) Do this night and morning as long as the

eruptions and fever continue; put them in bed, cover up warm and give as

much cold water as they hke. (I prefer the warm lemonade if agreeable to the

child, as named above in

No. 3.)

The greasing is very satisfactory, allaying

the burning and itching, which are so annoying."

(See also the sulphur oint-

ment in No. 1 of scarlet fever; note for making it.)

7.

Scarlet Fever— To Prevent its Spread.

— Scarlet fever has been

so prevalent and so fatal, for several years past, it has

become of the utmost

importance to prevent its spreading in schools as well as in families, and the

above thoughts and statements being so fully corroborated by the following circular, prepared by the Boston Board of Health, and sent to every house in that

city, I have deemed it best to give it in full.

" Scarlet fever

It says:

pox in its power to spread rapidly from

person to person. It is highly contagious (catching). The disease shows its

first signs in about one weefi after e.xposure, as a general rule, and persons who

I.

is

like small

escape the illness during a fortnight after exposure may feel themselves safe

from attack. Scarlet fever, scarlatina, canker, rash and rash fever, are names

of one and the same dangerous disease.

" When a case of scarlet fever occurs in any family, the sick person

II.

should be placed in a rot)m apart from the other inmates of the house (an upper

room is best), and should be nursed as far as possible by one person only. The

sick chamber should be well ventilated and well warmed; its furniture should

be such as will permit of cleansing without injury, and all extra articles, such

as window drapery and woolen carpets, should be removed from the room.

The family should not mingle with other people. Visitors to an infected house

should be warned of the presence of a dangerous disease therein, and children

especially should not be admitted.

" On recovery the sick person should not mingle with the well until

III.

month

the roughness of the skin, due to the disease, shall have disappeared.

The clothing

is considered an average period during which isolation is needed.

before being worn or used by the patient or the nurse, should be cleansed by

boiling for at least one hour, or if that cannot be done, by free and prolonged

exposure to out door air and sunlight. The walls of the room should be dryrubbed, and the cloths used for that purpose should be burned without previous shaking. The ceiling should be .scraped and whitewashed, the floor should

be washed with soap and water, and carbolic acid may be added to the water,

1 pt. to 3 or 4 gals.

The infected clothing should be cleansed by itself, and not

sent to the laundry.

IV. " In cases of death from scarlet fever, the funeral services should be

Because chilstrictly private, and the corpse should not be exposed to view.

dren are especially liable to take and to spread scarlet fever, and because

A

5

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

68

schools afford a free opportunity for this, the Board of Health has excluded

from school every child from any family in which a case of the disease has

occurred, and has decreed that the absence shall continue four weeks from the

beginning of the attack, except in cases subject to the discretion of the Board,

and that the scholar to be re-admitted to his school-room must have the certificate of a physician that the required time has passed."

Remarks.

— think the above directions are so plainly given that they will

I

be readily understood, and if properly followed out, the spread of this disease

will be almost, if not wholly prevented.

I will say, however, that the use of

the carbolic acid is not as much used as a disinfectant as formerly. See " Copperas Solution of the National Board." This and zinc solution will answer for

all purposes, and are not only cheap, but absolutely reliable.

1.

TYPHOID FEVER — Treatment in Its More Malignant

Character.

—The malignant character of this disease not being as prevalent in

the North as in the South, I will first give the treatment used by Dr. J. J. Jones,

of Conway Station, Ark., reported through the Medical Brief, of St. Louis, who

has treated this disease in all its grades for over 25 years. "When it takes on its

malignant character of dysentery or pneumonia, which are inflammatory and

dangerous if not properly met or treated in their commencement, he said that

after testing various modes of treatment, he adopted the following:

I.

First cleanse the alimentary canal with syrup of rhubarb and bi-carbon-

ate of soda.

IL

Follow this with spirits of turpentine, 30 drops;

oil

of sassafras, 6

drops; tinct. opium (laudanum) 25 drops;

eggs well sweetened with loaf sugar.

this emulsion every 3 hours.

III.

If the pulse is full

mix into well beaten whites of two

Dosk Give an adult 1 table-spoonful of

—

and firm, and over 100 per minute, give the fol-

lowing: Tincture of gelseminum, 1 oz.

;

fluid extract of aconite (of the root

—

3^ dr. spirits of niter, 2^^ drs. mix. Dose Give 10 to 15 drops, for an

adult, every 3 hours, until the pulse drops below 100.

[The author would say,

is best),

;

;

—

keep the pulse under 100, giving this alternately with the emulsion first one,

but these drops must not be continued to

reduce the pulse much below 100 at the first. If it does this, lessen the dose, or

then, 1)4 hours after, the other;

make it 4 or 5 hours apart.]

lY. To control the temperature (heat of the surface), if it runs very high,

which it frequently does, we resort to the wet sheet pack, as It is an important

agent in the successful treatment of typhus and typhoid fevers.

Use vinegar

and spirits of camphor in place of water to wet the sheet, as it is much more

sedative (calming, allaying irritation and pain), and less dangerous than water.

After the pulse and temperature is brought below 100, we give large doses of

tinct. of iron (muriated tinct. of iron is meant, and 15 to 20 drops would be

large enough, once in 3 or 4 hours), checking the diarrhea, which is so common

in typhoid fever.

Alternate this (the iron tincture) with pure hard cider or

lemonade. Diet: dried-beef tea, and milk gruel seasoned with pepper; give

egg-nog if there are pneumonic symptoms.

Remarks.

It would be well to say here, see " Use of Milk in Diarrhea»

—

'

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

Dysentery, etc."

I also say that

—

'

W

my own plan has been to sponge the whole

surface with bay rum and water (equal parts), sufficiently often to keep down

if bay rum is too expensive, use whiskey and water

warm, if preferred by the patient; or vinegar and spirits of camphor will be

good, if the heat is not too excessive. The bay rum, however, is more agreeThe patient can do

able in flavor, especially for use about the face and hands.

this face sponging as often as the heat demands it, keeping a dish of the mix-

the excessive heat; and

ture and a small sponge near for the purpose.

If the sponging, in place of the

wet sheet, is resorted to, let it be done as often as the comfort of the patient

demands it doing it under tlie bed clothes, to avoid any exposure to cold air.

The lemonade recommended by Dr. Jones, or some of the drinks for fever

patients in other parts of this work, would be very desirable; but what he calls

"pure hard cider," unless reduced with cold water, would generally, I think,

be a little too " hard; " however, it can soon be ascertained by trial. Whatever

—

the patient craves in the line of drink or food, I believe in allowing moderately;

and never to refuse even cold water right from the well or spring, as old allopathy used to do in the years " auld lang syne," by which, I have not a doubt,

thousands of persons, burning up with fever, have lost their lives, where, if

water had been allowed, they might just as well have been saved to their friends

and usefulness. So well satisfied am I of this, that I cannot but give an incident reported recently by a Dr. Fairchild while lecturing in New York. Touching upon the old plan of the doctors not allowing water to fever patients, he

gives the case of his uncle in the South, while slavery was in force, as follows:

" My own uncle, for one, lay, as we supposed, at the point of death.

"A trusty old colored man, his watchman, was called to his bed about midnight.

Speaking just above a whisper, he said:

" 'Abe, I am going to ask of you just one last request. Will you grant it?

" Yes, massa, anything you ask, I do.'

" ' Take the old wooden jug; go to the spring back of the barn, fill it with

cold water and bring it to me quick.'

" 'Oh, massa, massa, anything else you ask, I'll do. Do you know what

missus and doctor said?

no water, no water.'

" 'Abe, you go; if you don't and I live, I'll shoot you dead.'

"After deliberating for a moment, he said, 'Massa, I go.'

" It was brought to him. He drank his fill. By morning every drop was

The fever broke. He fell into a quiet, peaceful sleep, and was soon

gone.

restored to health.

And not until then, was any one told what cured him.

" Such examples as these finally changed the system of treating fevers. In

this specific disease common sense is, at last, master of the situation."

It is to be hoped that such a condition of suffering and final death, as above

spoken of, may never be allowed to gain the ascendency with any class of phy'

—

'

sicians again.

Typhoid Fever, the Value of Coffee in.— Dr.

Guillasse, of

the French Navy, on typhoid fever, says: "Coffee has given us

unhoped for

2.

having dispensed it, we find, to our great surprise, that its

No sooner have our patients taken a few

table-spoonfuls of it than their features become relaxed, and they come to their

senses.

The next day the improvement is such that we are tempted to look

upon coffee as a specific (positive cure) for typhoid fever. Under its influence

satisfaction; after

action is as

prompt as it is decisive.

DR. CEASE'S RECIPES.

68

the stupor is dispelled, and the patient rouses from the state of somnolency in

which he has been since the invasion of the disease. Soon all the functions

take their natural course, and he enters upon convalescence." Dose Dr. Guillasse gives to an adult 2 or 3 table-spoonfuls of strong, black coffee every two

hours, alternated with 1 or 2 tea-spoonfuls of claret or Burgundy wine. A little

lemonade or citrate of magnesia should be taken daily, and after awhile quinine.

From the fact that malaria and cerebral fever appear first, i. e., a general prostration, with head, or brain fever, accompanied with stupor, or great

tendency to sleep, somnolency, from the Latin soimuis, to sleep. The doctor

regards typhoid fever as a nervous disease, and the coffee acting on the nerves

—

is peculiarly indicated in the early stages before local

complications arise.

DISINFECTANTS FOR ALL CONTAGIOUS DISEASES— FOR

THE SICK-ROOM, BODY AND BED-CLOTHING,

WATER-CLOSETS, SEWERS, ETC.

The following instructions were published in the Hospital Gazette by the

National Board of Health, which was composed of some of the most prominent men in the medical profession, as will be seen by the