syrup licorice,

3 ozs.

BALM

—

OF GILEAD BUDS, TINCTURE OF—For Cuts,

1.

Bruises, etc. Take any sized bottle and fill it, loosely, with Balm of Gilead

buds, which have been bruised or cut into two or three pieces, then fill with

good whiskey or diluted alcohol (half water, half alcohol), cork and shake

occasionally for a week or ten days, when it will be ready for use, for wetting

bandages applied to cuts, bruises, wounds, sores, etc.

Gilead Ointment," and remarks following.

more healing than the Balm of Gilead buds.

(See also

"Balm of

There is nothing known to be

—

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

216

For Coughs and Sore Lungs.— Mix equal parts of honey with

2.

Vhe tincture and take 1 or 2 tea-spoonfuls 3 or 4 times a day.

It is

considered

expectorant, diuretic and somewhat stimulant and tonic.

TUMORS, POISONED WOUNDS, AND WILD VINE POISONINGS —Earth Cure for. — Take the stratum of clay used for making the

best red brick, which lies immediately below the soil,

Dry in the sun so it can

be put through a sieve; keep in air-tight jars; mix with hot water until of the

consistency of putty, and apply warm, with a knife, over the tumor, half an inch

thick; cover with light brown paper, then bandage with a good strong bandage,

and keep it on 24 to 48 hours. This has caused some wonderful cures, I am

told.

It is also good for some forms of rheumatism, dropsy and poisoned

wounds. Housekeeper.

Remarks. I have no knowledge, only my judgment, as to the value of this

for tumors, but knowing the clay cure to be positive in drawing out the poisonous effects, swelling, soreness, etc., when poisoned by ivy, I know it will be

valuable in poisoned wounds and, I believe, even good for mad dog bites, if

applied quickly after cauterizing; and, therefore, I judge it good for tumors.

The clay is very absorbing. I should, however, change it as often as the covering gets dry. (See also Poisoning by Poison Ivy, etc.)

—

DIURETICS, VALUABLE.— I.

1 oz.

;

Buchu and uva ursi, leaves of each,

Mix and divide into 3 powders or parcels,

Directions and Dose Pour upon one of these parts a quart of boil-

pareira brava root, 1 oz.

evenly.

—

ing water, in a covered tin pail or fruit jar. When cool enough to drink, take

1 to 3 moderate swallows every 2 or 3 hours, so as to increase the flow of urine,

which will use up the quart in about 2 days. If to be kept longer, 6 ozs of

good gin will prevent its souring, if strained from the dregs.

Used in catarrh

of the bladder, irritation of the kidneys, uretha, etc.

II.

Take buchu leaves, 2 ozs. and treat as in I.

,

;

when cool add 1 tea-

spoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, and 30 drops of fl. ex. of hyoscyamus, and

drink all in 2 days. Use more than the above in cases where there is mucus of a

stringy character passed in the urine.

After a day or two, repeat the same until

If much irritation of the uretha, get 1 oz. of sub-nitrate of

bismuth

and put into 8 ozs. of soft water, and inject J^ oz. into the urethra 3 times daily,

shaking before pouring out; else, obtain "Humphrey's Marvel of Healing,"

and add 3 times 'as much water as of the "Marvel," and inject in its place.

These are

Either is excellent. Retain them 2 or 3 minutes, whichever is used.

good for any case requiring diuretics.

relieved.

HOT WATER CURE—Directions for Using.— The following

instructions as to the manner of using hot watei as a means of restoring health

to a generally debilitated or exhausted system, I take from the Medical Brief,

thinking the explanation and directions here given will enable many of our

readers to obtain additional helps, over and above what are given under the

head of Hot Water in Consumption, Dyspepsia, etc. I have been unable to

find where Dr. Salisbury's institute

is located, or anything further than given

in tJiis quotation, and the different items referred to in this book, as above indi-

i

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

217

but as I have been using it with satisfaction in several cases of dyspepsia

will be found

generally useful.

it

say that I

I will here

recommend the water to be heated to 140° F. in summer, and 145° to 150° in win-

cated

I

;

think

^ of a pint as a general thing, and taken about J^

% of an hour before meals. If one should be very thirsty at bed-time, then

ter, in quantity about J^ to

to

also, but not unless necessary to allay thirst.

I.

" The Water Must be Hot, Not Cold JVbr Lukewarm.— This is to excite

muscuCold water depresses, as it uses animal heat

to bring it up to the temperature of the economy (body), and there is also a loss

of nerve force in the proceeding. Lukewarm water excites upward peristalsis,

or vomiting, as is well-known. By hot water is meant a temperature of 110°

to 150° Fahrenheit, such as is commonly liked in the use of tea and coffee. In

cases of hemorrhage, the temperature should be at blood heat (98° F.).

Ice-

peristalsis (like peristaltic, a successive contraction and relaxing of the

lar coats) of the alimentary canal.

T/ater is disallowed in all cases, sick or well.

II.

" Quantity of Hot Water at a Draught.

—Dr. Salisbury

first

began

"with one-half pint of hot water, but he found that it was not enough to wash out,

nor to bear another test founded on the physiological fact that the urine of a

healthy babe suckling a healthy mother the best standard of health stands at

a specific gravity varying from 1.015 to 1.020. The urine of the patient should

be made to conform to this standard, and the daily use of the urinometer (an

instrument for telling the specific gravity of the urine, but not generally necessary to have nor obtain except in hot-water cures) tells whether the patient

drinks enough or too much hot water.

—

—

"For example, if the specific gravity of the urine stands at 1.030°, more

hot water should be drank, unless there is loss by sweating. On the other hand,

should the specific gravity of the urine fall to 1.010, less hot water should be

drank.

The quantity of hot water varies usually from 3^ pt. to 1)^ pts. at one

time of drinking.

"The urine to be tested should be the urina sanguinis, or that passed just

after rising from bed in the morning, before any meals or drinks are taken.

" The quantity of urine voided in 24 hours should measure from 48 to 64

The amount will, of course, vary somewhat with tlie temperature of the atmosphere, exercise, sweating, etc., but the hot water must be

ozs. (IJ^ to 2 qts.).

given so as to keep the specific gravity of the infant's standard, to wit: 1.015 to

1.020.

The urinometer will detect, at once, whether the proper amount of hot

water has been drank, no matter whether the patient is present or absent.

Another test is that of odor. The urine should be devoid of the rank urinous

[The absence of this " rank smell " is

a sufficient guide for home tests; take enough to get rid of this rank odor, is all

smell, so well known, but indescribable.

sutficient.]

" The Salisbury Plans aim for this in all cases, and when the patients are

[If a patient will not be true to himself,

true and faithful, tlie aim is realized.

or herself, you may as well give up trying at once.]

" Times of Taking Hot Water.

III.

One to two hours before each meal,

—

and half an hour before retiring at night.

[I have taken it myself, and so recom*

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

518

mended to others, half or three-fourths of an hour, only, before each meal, and

have never known vomiting, or even sickness of the stomach to arise.]

"At first. Dr. Salisbury tried the time of one-half hour before meals, but

this was apt to be followed by vomiting.

[I have not so found it.]

One hour

to 2 hours allows the hot water time enough to get out of the stomach before

the] food enters, or sleep comes,

and thus avoids vomiting. Four times a day

gives an amount of hot water sufficient to bring the urine to the right specific

gravity, quantity, color, odor, and freedom from deposit, on cooling.

[There

is probably something of importance in these points,

rate,

but I have, as yet, at any

only recommended to take it 3 times daily, unless thirsty at bed-time.] If

a patient leaves out one dose of hot water during the day, the omission will

show in the increased specific gravity (weight, by the urinometer), in the color,

Should the patient be thirsty between meals, 8 ozs. (half pint) of hot

water can be taken any time between 2 hours after a meal and 1 hour before the

next meal. This is to avoid diluting the food in the stomach with water.

IV. " Mode of Taking Hot Water. In drinking the hot water, it should be

sipped, and not drank so fast as to distend the stomach and make it feel uncomfortable.

From 15 to 20 minutes may be consumed in drinking the hot water,

[About 5 minutes time is all the author took in drinking the hot water, and

all he recommends; still, if 1 to IJ^ pts. are to be taken, a longer time will be

etc.

—

needed.

But, for ordinary cases of home treatment, I think 3^ to 9^

enough, and especially so if it is taken 4 times daily.]

V. " The Length of Time to Continue the Use of Hot Water.

pt.

is

— Six months

is generally required to wash out the liver and intestines thoroughly.

As it pro-

motes health the procedure can be practiced by well people throughout life, and

The drag and friction on human existthe benefits of cleanliness be enjoyed.

ence from the effects of fermentation, foulness and indigestible food, when

removed by this process, gives life a wonderful elasticity and buoyancy.

—

"Additions to Hot Water. To make it palatable, in case it is desired,

VI.

and to medicate it, aromatic spirits of ammonia, clover blossom tea, ginger,

lemon juice, sage, salt and sulphate of magnesia (epsom salts), are sometimes

added. When there is intense thirst, and dryness, a pinch of chloride of calcium (chloride of lime) or nitrate of potash (niter) may be added, to allay

the thirst and leave a moistened film over the parched and dry mucus mem-

brane surfaces.

When there is diarrhea, cinnamon, ginger or pepper may be

boiled in the water, and the quantity drank, lessened.

spoonful of sulphate of magnesia, or

fl.

For constipation, a tea-

% tea-spoonful of taraxacum (dandelion

ex.) may be used in the hot water.

VII.

"Amount of Liquid {Tea, Caffee or Water) to he Drank at a Meal.

—Not more than 8 ozs." [J^

"This is in order

pt. or 1 cup of tea or coffee.]

not to dilute the gastric juice, or wash it out prematurely, and thus interfere

with the digestion process.

" Tlie Effects of Drinking Hot Water, as indicated, are: The imVIII.

proved feelings of the patient. The fajces (passages) become black with bile,

—

washed down its normal (natural, or healtliy) channel. This blackness of fseces

lasts for more than six months (I have not found this so, but it may be in some

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

21&

cases), or until the intolerable fetid odor of

ordinary faeces is abated (tbis I have

iound tnie), and the smell aproximates the smell of healthy infants sucking

healthy breasts, and this shows that the ordinary nuisance of fetid (bad smelling) faeces is due to a want of working out and cleansing the alimentary canal

from its fermenting contents. The urine is clear as champaign, free from

deposit and odor, or coloring, 1.015 to 1.020 specific gravity, like infants urine.

The sweat starts freely after drinking, giving a true bath from center to

The skin becomes healthy in feeling and looks.

The digestion

surface.

is correspondingly improved, and with this improvement comes a better

working of the machine." [Human system as a whole.] "All thirst and dry

mucus membranes disappear in a few days, and a moist condition of the mucus

membrane, and the skin, takes place. Ice water in hot weather is not craved for

and those who have drank ice water freely are cured of the propensity.

Inebriety has a strong foe in the use of hot water."

—

Remarks. The author finds, by personal use of hot water, nearly all the

foregoing statements of the Brief to be facts, and I especially hope the last

statement shall so prove that "inebriety has a strong foe in the use of hot

water," and I feel almost sorry I cannot attest to this from a personal knowledge, so anxious

am I to do good to my fellow-creatures, knowing, as I do,

how much confidence the statement of a fact with which the author has positive

knowledge helps one to have faith enough in any certain thing to give it a trial.

Let none needing it for that purpose, or any other given here and in other parts

of this book, for

all

purposes indicated here or there,

author, however, can give no greater assurance of his

use of hot water than to say that I

fail

to try

it.

The

own confidence in the

now arise to go and heat water to take

it does me good, stops all craving

myself, half an hour before my supper, for

for cold drinks and allays all feverishness of stomach, bowels, etc., etc., of this

hot day, the thermometer reaching 90° Fahrenheit in my office at 3 p. M.

—

MEASLES. This is a contagious or " catching " eruption, and would

be a disease of less severity were it not sometimes followed by serious results.

It is a disease peculiar to childhood, although persons well along in years sometimes have them. As children have them easier than adults, it is advisable to

They usually appear in from 7

take no special precaution to prevent them.

to 14 days after exposure.

—

Symptoms. The first symptoms of measles are shivering, succeeded by

and languor; then follows running at the nose, sneezing, cough;

the eyes water and become intolerant of light; the pulse quickens, and the face

swells; there are successive heats and chills, and all the usual signs of catarrhal

Sometimes the symptoms are so mild as to be scarcely noticeable, and

fever.

sometimes greatly aggravated; but in any case, at the end of the third day, or a

little later, an eruption of a dusky red color appears, first on the forehead and

In the early stage of this

face, and then gradually all over the whole body.

eruption there is little to characterize it, but after a few hours it assumes the

The little red

peculiar appearance, which once seen can never be mistaken.

heat, thirst

spots become grouped, as it were, into crescent-shaped patches, which are slightly

DR. CEASE'S RECIPES.

220

elevated above the surface, the surrounding skin retaining its natural color.

the third day of the eruption

it

On

begins to fade and disappear, being succeeded

by a scurfy disorganization of the cuticle, which is accompanied by an intolerThe febrile symptoms also abate, and very quickly leave the

patient altogether, but often in a very weak state and with a troublesome cough.

Between exposure to the infection and the breaking out of measles, there is

usually an interval of 14 days, which is called the period of incubation; so that

it is not uncommon, where there are several children in a family, for the cases

able itching.

to succeed each other at fortnightly intervals.

This disease is often rendered dangerous by complications with others; so

that, not in itself of a fatal character, it frequently leads to fatal results.

Where

there are the seeds of consumption or scrofula in the constitution, they are likely

to be called into activity during the debility which follows an attack of measles;

dropsy often follows it, as do affections of the air passages, chest and bowels.

How

to Distinguish Measles from Scarlet Fever.— Measles is

a less dangerous disease than scarlet fever, although sometimes mistaken for it

in the early stages.

In measles the spots are not as deeply colored as in scarlet

fever, and are differently shaped and rougher to the touch.

spots usually appear on the second day after the first

In scarlet fever the

symptoms are observed,

and in measles on the third or fourth day. The irritation of the nose, sneezing

and discharge, that arej prominent symptoms in measles, do not occur in scarlet

fever.

Treatment.

—

Generally speaking, for simple measles, little medicine is

Give the patient plenty of diluent drinks; let him have a spare diet,

and a moderately warm and well-ventilated room; keep the bowels gently

open; if a roasted apple, or a little manna in the drink will not do this, give a

dose of castor-oil. Where there is much heat of the skin, sponging with tepid

vinegar and waiter will completely relieve it, and also the itching. When the

eruption has subsided, and the desquammation of the skin commenced, a tepid

bath will materially assist this process, and get rid of the dead cuticle. On the

third or fourth day after the disappearance of the eruption, give a small dose of

powder of rhubarb, jalap, or scammony. Care should be taken to protect the

patient against change of weather, and to restore the strength by a nourishing

Give drinks of flaxseed tea or

diet.

Attention should be paid to the cough.

required.

slippery elm, made slightly acid.

If the attack is severe, attended

etc.,

with high fever, headache, restlessness,

the feet should be placed in a hot mustard bath for 10 or 15" minutes, after

which place the patient in bed warmly covered, giving every hour until the

fever subsides and sweating takes place, Fluid Extract of Aconite, 1 drop to a

tea-spoonful of water; and every 3 hours, or until the pulse is reduced in frequency, give 1 drop Fluid Extract of Veratrum Viride similarly diluted.

Cold water may be taken freely with benefit in this as well as all in other

very good drink can be prepared by making

a bowlful of slippery elm infusion, and adding the juice of a lemon and a

table-spoonful of cream of tartar, and using as a drink as the patient desires.

eruptive or miasmatic fevers.

A

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

221

The bowels should be regulated by the Compound Podophyllin Pills, or

the Compound powder of Jalap.

The diet should be light, and consist largely of ripe cooked fruits, gruels,

broths, and other easily digestible articles.

Sore throat should be relieved by inhalation of hot vinegar, or by a gargle

of Carbolic Acid, 2 drops to 1 ounce of water. If the eyes should become irritated and inflamed, they may be relieved by a cool wash of slippery elm, alum

curd, rose leaves, or moist tea grounds taken from the pot.

—

To Bring them Out. In cases where the eruption does not appear,

•warm whiskey sliug or the Compound Tincture of Virginia Snake Root maybe

given to bring it out.

2. Sometimes when warm drinks fail to bring them out, drinking largely

of cold water, and keeping warmly covered in bed, will produce the desired

effect.

3.

The following will be found most efficient: Strong balm tea with a

or hot ears of corn, wrapped in a cloth saturated with di-

little saffron infused,

luted vinegar, placed about the body.

Striking in.

— Sometimes the eruption of measles disappears suddenly^

then there is cause for alarm, and energetic treatment required; the patient

should be directly put into a warm bath, and have warm diluent drinks; if the

pulse sinks rapidly, and there is great prostration of strength, administer wine

whey, and the following draughts: 10 drops of aromatic spirits of ammonia, or

5 grains of the sesquicarbonate in \^ an ounce of camphor mixture, with a drop

of laudanum every four hours; should the prostration be very great, weak

brandy and water may be given. The state of the chest, head, and bowels

should be closely watched for some time after the patient

is

convalescent, as

disorders of these organs are very likely to occur, in which case it is probable

that there may be pneumonia, hydrocephalus, or diarrhea.

2. Apply mustard poultices to the feet, ankles, wrists, and over the whole

abdomen, letting the poultices remain a few minutes and until they produce

considerable redness.

Severe cases of measles are liable to be accompanied with pneumonia, and

where there are decided symptoms of this, the Hop Fomentation (see below)

should be applied over the whole chest, with warm applications to the feet and

The frequent inhalation of the vapor of hot vinegar should be emlegs.

ployed.

Chronic sore eyes, diarrhea, a lingering cough,

etc.,

are liable to follow

severe cases of measles, and these should be treated according to the indications

of each individual case.

—

Malignant Measles. Tliis is a variety which commences with the

above symptoms in an aggravated form; the rash quickly assumes a livid hue,

alternately reviving and disappearing, and is mixed up with dark red spots like

flea-bites; in this form of the disease we have extreme debility and all the symptoms of putrid fever, like which it should be treated. No time should be lost

in procuring medical aid.

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

222

Herbal or Eclectic Treatment for Measles.

fron and snake root always proves beneficial.

—A strong tea composed of

saf-

marshmallow roots and sarsaparilla are likewise beneficial. Sudden changes should

be guarded against, and especially exposure to cold draughts, the room, however, should be kept moderately cool.

No animal food should at first be taken,

but the patient confined to low, spare diet, such as sage, gruel, etc.

A good

drink may be made of barley water, acidulated with lemon juice.

Decoctions of

licorice,

HOT FOMENTATIONS AND POULTICES.— Hot fomentations

are serviceable in treating many forms of disease, and in some they are indispen-

Hops, stramonium or jimson weed, tansy, hoarhound, catnip, lobelia,

are among the most common agents employed.

The herbs should be simmered in water, or vinegar and water, until

their strength responds to the liquid, when they should be placed between thin

muslin cloths, applied as hot as the patient can bear, and covered with a numMaterial should be prepared for two

ber of thicknesses of heated cloths.

The same

applications, so that as one is removed the other may be applied.

application may be used over and over, using the liquid in which it was steeped,

or adding hot water to keep it moist. They should be changed every 5 to 8

minutes, using care not to expose the part to the cold air during the changes,

When using tinctures instead of herbs, prepare a lotion by adding to a sufl3.cient

quantity of water, or vinegar and water, or whiskey and water, so much of the

tincture as will give it the requisite strength, warm the lotion and place it where

it will keep warm, and saturate and wring from it several thicknesses of flannel

Vinegar or whiskey

or muslin, applying hot to the part as in other cases.

should foj-m an ingredient, if practicable, in any fomentation, and hops form a

good combination with other ingredients when not used alone.

sable.

etc., either in the herb or in tincture,

Hop Fomentation. — In bilious colic, inflammation of the lungs, and

other cases requiring energetic treatment, the best fomentation is made as fol-

Take a quart of vinegar, put in a kettle, and add as much hops as the

vinegar will take up; boil them together for 5 or 10 minutes, and stir in as

lows:

much corn meal as will made the whole into a thick mush. The meal is added

simply to give consistence to the mass so as to retain the heat and not wet the

bedding.

If corn meal is not at hand, shorts, or bran and flour mixed together,

will do.

Spread this thickly upon an ample piece of muslin cloth ( if 2 or 3

inches thick all the better ), and apply hot. If too hot to be applied next the

The essential point is to get the heat and the

skin, lay folds of cloth between.

fullest effects of the hops and vinegar as soon as possible, and to hold their

effect as long as possible.

—

Hot Mustard Foot Bath. Prepare a bucket or tub, the same as for

an ordinary foot bath, filling it a third to half full of water as hot as the patient

can bear with comfort. Put in it about two table-spoonfuls of ground mustard

(more or less, according to the degree of strength desired). Provide a reserve

of hot water (boiling hot, or nearly so), and after keeping the feet in the bath

for a short time, add hot water to keep up the temperature, keeping it as hot as

1— Slippery Elm. 2 -Virginia Snake Root. 3 -Pennyroyal. 4— Mountain Laurel, or

5— Bear-Berry, or the Upland Cranberry. 6—Jamestown Weed, or

Stramonium. 7— Blood-Root, or Red Puccoon. 8-Blue Flag. 9-Ladies' Slippa,

or American Valerian.

Calico Bush.

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

the patient can bear for ten or fifieei. minutes.

223

The parts should then be gently

dried and warmly wrapped.

Slippery

Elm Poultice.— Take of slippery elm bark, in powder,

half an ounce, and a sufficient amount of hot water to form a poultice of the

proper consistence.

This poultice

valuable in

all cases

of burns, scalds,

swellings, inflammations, ulcers, painful tumors,

abscesses,

and wherever a

is

general soothing emollient poultice is required.

Yeast Poultice.

—Applicable to sores and indolent ulcers. Made by

taking 5 ounces of yeast and a pound of flour (or in that proportion), and

adding to water at blood heat, so as to form a tolerably stiff dough; set in a

warm place (but not so as to scald) until it begins to ferment or to "rise," and

apply like any poultice.

MUMPS. —

This disease, which is a contagious epidemic, consists of inflammation of the salivary or parotid glands, which are situated on each side of

the lower jaw.

—

Symptoms. It commences with slight febrile symptoms of a general charVery soon there is a redness and swelling at the angle of the jaw,

which gradually extends to the face and neck near to the glands. These sometimes become so large as to hang down a considerable distance, like two bags.

They may come on suddenly, or else be preceded by a few days of general

indisposition, which now and then amounts to liigh fever.

A feeling of stiffness about the jaws is soon followed by swelling, often very bulky, and more

or less tense. The swelling is apt to extend either at the back of the lower jaw

or underneath it. The swelling contains no fluid dental pain is absent. Generally first one side of the jaw is attacked and then the other; it is rare for both

acter.

;

sides

to suffer simultaneously.

Not uncommonly

similar swellings

burst

out in other localities of the body, the genital organs being most liable to

seizure.

—

Treatment. But little medical treatment is required for this disease when

height.

The patient, from sheer inability to move the jaw, must live

chiefly on slops; and it is well for him to be kept low, unless very delicate, in

at

its

which case a little good broth or beef tea should be given. If there is much

pain, the throat should have hot fomentations applied; and, in very severe

cases, two or three leeches.

Mumps is not a dangerous disorder, unless the inflammation should be turned inwards, in which case it will probably affect the

brain or testicles; or, in the female, the breasts. Should the swellings suddenly

disappear, and thereby aggravate the symptoms of fever, the following liniment must be applied: Camphorated spirits, 1 oz. solution of sub-carbonate

of ammonia, 2 drams; tincture of cantharides, 3^ dram. Mix, and rub in until

the swellings re-appear.

Take also, internally, nitrate of potass, 1 dram; tartarised antimony IJ^ grs. Mix, and divide into six powders, one of which is to b&

;

taken every four hours.

Camphor for Mumps. — Camphor is said to have been used successmumps; in the case of males holding the

pendant parts in a basin of spirits of camphor, and bathing the adjacent parts

fully to reduce the after-swelling in

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

224

freely with it, continuing or renewing the application until relief is had.

occasion smarting more than the patient can bear, the liquid

If it

may be diluted

with water.

CHICKEN POX. — Chicken-pox

is

an eruptive disease which

affects

children and occasionally adults. It is attended only with slight constitutional

disturbance, and is therefore neither a distressing nor dangerous affection. The

eruption first appears on the body, afterwards on the neck, the scalp, and lastly

on the face. It appears on the second or third day after the attack, and is succeeded by vesicles containing a transparent fluid. These begin to dry on the

This disease may be distinguished from variola

fifth, sixth or seventh day.

and varioloid b}'' the shortness of the period of invasion, the mildness of the

symptoms and the absence of the deep, funnel-shaped depression of the vesThe main distinctions between chicken-pox and

icles, so noticeable in variola.

small-pox are the absence or extreme mildness of the premonitory fever in the

former disease, and the form and contents of the vesicles those of the latter

eruption being filled with dark matter, and having, invariably, a depression in

;

the center.

Treatment— Ordinarily very little treatment is required.

It is best to use

daily an alkaline bath, and as a drink, the tea of pleurisy-root, catnip or other

diaphoretics, to which

is

added from half to a spoonful of extract of smart-

weed, or the patient should be put upon spare diet; this, and a dose or two of

6ome cooling aperient, as rhubarb or magnesia, is generally all that is necessary; but should the febrile symptoms run high, give a saline draught, as the

Carbonate of potash, 1 scruple; citric or tartaric acid, 15 grains;

^ dram; syrup of orange peel, 1 dram; water, 10

Shake, and drink while sparkling a wineglassful as a refrigerant. To

ounces.

Give

make it effervescing, add the acid after the draught is poured out.

plenty of cooling drink, and, if the bowels are at all obstinate, emollient injecCare must be taken that the skin is not irritated by scratching— as it is,

tions.

painful and troublesome sores may be produced and also that the patient does

following:

essence of cinnamon,

%

—

not take a chill.

If these precautions are observed, little or no danger is to

be

apprehended from chicken-pox.

YELLOW FEVER. — This disease

is

peculiar to hot climates and Is a

species of typhus, which takes its name from one of the symptoms, but which,

however, is not an essential one. It is probably caused by a vitiated state of

the atmosphere arising from decayed vegetable or animal substances, in hot,

It is very contagious and an epidemic.

sultry weather.

Symptoms.

— Costiveness, dull pain in the right

side, defect of appetite, flat-

ulence, perverted tastes, heat in the stomach, giddiness or pain in the head;

dull,

watery, yellow eye;

dim

or imperfect vision, hoarseness,

slight sore

throat, and the worst features of typhus.

Treatment. — In

this disease,

good nursing is indispensable.

patient have perfect rest and quietness, in a well ventilated room.

Let the

In the early

stages of the disease, the diet must be confined to preparations of sago, arrowroot, barley, etc. ;

but as the disease advances, give animal broths made of lean

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

225

meat, thickened with bread-crumbs, oat-meal, or barley. The strictest attenIf the

tion must be given to cleanliness, and the linen changed frequently.

stomach be very irritable and the vomiting violent, give the following preparaPowdered rhubarb, 30 grains; powdered saleratus, 20 grains; powdered

peppermint, 1 tea-spoonful; laudanum, 15 drops; brandy, 1 table-spoonful; boilMix.

Sweeten with loaf-sugar, and give a table-spoonful

ing water, 1 gill.

every hour till the symptoms change. The bowels must be kept open as in all

For this purpose use the following: Ginger, 2 ounces; bayberry bark,

fevers.

4 ounces; cayenne pepper, 3^ ounce.

Dose, a tea-spoonful in a little milk, with half a tea-spoonful of powdered

rhubarb every hour till it operates freely.

Captain Jonas P. Levy, who has had an extensive experience with yellow

fever, states that he never knew a case of yellow fever terminate fatally under

tion

:

the following treatment:

Dissolve a table-spoonful of common salt in a wineglass of water; pour it

into a tumbler, and add the juice of a whole lemon and 2 wineglasses of castoroil.

An adult to take the whole at one dose. Then give a hot mustard footWrap the patient in blankets until

bath, with a handful of salt in the water.

he perspires freely. Remove to the bed, and well wrap the patient's feet in the

Afterward apply mustard plasters to the abdomen, legs, and soles of

blanket.

If the headache is very severe, they may be applied to the head and

the feet.

After the fever has been broken, taken 40 grains of quinine and 40

temples.

Give a wineglass full three

drops of elixir of vitriol to a quart of water.

times a day. Barley-water, lemonade and ice-water may be used in moderation.

CHOLERA MORBUS.— This

is a disease prevalent

in warm weather.

From the great amount of bile secreted it is also called bilious cholera.

Causes.

—Excessive heat, sudden atmospheric changes, indigestible food,

Dampness, wet feet and violent passions will also cause it.

unripe fruits.

Symptoms.

—This disease begins with sickness and distress at the stomach,

succeeded by violent gripings, witli vomiting of thin, dirty, yellowish, whitish,

or greenish fluid, with discharges from the bowels similar to that vomited. The

nausea and distress continue between the vomiting and purging, and the pain at

times is intense.

The pulse is rapid, soon becoming small and feeble, the tongue

dry, the urine high-colored, and there is

much thirst, though no drink can be

retained on the stomach.

—

TREAT\rENT. Apply a large mustard poiiltice over the stomach and liver.

Give large draughts of warm teas, by which means the stomach will be cleansed

Every half-hour give table-spoonful doses of the comof all its solid contents.

pound powder of rhubarb and potassa, until the vomiting is checked. Warm

injections must be given frequently, and hot bricks applied to the feet, while

the whole body should be swathed in warm flannels.

To get up a warmth of

the body and the stomach is, in fact, the most important thing in this disease.

Hot brandy, in which is a dose of cayenne, is excellent to quiet the vomiting

15

;

DR. CEASE'S RECIPES.

226

A few drops of laudanum in the injections may be given, if

and griping.

pain is excessive; but generally it is not needed.

Either of the following have been found useful

common salt, 6 grs.

grs. ;

water.

Or the following

:

;

:

chlorate of potash, 6 grs.

Bicarbonate of soda, 12

Mix and take in cold

Acetate of lead, 20 grs. opium, 12 grs.

;

Make into

12 pills and take one every half hour until looseness ceases.

No time must be lost

Eclectic or Herbal Treatment for Cholera Morbus.

Give the patient copious drinks of

in treating the severe stages of this disease.

whey, warm barley-water, thin water gruel, or weak chicken broth. Bathe the

feet and legs in warm saleratus water, and apply warm fomentations of hops

and vinegar to the bowels. In addition to these, apply a poultice of well-stewed

garden mint, or a poultice of mustard and strong vinegar will be found of much

The vomiting and purging may be stopped by the following Ground

service.

—

:

black pepper,

1

table-spoonful table

;

salt,

table-spoonful;

warm water, 3^

Dose, a table-spoonful every few

tumblerful; cider vinegar, J^ tumblerful.

minutes.

1

Stir and mix each time until the whole is taken.

The evacuations, however, should not be stopped till the patient feels very

weak. Nourishing diet should be taken by the patient. A wineglass of cold

camomile tea once or twice a day would be very beneficial, as would ten drops

of elixir of vitriol three or four times a day, or a tea made of black or Virginia

snake-root.

Flannel should be worn next to the skin, and the warm bath should

be frequently resorted to.

CHOLERA INFANTUM, otherwise known as the summer complaint

of children, has been by some regarded as belonging erclusively to America.

It has been ascertained, however, that tliis disease prevails in Europe, where it

It usually attacks cliildren under four years of

is called by a different name.

age, and generally between the mouths of

Symptoms.

—There

is

June and October.

and the stools are sometimes of a

at first diarrhea

watery, colorless consistence at others they have a greenish-yellow appearance

;

the pulse is quick, the head and abdomen are hot, while the limbs are cold.

cliild seems to suffer

The

more or less pain, as indicated by its crying, and fre-

quently screams as if suffering acutely.

The disease often terminates unfavor-

ably and sometimes within a few hours; again, it continues for several weeks,

and the little sufferer becomes very much emaciated, his eyes sunken, countenance pale, and yet a recovery is possible.

Causes.

From the fact tliat it oftener occurs during the summer months

Uian at any other time of the year, it may be inferred that the temperature

greatly influences the prevalence of this disease.

It more frequently attacks

—

the poorer classes, or those living in unhealthy sections, although the children

of tlie wealthy are likewise subject to it.

Teething, change of diet at the time

of weaning, and unhealthy, diluted milk, may be the exciting causes of this

disease so common to children.

Cholera infantum is more prevalent in our large cities, it being comparaunknown in rural districts.

Often these little sufferers are greatly

tively

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

227

improved by a trip into the country or to the sea-shore. Pure air and fresh

sweet milk, as hygienic and dietetic adjuncts, are necessary for recovery.

—

The little patient

Treatment. The first treatment should be preventive.

should be placed in a well ventilated room. Next, attend to the diet, and ascerIf the child nurses, then the mother

tain if the milk be pure and healthy.

should properly regard her diet. She should not eat unripe or stale fruits or

She should

vegetables, but her food should be nutritious and easily digested.

not overwork, nor heat her blood, neither should she allow herself to become

She should occasionally give the child some milk alkali

excited and irritable.

Scalding the milk, or using a little

to obviate undue acidity of the stomach.

lime-water in

is

it,

sometimes

almost any drug store:

beneficial.

The following can be obtained at

Syrup of rhubarb, 2 ounces; lime-water, 4 drachms

Give of this mix(about 4 tea-spoonfuls), and water of peppermint 2 drachms.

ture, to a child one year old, 1 tea-spoonful every hour until it acts on the

bowels as a laxative, which may be known by the changed appearance of the

Follow this with small doses of compound extract of smart-weed

and cover the bowels with cloths wet with the same. This treatment I have

employed with perfect success in my own family and also with the same

passages.

uniformly happy results in the general practice of medicine.

SALT RHEUM, or ECZEMA.— In this disease the minute blood

vessels are congested, causing the skin to be more vascular

and redder than in

There is an itching or smarting sensation in the affected

parts and the skin is raised in the form of little pimples and a watery substance

This disease usually attacks the hands, and depends very much upon

exudes.

Washerwomen, and those whose

the occupation and habits of the person.

hands are exposed to the action of flour, soap, wax, resin, etc., are most subthe natural state.

ject to it.

Treatment.

avoided.

—

All soaps and alkalies, and lead preparations, should be

"Wash the hands only in warm water, to which may be added some

The following preStramonium ointment, 1 ounce;

carbolic acid, 10 grains. Mix thoroughly together. First wash the part affected

with warm water and oatmeal and cornmeal, then dry thoroughly, and apply the

ointment, bandage, and let remain all night.

oatmeal or corumeal, or a little oxalic acid or vinegar.

scription is an excellent external application:

Make a wash of warm water and oatmeal, cleanse the part with it, and

2.

dry with a soft cloth; bathe with tincture of iodine, let it dry, and apply carbolic acid mixed with sweet cream, about 5 drops of the acid to a tea-spoonfiQ

of cream.

3.

Take of beef marroW; sulphur, black pepper, white turpentine, equal

parts mix, make an ointment, and apply, cleansing as otherwise directed.

;

—

SCALD HEAD. Tiiis is a disease of the scalp, and at first consists of

minute pustules around the roots of the hair. These pustules increase in size

and number until the entire scalp becomes covered by one dense and uniform

crust.

The disease is contagious, and is caused by the presence of parasites.

DR. CHASE'S RECIPES.

228

Treatment.

—

Cut the hair as closely as possible; wash the head with casand water, then apply at night on going to bed a large flaxseed meal

poultice and let remain until morning, when the poultice should be removed,

and with it all loose incrustations. This poultice should be applied from time to

time, if there should any new crusts form.

On removing the poultice cleanse

the scalp with carbolic acid soap and warm water, then use the following ointment

Carbolic acid, 10 grs. vaseline, 2 ozs. Mix, and apply every morning

tile soap

;

:

Wash the scalp each time

sufficient to anoint slightly all the diseased parts.

with carbolic acid soap before applying the ointment.

To increase the general tone of the system, the muriate tincture of iron ia

5 drop doses may be given in 1 table-spoonful of water, 3 times daily.

THBUSH. — This is one of the most common diseases of infancy.

It

is^

characterized by a peculiar eruption of minute pustules, and a whitish incrustation of the tongue.

SymjUoms.

— There are generally much

thirst, restlessness, languor, acid and

and griping rtools, drowsiness, pain, diflSculty of

sucking, and a copious flow of saliva from the mouth.

The stomach and

bowels are almost always prominently disordered,'and the infant is apt to vomit

flatulent eructations, loose

after taking anything into its stomach.

The abdomen is often sore to the touch,

and great difficulty of swallowing is experienced.

Feeble and sickly children

scarcely ever escape this disease; children, also, who are kept in crowded or

ill-ventilated apartments are especially liable to it.

Treatment.

— The

first

object

is to

restore the healthy condition of the

stomach and bowels, if disordered. Where the ejections from the stomach are

sour, and the alvine evacuations of a grass-green color, from 3 to 4 grains of

magnesia, with 2 grains of rhubarb, and 1 of powdered valerian should be given

If there i»

every two or three hours until the bowels are freely evacuated.

much general irritability and restlessness after this, the tepid bath, followed by

The mucous membrane of

a drop or two of laudanum, should be employed.

the intestines is apt to become highly irritated in severe cases; the alvine evacuations in such instances are frequent, watery, and streaked with blood.

When

these symptoms are present, a large emollient poultice should be applied over

the abdomen in conjunction with the internal use of minute portions of Dover's

powder, with a solution of gum arabic as drink. Borax is a familiar remedy

with nurses and mothers as well as the profession. It may be used either in

form of powder or in solution. If the former is employed, 2 or 3 grains of it,

mixed with a small portion of pulverized loaf sugar, must be thrown into the

mouth every 2 or 3 hours; if the solution be used, a drachm of the borax should

be dissolved in 2 ozs. of water, and applied to the mouth with a soft linen rag

tied to the extremity of a pliable piece of whalebone, or with a soft feather.

The practice of forcibly rubbing off the eruption is extremely reprehensible;

for, when rubbed off in this way, the crust is soon renewed in an aggravated

form. Where the mouth is very red, livid or ulcerated, we must have recourse

to a decoction of bark.

A J^ oz. of powdered bark, boiled about 30 minutes in

^

pt.

of water, will make a suitable decoction; and of this about the third of a

tea-spoonful may be put into the child's mouth every hour or two.

TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

229

WATERBRASH. —

It is

Pyrosis is the medical name for this disease, but

1.

usually called Waterbrash.

It is a peculiar affection of the stomach, in

which the patient brings up frequently a considerable quantity of thin watery

liquid,

sometimes insipid, at others intensely acid.

Before the fluid is brought

This

up, often there is more or less pain experienced at the pit of the stomach.

complaint attacks, mostly, persons past the middle age, particularly females,

and the fit comes on generally in the morning and afternoon. It usually begins

with a severe pain in the pit of the stomach, attended with a feeling of conor oppression, and soon after a quantity of thin watery fluid is

thrown up, which is sometimes insipid, at other times it has a highly acid or

burning taste. The causes of this complaint are various, but whatever disstriction

orders the stomach

may give rise to it.

It appears to be owing to a peculiar

and is most certainly relieved by the use of

the white oxide of bismuth, from 2 to 3 grs. made into pills with extract of

This medicine will often perfectly cure waterbrash;

gentian, 3 times a day.

but attention to the diet, as laid down under dyspepsia, is of much consequence, and will be absolutely necessary in order to render the cure permanent.

A diet of plain animal food may be allowed, with which may be united the

use of biscuits, home-made bread, and preparations of rice and milk. Daily

exercise must also be taken,