ONE AMOUNT FOR
CAPSULE ONE DOZEN
Aloin 1/4 grain 3 grains
Extract of Belladonna 1/8 grain 10 grains
Extract Nux Vomica 1/4 grain 3 grains
Powdered Gentian 3 grains 36 grains
Mix and put up in twelve capsules and take one at night.
There are many tablets and pills made that can be bought at any drug
store. No doubt some of them are first class, though perhaps not attaining
to that high degree of virtue claimed in their advertising columns.
[144 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
ITCHING OF THE ANUS. (Itching Piles) (Pruritus ani).Causes.--An inherited
or an acquired nervous constitution. Disease of the colon, rectum or anus.
Improper diet. Skin affections in that region. Operations about the rectum
and anus with resulting discharge sometimes. Diseases in the neighboring
organs. Disease of the general system. Diarrhea, discharge of mucus and
pus, fissure, etc. Irregular habits and dissipation. Over-seasoned foods
such as lobster, salmon, shell-fish and foods containing much grease or
starch are especially conducive to it; the same is true of tea, coffee,
cocoa, strong alcoholic drinks. Skin diseases, lice, pin worms often cause
it.
After Operations.--Some part has not healed, and there is left an
irritating discharge.
Symptoms.--There is intense itching at the anus, increased by warmth, and
contact of the buttocks. The itching grows worse after the patient becomes
warm in bed. It may spread and extend to the scrotum, down the limbs and
sometimes over the lower back.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT FOR ITCHING OF ANUS. Preventive and Palliative.
DIET.--May Take.--Strong drink must be prohibited; tea, coffee, cocoa, if
used at all should be sparingly used. A light diet such as bread, milk,
eggs, nourishing soups, kumiss and a little fresh fish, broiled steak,
etc., may be used.
May Not Take--Hot cakes, pastry, parsnips, cheese, pickles, beans,
cucumbers, cabbage, oatmeal, pork, shell-fish, salmon, lobster, salt fish,
confectionery and starchy or highly seasoned foods are to be prohibited.
Regular meals, no lunches between meals, and the patient must not over-eat
at any time. Long course dinners and over-indulgence in highly seasoned
foods and wines aggravate it.
Remedies for Bath.--The bowels should move daily and the parts should be
kept clean. The parts should be bathed with hot water or weak solutions of
carbolic acid, alcohol or listerine, the heat being especially soothing.
Bathing the parts with bran, oatmeal, flaxseed, salt, rice, slippery elm
teas, or tar water adds much comfort to these parts. Do not wash much with
soapy water.
1. Separate the Buttocks with Gauze, a thin layer of cotton or a piece of
soft cloth. This eases the soreness, pain and itching by absorbing the
secretions and preventing irritations while walking. The patient should
not scratch the parts. Direct pressure over the itching parts with a soft
cloth, or by drawing a well oiled cloth across the sore parts several
times gives relief.
2. Dr. Allingham Recommends the introduction of a bony or ivory
nipple-shaped plug into the anus before going to bed. It is self
retaining, about two inches in length, and as thick as the end of the
index finger. He claims it prevents the night itching by pressing upon the
many veins and terminal nerve fibres of the parts. When the rawness is
extensive and the parts are highly inflamed, the patient should be kept to
bed and kept on his back with the limbs separated until the irritation is
allayed.
3. Local Applications.--Soothing remedies: These can be used when the
parts are inflamed and raw. Lead and opium wash, or boric acid, or linseed
oil, or starch, or cocaine, and zinc stearate with boric acid. This form
of zinc adheres to the parts when rubbed on, and is thus more valuable.
[DIGESTIVE ORGANS 145]