(a) Paralysis of the ocular (eye) muscles.--The vision becomes double, the
eyelids do not act normally, may droop. The eye may not move in every
direction as it should.
(b) Paralysis of the muscles of mastication (eating). Symptoms.--If
paralysis is only on one side, it is difficult to chew; if on both sides,
chewing is impossible. The jaw hangs down.
[NERVOUS SYSTEM 295]
(c) Paralysis of the facial (face) muscle.--This is a rather common
occurrence, and is due to exposure to wet, and cold, diseases of the
middle ear, tumors, etc. Symptoms:--The eyelids do not close tightly, and
tears are continually trickling over the cheek; the corner of the mouth
droops and the saliva runs out, etc. The mild cases last two or three
weeks; the severe form from four to six weeks; the worst cases usually
recover in a long time.
(d) Paralysis of the muscles of the upper extremity.--There are various
and many symptoms, but with all there is the same loss of the usual
motion. That particular muscle does not do its special work; for instance,
if the paralysis is of the deltoid muscle of the arm and shoulder, it is
not possible to raise the arm, usually pain in the shoulder. The muscle
soon wastes and the head of the arm bone (humerus) falls away from the
shoulder, etc.
(e) Paralysis of the muscles of the lower extremities.--Paralysis of the
"Gluteus Maximus and Minimus." (Hip muscles). Lifting up of the thigh is
difficult and so is walking up hill or rising from sitting position. The
toes are turned out. The other muscles may be paralyzed and simply cannot
do their usual duty.
(f) Toxic (poison) paralysis. Lead paralysis.--It is hard to extend the
fingers. The lead line is shown on the gums.
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Palsy.--Remove the cause. Give salts and iodide
of potash. Paralysis from arsenic, mercury, zinc or copper:--The symptoms
are those of neuritis and are greatly similar in each kind. The spongy
gums show mercury; the puffy face and diarrhea show arsenic poison. Remove
the cause.
CONGESTION OF THE BRAIN. (Diseases of the Cerebral (Brain) Circulation).
(Hyperaemia).--The brain is too full of blood.
Causes. For Active Congestion.--Over-exertion in study, etc.; chronic
pletbora (too much blood in the blood vessels); from constant use of
alcohol, tobacco, amyl nitrite, and from the stomach.
For passive congestion.--Local obstruction to the return of blood from the
brain. Prolonged mental and physical exertion with excesses and irregular
living may cause it.
Symptoms of active kind.--Head feels warm, face is red, the arteries in
the neck beat hard, violent headache, ears ringing, very restless and does
not sleep well.
Symptoms of the passive form.--The headache is not so great; there may be
stupor, drowsiness and dull intellect and very sleepy.
Recovery.--Favorable if the cause is removed.
Treatment for active congestion.--Keep the patient absolutely quiet in a
dark, well aired room, with the head and shoulders raised, an ice bag or
cold cloths to the head and warm applications to the hands and feet. A
warm foot bath will aid in drawing the blood away from the head. Give
salts (salines) to move the bowels. These take away a great deal of water
from the blood and aid in relieving the congestion of the head.
[296 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Treatment for passive congestion.--Remove the cause if possible. Give a
light nutritious diet; prohibit alcohol in any form; keep the bowels
regular.
CEREBRAL ANEMIA. (Too little blood in the brain). Causes.--Heart disease,
general anemia, and mental excitement.
Symptoms.--"Fainting spells," dizziness, the ears ring and there are spots
before the eyes; nausea and vomiting may go ahead of the fainting spells.
The face is pale, the pupils are dilated, the pulse is small and feeble,
and there may be cold sweating on the body. If you can remove the cause
the result is favorable.
Treatment.--For the fainting fits:--Place the patient in the "lying down"
position and this frequently restores consciousness; loosen any tight
clothes, corset, waist, collar, etc. Give plenty of fresh air and do not
crowd. Keep quiet yourself; do not get excited. In mild cases, mild
stimulants may be necessary. Let the patient smell of camphor, put a cloth
with camphor or ammonia near the nose. In other cases amylnitrite and
strychnine may be necessary. Small doses of whisky or brandy frequently
help. Remove the cause. Give tonics for general anemia.
TUMORS OF THE BRAIN AND INFLAMMATION, Abscess, etc. Abscess.
Causes.--This is always secondary and comes from some other part of the
body. It comes often in young and middle life and is more common in males
than in females. The most frequent cause is inflammation of the ear and
the next is from fracture of the skull bones. It may be large or small.
Symptoms.--May come slowly or quickly. After an injury to the head the
symptoms may come on suddenly such as intense headache, delirium,
vomiting, chills, high fever, and sometimes convulsions, and a very deep
seeming sleep (coma). In chronic cases the symptoms are not so severe.
Treatment.--An operation if the abscess can be reached. If not, an ice bag
should be applied to the head; quiet the distress with narcotics.
TUMORS OF THE BRAIN.--Varieties in order of their frequency. Gumma,
tuberculous tumors, glioma, sarcoma, cancer, etc.
Causes. Predisposing.--Men are about twice as often affected as women
until fifty and then it is about equal. It is more frequent in early adult
life. The exciting causes are blows and severe emotional shock.
Gumma (in third stage of Syphilis) appear as a round, yellow, cheesy mass,
usually beginning in the membranes and are usually seen between thirty and
fifty. They come from syphilis.
[NERVOUS SYSTEM 297]
Tuberculous tumors. These appear as hard masses and vary in size. They may
be single or many, and are situated in any part of the brain. More than
half of the tumors appearing in children are of this variety.
Glioma. "Glue-tumor." They come from tissue forming the basis of the
supporting framework of the nervous tissue. This kind occurs often in the
young.
Sarcoma and Cancer are rare.
Symptoms.--The most of the growths start in the membranes of the brain,
and by compressing a certain part of the brain they produce their special
symptoms such as headache, vomiting, inflammation of the nerves of the
eye, double vision, blindness, the memory impaired, dullness and apathy,
an irritable temper, and sometimes become demented. There is often vertigo
or a sense of giddiness. There may be convulsions, and paralysis of some
muscles. A general tuberculosis tendency or history of syphilis will help
to make the diagnosis. In children it is more likely to be tuberculous.
The result is more favorable in tuberculous growths in children and
syphilitic tumors in adults. It may last from a few months to three years
in a bad case.
Treatment.--For gumma, caused by syphilis, iodide of potash and mercury
should be given. In both kinds, syphilitic and tuberculous, a nutritious
diet and general tonic treatment, such as cod-liver oil, iron, arsenic,
and quinine should be given. The bowels must be kept open and special
attention given to the digestion.
For headache.--Ice bags, cold to the head, mustard to the nape of the
neck.
For Vomiting.--Mustard over the stomach. Surgery is necessary for some
tumors that can be reached. You will naturally depend upon your attending
physician for advice and treatment.
SYPHILIS OF THE BRAIN. Causes.--The symptoms of syphilis of the brain,
belong to the third stage of the disease, and are rarely ever observed
until at least one year or longer from the time of the first lesion
(chancre). It may be from ten to twenty years coming on. Both sexes are
equally liable, and it may come at any age. Syphilis may produce a
circumscribed tumor, a disease of the arteries or a general hardened
infiltration of the brain. The tumors are small, yellowish, and cheesy in
the center. They originate in the "Dura Mater" (covering) and spread to
the brain structure proper. The disease of the arteries causes a
thickening of these vessels, a narrowing of the blood channel in them,
thus producing a clot.
Symptoms.--Of gumma (syphilis tumors) at the base of the brain, are
persistent headache, worse at night; sleeplessness, depression of the
mind, memory impaired, vertigo, sometimes vomiting and paralysis of some
of the nerves (third and sixth pairs). Violent convulsions, like epilepsy,
appear in some cases.
[298 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Symptoms when arteries are diseased.--Temporary loss of speech, numbness
or weakness in one limb, the sight is disturbed, or vertigo; and, when the
clot (thrombus) appears, symptoms of apoplexy, This is a common variety of
syphilis of the brain.
How to tell what the disease is.--The history of the patient will help. An
apoplexy in a young person would suggest syphilis.
Recovery.--The chances are better when the disease forms gumma (tumors)
than when the blood vessels are diseased.
Treatment.--Should be begun and properly carried on when the person has
the primary sore (chancre), and then these after troubles may not follow.
This is one of the diseases where the victim reaps a big harvest on
account of the sexual sin, and in order to escape the bad results for
himself, etc. he should go through a regular course of treatment when he
first contracts the disease, perhaps for a year or more, This treatment
should last as a rule for some years. It is late to begin when the brain
symptoms show brain involvement. For this there must be radical and
careful treatment with mercury and iodide of potash; with tonics and
general building up treatment, and then even if the patient lives he may
be a nuisance to himself and others.
GENERAL PARESIS. (Paretic dementia. General Paralysis of the Insane.
Softening of the Brain).--This belongs under diseases of the mind, but
there are so many cases that a description of this disease may be
instructive and interesting. One author says: "General paresis is a
chronic, progressive, diffuse, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain),
resulting in structural changes in the cerebral (brain) tissue, with
involvement of the cortical, and meningeal, (covering) blood and lymph
vessels, presenting characteristic symptoms, with progressive course and
fatal termination usually within three years." There are three stages:--1.
The period of incubation (the prodromal stage). 2. A stage of pronounced
mono-maniac activity with symptoms of paralysis. 3. Stage of extreme
enfeeblement with diminution and final loss of power. These stages run
into each other. First stage in a typical case:--There are tremblings and
slight trouble in speech and expression of the face. The mind has exalted
and excited spells, etc.
Symptoms.--The patient is irritable. The mental and moral character is
unstable. His affairs are in confusion. He uses bad language, neglects his
family, goes with drunkards and bad women, makes indecent proposals to
respectable women of his acquaintance without realizing that it is
improper. He cannot keep his mind on one thing. Speech is a little thick,
indistinct and hesitating. Syllables are dropped or repeated, speech
finally becomes undistinguishable. He is very excited; he thinks he is
persecuted. He is a big fellow generally. He is a king, he is rich and
mighty. This is the usual run. As the disease progresses he becomes
feeble-minded more and more so continually. Persistent insomnia comes on
early and frequently recurring, one-sided headache often goes with it.
Sometimes there is an uncontrollable desire to sleep. Loss of
consciousness is an early symptom. After severe attacks there may be
one-sided paralysis (hemiplegia) which usually disappears in a few hours
or days. Convulsions like epilepsy may appear early, but usually occur in
the later stages. The pupils are mostly dilated, rarely contracted, and
they are often unequal and react slowly to light. When the tongue is
protruded it trembles and is put out in a jerky manner. The hands tremble,
in the advanced stage. The speech is jerky and slow. Syllables are dropped
and repeated. One early symptom is retention of the urine. There is
another annoying symptom--a constant grinding of the teeth. The walk is
very spasmodic, but in advanced stages it becomes slouching or dragging.
The skin may be red or blue. When the feeble-mindedness is fully developed
the mind does not perceive anything accurately. He sees imaginary things,
and things that he does see do not appear to him as they are. Finally he
has no mind.
Treatment.--The end is sure. You can relieve the distress partly. Personal
attention by a physician is needed.
[NERVOUS SYSTEM 299]
INSOMNIA.--Insomnia is not a disease, but a symptom of disease. It may,
however, become so active, prominent, and important a symptom as to
constitute a condition which merits individual management and treatment.
Definition.--Insomnia is the term employed to denote actual or absolute
sleeplessness, and also lack of fully restful sleep, which might be termed
relative sleeplessness.
Causes.--Organic causes. Disease of the brain and spinal cord. Toxic
causes due to poison circulating in the blood which by irritation of the
brain and cord (axis) and especially of the brain, cause such diseases as
nephritis (chronic), jaundice, typhoid fever and consumption.
Primary causes. Depend upon insanity.
Nervous or simplest causes.--These are present in nervous persons and
comprise the two conditions of congestion and anemia of the brain. The
brain congestion is typified by the nerve-tire of the student; over-study
and anxiety bring too much blood to the brain and necessarily too much
activity and then insomnia. Anemia of the brain acts in the opposite
manner. The brain cells are not properly nourished and hence irritated,
and sleeplessness follows.
SLEEPLESSNESS. Mothers' Remedies. 1. Hop Pillow Stops.--"People affected
in this way will be very much benefited by the use of a pillow composed of
hops, or cup of warm hop tea on retiring. The hops have a very soothing
effect upon the nerves."
2. Sleeplessness, Easy and Simple Remedy for.--"On going to bed, take some
sound, as a clock-tick or the breathing of some one within hearing, and
breathe long breaths, keeping time to the sound. In a very short time you
will fall asleep, without any of the painful anxieties attending
insomnia."
[300 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
3. Sleeplessness, Ginger at Bedtime for.--"Ginger tea taken at bedtime
soothes one to sleep," This is a very good remedy when the stomach is at
fault. It stimulates this organ and produces a greater circulation,
thereby drawing the blood from the head. This will make the patient feel
easier and sleep will soon follow.
4. Sleeplessness, Milk Will Stop.--"Sip a glass of hot milk just before
retiring. This is very soothing to the nerves, and a good stimulant for
the stomach,"
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.--Remove the cause and be careful in using drugs. In
the organic kind the treatment is not very successful. In the toxic kind
drugs must be given to correct other diseases and also tonics given. For
brain congestion and anemia kind other means must be used first, and the
drugs as the last resort. Treatment of the congestive insomnia.--1. Hot or
warm general body-baths are very advantageous to stimulate the circulation
and restore its balance alike in congestion and anemic cases. After such
baths the patient must go to bed at once and not get chilled in cold rooms
or by drafts. They must be properly covered and kept warm.
2. Cold spongings, cold shower baths, or cold plunge baths are given when
the hot or warm bath does not produce the correct result. If this does not
depress it is better than the warm bath. The person should be rubbed with
warm rough towels until the skin is aglow. If he feels rested and quieted,
the reaction is proper; if depressed, the treatment is too vigorous and
not suitable.
3. The patient should stand ankle deep in a tub of hot water and a "drip
sheet," from water at 75 to 80 degrees temperature, thrown over him. Then
rub the patient's back and abdomen hard and a general brisk rub-down
immediately after leaving the tub. This treatment should quiet, not excite
or depress.
4. The cold abdominal pack is valuable. Flannel is wrung out in water, 75
to 80 degrees temperature and laid in several thicknesses upon the
abdomen; place a dry towel over this, cover all with oiled silk,
overlapping widely in order to protect the bed. Tie or bandage all this
firmly. The effect of this work is first that of a cold then of a warm
poultice.
5. Exercise. This should be in the open air when possible. A fast walk,
horseback ride or ride on bicycle for a half hour before bedtime, followed
by a rub-down will frequently give a good sleep. Dumb-bell, Indian club
exercise, chest weight, are good in some cases.
Diet.--A light easily digested supper is often better than a heavy meal.
Sometimes a little eaten before bed-time will give sleep. A piece of
toast, for instance. It draws the blood from the brain and more to the
stomach.
[NERVOUS SYSTEM 301]
Medicines. If you must use them.--The bromides are the best. Sodium and
strontium bromide are first choice. Twenty to thirty grains in water
one-half hour before retiring. Chloral hydrate should not be used often.
Sulphonal, trional, etc., should always be given with a little food-never
alone. Sometimes bread pills do just as well.
ANEMIC CONGESTION. Diet.--A light supper before retiring, like hot milk,
broths, milk punch, etc., will very frequently promote sleep by removing
the cause and quickening the circulation. Give nutritious, easy food to
digest. The baths are not so valuable for this kind of insomnia. A cold
sponge bath or plunge may be of service.
Medicines.--Tonics are needed here as in regular anemia. The patient must
be carefully treated, and very many of these cases can be cured. The
patient must render all the aid he can give, and the physician should gain
his confidence. If he does he will not need to give much medicine to put
the patient to sleep, and if he does give it he can frequently use a
Placebo with the same effect. Mind has an influence over mind. By
"Placebo" is meant any harmless substance, as bread-pills, given to soothe
the patient's anxiety rather than as a remedy.
SLEEP WALKING.--There is a tendency to sleep walking in some families,
often more than one child will do this to a greater or less extent. It is
very extreme in some cases, and the next morning they do not know anything
about it. The person is very seldom hurt and he can do some dizzy things.
Many persons walk about in their sleeping room or simply get out of bed.
Fatigue, worry, poor sleep, restlessness, nervousness, a hearty late
dinner are aggravating causes. As age advances and the person becomes
stronger, the patient will do less of it.
Treatment.--Avoid over-eating, worry, over-study. The evening should be
spent quietly. Such persons had better drop parties, late hours or
anything that tends to cause worry, fatigue or nervousness.
STAMMERING.--This may be inherited to some extent; excitement,
nervousness, bodily fatigue, want of rest, etc., make it worse.
MOTHER'S REMEDY. 1. Stammering, Easy Cure for.--"Read aloud in a room an
hour each day. Repeat each word slowly and distinctly."
PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT.--The person should be taught early to talk slowly,
and to do everything to control himself and not get nervous. There are
schools for this trouble, and they seem to do good work. They teach the
patients how to speak slowly, distinctly and to keep their minds off of
themselves.
HICCOUGH.--This is caused by intermittent, sudden contraction of the
diaphragm; obstinate hiccough is a very distressing symptom and sometimes
it is hard to control.