yet live; that the adult Swede drinks his average cup of twenty-five
gallons of alcohol per year and remains on the face of the earth. I
admit force even in this argument, for I know under the persistent use
of alcohol there is a limited provision for the continuance of life. In
the confirmed alcoholic the alcohol is, in a certain sense, so disposed
of that it fits, as it were, the body for a long season, nay, becomes
part of it; and yet it is silently doing its fatal work. The organs of
the body may be slowly brought into a state of adaptation to receive it
and to dispose of it. But in that very preparation they are themselves
made to undergo physical changes tending to the destruction of their
function, to perversion of their structure, and to all those varied
modifications of organic parts which the dissector of the human subject
learns to recognize,--almost without concern, and certainly without
anything more than commonplace curiosity,--as the devastations incident
to alcoholic indulgence."
The statistics collected from the census of the United States for 1860,
and given by Dr. De Marmon, in the _New York Medical Journal_ for
December, 1870, must carry conviction to all minds of the correctness of
the foregoing deductions:
"For the last ten years the use of spirits has, 1. Imposed on the nation
a direct expense of 600,000,000 dollars. 2. Has caused an indirect
expense of 600,000,000 dollars. 3. Has destroyed 300,000 lives. 4. Has
sent 100,000 children to the poorhouses. 5. Has committed at least
150,000 people into prisons and workhouses. 6. Has made at least 1,000
insane. 7. Has determined at least 2,000 suicides. 8. Has caused the
loss by fire or violence, of at least 10,000,000 dollars' worth of
property. 9. Has made 200,000 widows and 1,000 orphans."
If these were the statistics twenty-four years ago, with our greatly
increased population, what must they be to-day? We will let the reader
draw his own conclusions.
MALTED LIQUORS. Under this head are included all those liquors into the
composition of which malt enters, such as beer, ale, and porter. The
proportion of alcohol in these liquors varies greatly. In beer, it is
from two to five per cent.; in Edinburgh ale, it amounts to six per
cent.; in porter, it is usually from four to six per cent. In addition
to alcohol and water, the malted liquors contain from five to fourteen
per cent. of the extract of malt, and from 0.16 to 0.60 per cent. of
carbonic acid. They possess, according to Pereira, three properties:
they quench thirst; they stimulate, cheer, and, if taken in sufficient
quantity, intoxicate; and they nourish or strengthen. The first of these
qualities is due to the water entering into their composition; the
second, to the alcohol; the third is attributed the nutritive principles
of the malt.
OBJECTIONS TO THEIR USE AS BEVERAGES. These articles are either pure or
adulterated. In their pure state the objection to their use for this
purpose lies in the fact that they contain alcohol. This, as we have
seen, is a poisonous substance, which the human system in a state of
health does not need. Its use, when the body is in a normal condition,
is uncalled for, and can only be deleterious. Beverages containing this
poison are more or less deleterious to healthy persons, according to the
amount of it which they contain.
These liquors are frequently adulterated, and this increases their
injurious effects. The ingenuity of man has been taxed to increase their
intoxicating properties; to heighten the color and flavor, to create
pungency and thirst; and to revive old beer. To increase the
intoxicating power, tobacco or the seeds of the Cocculus indicus are
added; to heighten the color and flavor, burnt sugar, liquorice, or
treacle, quassia, or strychnine, coriander, and caraway seeds are
employed; to increase the pungency, cayenne pepper or common salt is
added; to revive old beer, or ale, it is shaken up with green vitriol or
sulphate of iron, or with alum and common salt.
FERMENTED LIQUORS. These are cider and wine. Cider contains alcohol to
the amount of from five to ten per cent., saccharine matter, lactic
acid, and other substances. New cider may be drunk in large quantities
without inducing intoxication, but old cider is quite as intoxicating as
ale or porter.
The composition of wine is very complex, the peculiar qualities which
characterize the different varieties cannot be ascertained by chemical
analysis. Wine is a solution of alcohol in water, combined with various
constituents of the grape. The amount of alcohol in wines ranges from
six to forty per cent. As beverages, these are open to the same
objections as those manufactured from malt. As a medicine, wine is a
useful remedy. Concerning its use in this capacity, Prof. Liebig says:
"Wine is a restorative. As a means of refreshment when the powers of
life are exhausted--as a means of compensation where a misappropriation
occurs in nutrition, and as a means of protection against transient
organic disturbances, it is surpassed by no product of nature or art."
That an article is useful in medicine, however, is no reason why it
should be used as a beverage by those in health. It is rather an
argument against such a practice. For it is generally true that the
drugs used to restore the diseased system to health, are pernicious or
poisonous to it when in a normal condition.
DISTILLED LIQUORS. These are whiskey, brandy, and the kindred
productions of the still. Whiskey is a solution of alcohol in water,
mixed with various other principles which impart to it peculiar physical
properties. The amount of alcohol which it contains varies from
forty-eight to fifty-six per cent. Old whiskey is more highly prized
than the more recent product of the still, from the fact that when kept
for some years certain volatile oils are generated which, impart to it a
mellowness of flavor.
Brandy is a solution of alcohol in water, together with various other
substances. It contains from fifty to fifty-six per cent. of alcohol.
Pure brandy is distilled from wine, 1,000 gallons of wine yielding from
100 to 150 gallons of brandy, but a very large proportion of the brandy
is made with little or no wine. It is made artificially from high wines
by the addition of oil of Cognac, to give it flavor, burnt sugar to give
it color, and logwood or catechu, to impart astringency and roughness of
taste. The best brandy is obtained by distillation from the best quality
of white wines, from the districts of Cognac and Armagnac in France.
THE CLOTHING.
There is no physical agent which exerts a more constant or more powerful
influence upon health and life, than the atmosphere. The climate in
these latitudes is exceedingly variable, ranging all the way from 110°
Fahr. in summer to 40° below zero in the winter season. The body of
every individual should be so protected from cold, that it can maintain
a mean temperature of 98° Fahr.
When the body is warm there is a free and equal circulation of the blood
throughout all the structures. When the surface is subjected to cold,
the numerous capillaries and minute vessels carrying the blood, contract
and diminish in size, increasing the amount of this fluid in the
internal organs, thus causing congestion. The blood must go somewhere,
and if driven from the surface, it retreats to the cavities within.
Hence this repletion of the vital organs causes pain from pressure and
fullness of the distended blood-vessels, and the organic functions are
embarrassed. Besides, cold upon the surface shuts up the pores of the
skin, which are among the most active and important excretory ducts of
the system. It is evident, then, that we require suitable clothing, not
only for comfort, but to maintain the temperature and functions
essential to health and life.
The chief object to be attained by dress is the maintenance of a uniform
temperature of the body. To attain this end, it is necessary that the
exhalations of the system, which are continually escaping through the
pores of the skin, should be absorbed or conducted away from the person.
These exudations occur in the form of sensible or insensible
perspiration, and the clothing, to be healthy, should be so porous as to
allow them freely to escape into the air.
A substance should also be chosen which is known to be a poor conductor
of heat. That generated by the system will thus be retained where it is
needed, instead of being dispersed into the atmosphere.
We might add that the better the material for accomplishing these
purposes, the less will be needed to be worn; for we do not wish to wear
or carry about with us any more material than is necessary. It so
happens that all of these qualities are found combined in _flannel_. The
value of this article worn next to the skin cannot be over-rated, for
while it affords protection from cold during the winter months, it is
equally beneficial during the heat of summer, because it imbibes the
perspiration, and being very porous, allows it to escape. The skin
always feels soft, smooth, and pliable, when it is worn; but, when
cotton takes its place, it soon becomes dry and harsh. Its natural
adaptability to these purposes, shows that it is equally a comfort and a
source of health. Where the skin is very delicate, flannel sometimes
causes irritation. In such cases a thin fabric of linen, cotton, or
silk, should be worn next the skin, with flannel immediately over it.
Where there is a uniform and extreme degree of heat, cotton and linen
are very conducive to comfort. But they are unsuitable in a climate or
season liable to sudden fluctuations in temperature.
The value of furs, where people are exposed to extreme cold, cannot be
overestimated. They are much warmer than wool, and are chiefly used as
wraps on going outdoors. They are too cumbrous and expensive for
ordinary wear in this latitude, but in places near the poles they
constitute the chief clothing of the inhabitants.
The quantity of clothing worn is another important item. The least that
is necessary to keep the body well protected and evenly tempered when
employed is the rule of health. Some people, instead of wearing flannels
next to the body, put on other material in greater abundance, thus
confining the perspiration to the skin and making the body chilly. The
amount of clothing is then increased, until they are so heavily clad
that they cannot exercise. It is far better to wear one thickness of
flannel next to the skin, and then cotton, or woolen, for outside
garments, and be able to exercise, thus allowing the blood to circulate
and to assist in the warming process.
One great fault in dress consists in neglecting to properly clothe the
upper extremities. Some people do not reflect upon the necessity, while
others are too proud to be directed by plain common sense. In the winter
season, the feet should be covered with woolen stockings. The next
matter of importance, is to get a thick, broad-soled shoe, so large that
it will not prevent the free circulation of the blood. Then for walking,
and especially for riding, when the earth is wet and cold, or when there
is snow on the ground, wear a flannel-lined rubber or "Arctic"
over-shoe. _Be sure and keep the feet comfortable and warm at all
times._
Our next advice is to keep the legs warm. We were called not long ago,
to see a young lady who had contracted a severe cold. She had been to an
entertainment where the apartments were nicely warmed, and from thence
had walked home late in the evening. We inquired into the circumstances
of the case, and ascertained that she wore flannel about her chest, and
that she also wore rubbers over her shoes, but the other portions of the
lower extremities were protected by cotton coverings. In short, her legs
were not kept warm, and she took cold by going out from warm rooms into
a chilly atmosphere. A good pair of woolen leggings might have saved her
much suffering. The results of insufficient protection of the lower
extremities are colds, coughs, consumption, headaches, pain in the side,
menstrual derangements, uterine congestion and disorders, besides
disablement for the ordinary and necessary duties of life. All these may
be prevented by clothing the legs suitably, and wearing comfortable
flannels.
Young people can bear a low temperature of the body better than old
people, because they possess greater power of endurance. But that is no
reason for unnecessary exposure.
The amount of clothing should be regulated according to the
heat-generating power of the individual, and also according to the
susceptibility to cold. No two persons are exactly alike in these
respects. But it is never proper for young people to reject the counsels
of experience, or treat lightly the advice to protect themselves
thoroughly against the cold. Many a parent's heart has ached as he has
followed the mortal remains of a darling child to the grave, knowing
that if good advice had been heeded, in all human probability, the life
would have been prolonged.
The most deleterious mechanical errors in clothing are those which
affect the chest and body. Tight lacing still plays too important a part
in dress. It interferes with the free and healthy movements of the body,
and effects a pressure which is alike injurious to the organs of
respiration, circulation, and digestion. The great muscle of
respiration, the diaphragm, is impeded in its motion, and is, therefore,
unable to act freely. The large blood-vessels are compressed, and when
the pressure is excessive the heart and lungs are also subjected to
restraint and thrown out of their proper positions. From the compression
of the liver and stomach, the functions of digestion are impeded, a
distaste for solid food, flatulency and pain after eating are the
unmistakable proofs of the injury which is being inflicted.
The evil effects of such pressure are not confined to actual periods of
time during which this pressure is applied. They continue after it has
been removed and when the chest and trunk of the body have thus been
subjected to long-continued pressure they become permanently deformed.
These deformities necessarily entail great suffering in child-bearing.
The evil effects of mechanical pressure on other parts of the body are
not uncommon. The leg is sometimes so indented by a tight garter that
the returning flow of blood through the veins is prevented, and a
varicose condition of these vessels is produced.
Irregular and excessive pressure on the foot by imperfectly fitting
shoes or boots produce deformities of the feet and cause much suffering.
The high heels which are so common on the shoes of women and children
inflict more than a local injury. Every time the body comes down upon
the raised heel with its full weight a slight shock or vibration is
communicated throughout the entire extent of the spinal column, and the
nervous mechanism is thereby injured. Furthermore, displacements of the
pelvic organs frequently result from these unnatural and absurd articles
of dress. Women of fashion are subjected to much annoyance from wearing
long, flowing skirts suspended from their waists to trail uselessly on
the floor and gather dust. It is impossible for the wearers of these
ridiculous garments to exercise their limbs properly or to breathe
naturally. Indigestion, palpitation, shortness of breath, and physical
degeneracy are the inevitable consequences of their folly. The skirts
should always be suspended from the shoulders and not from the hips. It
is especially important that the clothing of children should not fit too
tightly.
It is very important that the clothing should be kept clean. That which
is worn for a long time becomes saturated with the excretions and
exhalations of the body, which prevent free transpiration from the pores
of the skin, and thereby induce mental inactivity and depression of the
physical powers. Unclear clothing may be the means of conveying disease.
Scarlet fever has been conveyed frequently by the clothing of a nurse
into a healthy family. All of the contagious diseases have been
communicated by clothing contaminated in laundries.
Certain dyes which are largely used in the coloring of wearing apparel
are poisonous, and give rise to local disease of the skin, accompanied
in some instances, with constitutional symptoms. The principal poisonous
dyes are the red and yellow aniline. A case of poisoning from wearing
stockings colored with aniline dyes, in which there were severe
constitutional symptoms, came under our observation at the Invalids'
Hotel recently.
* * * * *
CHAPTER III.
PHYSICAL EXERCISE. MENTAL CULTURE. SLEEP. CLEANLINESS.
A well-developed physical organization is essential to perfect health.
Among the Greeks, beauty ranked next to virtue, and an eminent author
has said that "the nearer we approach Divinity, the more we reflect His
eternal beauty." The perfect expression of thought requires the physical
accompaniments of language, gesture, etc. The human form is pliable,
and, with proper culture, can be made replete with expression, grace and
beauty. The cultivation of the intellectual powers has been allowed to
supplant physical training to a great extent. The results are abnormally
developed brains, delicate forms, sensitive nerves and shortened lives.
That the physical and mental systems should be collaterally developed,
is a fact generally overlooked by educators. The fullness of a great
intellect is generally impaired when united with a weak and frail body.
We have sought perfection in animals and plants. To the former we have
given all the degree of strength and grace requisite to their peculiar
duties; to the latter we have imparted all the delicate tints and
shadings that fancy could picture. We have studied the laws of their
existence, until we are familiar with every phase of their production;
yet it remains for man to learn those laws of his own being, by a
knowledge of which he may promote and preserve the beauty of the human
form, and thus render it, indeed, an image of its Maker. When the body
is tenanted by a cultivated intellect, the result is a unity which is
unique, commanding the respect of humanity, and insuring a successful
life to the possessor. Students are as a rule pale and emaciated. Mental
application is generally the cause assigned when, in reality, it is the
result of insufficient exercise, impure air, and dietetic errors. An
intelligent journalist has remarked that "many of our ministers weigh
too little in the pulpit, because they weigh too little on the scales."
The Greek Gymnasium and Olympian Games were the sure foundations of that
education from which arose that subtle philosophy, poetry, and military
skill which have won the admiration of nineteen centuries. The laurel
crown of the Olympian victor was far more precious to the Grecian youth
than the gilded prize is to our modern genius. A popular lecturer has
truly remarked, that "we make brilliant mathematicians and miserable
dyspeptics; fine linguists with bronchial throats; good writers with
narrow chests and pale complexions; smart scholars, but not that union,
which the ancients prized, of a sound mind in a sound body. The brain
becomes the chief working muscle of the system. We refine and re-refine
the intellectual powers down to a diamond point and brilliancy, as if
they were the sole or reigning faculties, and we had not a physical
nature binding us to earth, and a spiritual nature binding us to the
great heavens and the greater God who inhabits them. Thus the university
becomes a sort of splendid hospital with this difference, that the
hospital _cures_, while the university _creates_ disease. Most of them
are indicted at the bar of public opinion for taking the finest young
brain and blood of the country, and, after working upon them for four
years, returning them to their homes skilled indeed to perform certain
linguistic and mathematical dexterities, but very much below par in
health and endurance, and, in short, seriously damaged and physically
demoralized." We read with reverence the sublime teachings of Aristotle
and Plato; we mark the grandeur of Homer and the delicate beauties of
Virgil; but we do not seek to reproduce in our modern institutions the
gymnasium, which was the real foundation of their genius. Colleges which
are now entering upon their career, should make ample provision for
those exercises which develop the _physical man._ This lack of bodily
training is common with all classes, and its effects are written in
indelible characters on the faces and forms of old and young.
Constrained positions in sitting restrict the movements of the diaphragm
and ribs and often cause diseases of the spine, or unnatural curvatures,
which prove disastrous to health and happiness. The head should be held
erect and the shoulders thrown backward, so that at each inspiration the
lungs may be fully expanded.
Physical exercise should never be too violent or too prolonged. Severe
physical labor, and athletic sports, if indulged in to an extreme
degree, produce undue excitability of the heart, and sometimes cause it
to become enlarged. There is a form of heart disease induced by undue
exertion which may be called a wearing out or wasting away of that
organ. It is common in those persons whose occupations expose them to
excessive physical labor for too many hours together. This feebleness of
heart is felt but little by vigorous persons under forty years of age,
but in those who have passed this age it becomes manifest. However, when
any person so affected is attacked by any acute disease, the heart is
more liable to fail, and thus cause a fatal termination.
Aneurism of the aorta or the large arteries branching off from it, which
is a dilatation of the walls of these vessels, caused by the rupture of
one or two of their coats, is generally induced by excessive physical
strain, such as lifting heavy weights, or carrying weights up long
flights of stairs, violent horseback exercise, or hurrying to catch a
train or street car.
[Illustration: Fig. 104.]
AN ERECT CARRIAGE is not only essential to health, but adds grace and
beauty to every movement. Although man was made to stand erect, thus
indicating his superiority over all other animals, yet custom has done
much to curve that magnificent central column, upon the summit of which
rests the "grand dome of thought." Many young persons unconsciously
acquire the habit of throwing the shoulders forward. The spinal column
is weakened by this unnatural posture, its vertebræ become so sensitive
and distorted that they cannot easily support the weight of the body or
sustain its equilibrium. It is generally believed that persons of
sedentary habits are more liable to become round-shouldered than any
other class of individuals. Observation shows, on the contrary, that the
manual laborer, or even the idler, often acquires this stooping posture.
It can be remedied, not by artificial braces, but by habitually throwing
the shoulders backwards. Deformed trunks and crooked spines, although
sometimes the effects of disease are more frequently the results of
carelessness. Jacques has remarked that "one's standing among his
fellow-men is quite as important a matter in a _physiological_, as in a
_social_ sense." _Walking_ is one of the most efficient means of
physical culture, as it calls all the muscles into action and produces
the amount of tension requisite for their tonicity. Long walks or
protracted physical exercise of any kind should never be undertaken
immediately after meals. The first essential to a healthful walk is a
pleasurable object. Beautiful scenery, rambles in meadows rich with
fragrant grasses, or along the flowery banks of water-courses, affords
an agreeable stimulus, which sends the blood through the vital channels
with unwonted force, and imparts to the cheeks the ruddy glow of health.
Our poets acknowledge the silent influence of nature. Wordsworth has
expressed this thought in his own sublime way:
"The floating clouds their state shall lend
To her: for her the willow bend;
Nor shall she fail to see,
E'en in the motions of the storm
Grace that shall mould the maiden's form
By silent sympathy.
The stars of midnight shall be dear
To her: and she shall lean her ear
In many a secret place,
Where rivulets dance their wayward round,
And beauty, born of murmuring sound,
Shall pass into her face."
BASE BALL, CRICKET, BOXING, AND FENCING, are all manly exercises when
practiced solely with a view to their hygienic advantages and as such
have our approval.
[Illustration: Fig. 105.]
[Illustration: Fig. 109.]
THE ART OF SWIMMING was regarded by the Greeks as an important
accomplishment. As a hygienic agency, it occupies a high place in
physical culture. The varied movements impart strength and elasticity to
the muscles. It is as charming a recreation for women and girls as for
men and boys. Furthermore, it is not only a means of physical culture,
but is often essential for self-preservation.
[Illustration: Fig. 110.]
THE EXERCISES OF THE GYMNASIUM are especially productive of health and
longevity. The most important of these are balancing, leaping, climbing,
wrestling, and throwing, all of which are especially adapted to the
development of the muscles. In conclusion, we offer the following
suggestions, viz: all gymnastic exercises should be practiced in the
morning, and in the open air; extremes should be avoided; and it should
be always borne in mind, that their chief object is to combine, in a
proper proportion, mental and physical development. In every relation of
life we should cultivate all those faculties which pertain to our
physical, moral, and mental natures, subdue our passions, and nature
will bestow upon us her richest rewards of health, beauty, and
happiness.
CYCLING.
[Illustration]
If one were asked what athletic exercise deserves to be the most popular
in America to-day, the answer would of necessity be cycling. The bicycle
is being used by people of all ages and conditions of health in daily
life; its hygienic value as a means to healthy exercise cannot be
overestimated. In this, as in everything else, immoderation is to be
condemned, particularly where persons have not had sufficient training
to take long "spins," or attempt racing. Beginners should ride only 10
or 12 minutes at a time--resting then to permit the circulation to
become equalized. In all cyclists, at all ages, in veteran riders as
well as those not practiced in the art, there is, in the beginning of
each attempt, a quickened circulation; the pulse is full and bounding,
and rarely falls under a hundred pulsations per minute. So long as the
exercise is continued, an increase of cardiac motion is observable, and
a vigorous circulation is kept up. This accounts for the astounding
journeys a fully trained cyclist can accomplish, and also for his
endurance without sleep. In spite of the quickened motion of the heart,
rarely have riders been known to grow giddy or show symptoms of cardiac
embarrassment. A good rider may climb a hill without trouble, yet be
unable to climb a flight of stairs without breathlessness and
palpitation. Bicycle riding as a means for acquiring strength and vigor,
improving the circulation and developing the respiratory organs, is
unexcelled. Fast riding, or "scorching," among those not used to
physical exertion, and leaning over the handle-bars so as to ride in a
stooping position, are to be heartily condemned. The latter prevents the
lungs from getting their full expansion, and cultivates a tendency to
round shoulders. Men or women suffering from diseases of the sexual
organs should, before riding, consult the physician having their case in
charge.
[Illustration: Fig. 112.]
RIDING ON HORSEBACK is a fine exercise for both sexes. It promotes
digestion, improves the circulation, and expands and develops the
respiratory organs. The pure, fresh air, pleasant scenery, and
pleasurable excitement, impart renewed vigor to the equestrian. In the
Southern States it is a universal accomplishment, and children are
taught to ride as well as to walk.
DANCING. Notwithstanding the fact that dancing has been perverted to the
basest purposes, has been made the fruitful source of dissipation, and
has often laid the foundation for disease, it is yet capable of being
made to minister to health and happiness. As a means of physical
culture, it favors the development of the muscular system, and promotes
health and cheerfulness. When practiced for this purpose, Jacques terms
it "the best of all indoor exercises," as it brings to bear upon the
physical system a great number of energizing and harmonious influences.
MENTAL CULTURE.
The brain, like all other organs of the body, requires alternate
exercise and repose; and, in physical endurance, it is subject to
general physiological laws. When exercised with moderation it acquires
strength, vigor, and an accelerated activity. Excessive mental exertion
is liable to result in softening of the brain, and various nervous
diseases, sometimes culminating in insanity, and in many instances
proving fatal to life. The mere votaries of pleasure who avoid all
effort of the mind, fall into the opposite error. In all cases of
intellectual activity, the exertions should be directed to some subject
interesting to the student. In this manner duty will become a pleasure,
which in turn will re-invigorate the mental functions.
When the mind in confined to one subject for any considerable length of
time together, it becomes fatigued, and requires relaxation, recreation,
rest. This may be obtained by directing the attention to some other
subject, either study or amusement, the latter of which is preferable.
The amusement, however, may be of an intellectual or physical character
or both combined, and will, if properly conducted, restore vigor to both
mind and body.
Prominent among physical phenomena is the mutual relation between the
brain and the organs of nutrition. Mental exertion should be avoided for
at least one hour after a hearty meal, and all mental labor which
requires concentration of thought ought to be accomplished in the
earlier portion of the day, when the brain is refreshed and repaired by
the night's repose. Mental, like physical endurance, is modified by age,
health and development. A person accustomed to concentration of thought,
can endure a longer mental strain than one inured to manual labor only.
One of the most injurious customs, is the cultivation of the intellect
at the expense of the physical powers.
MENTAL CULTURE DURING CHILDHOOD. One of the greatest mistakes which
people make in the management of their children, is to overtask their
mental faculties. Although it is exceedingly gratifying to see children
acquire knowledge, and manifest an understanding far beyond their years,
this gratification is often purchased too dearly, for precocious
children are apt to die young. The tissue of the brain and nerves of
children is very delicate; they have not yet acquired the powers of
endurance which older persons possess. The greater portion of the
nutriment assimilated, is required for growth and organic development,
and they can ill afford its expenditure for mental manifestations. They
receive impressions easier and learn much more readily than in after
life, but it is at the expense of the physical organization. Their
mental faculties continue to be developed by the expenditure of brain
nutriment, while physical growth and the powers of endurance are
arrested. It is much better to give physical development the precedence
in order that the mental organism may be well supported and its
operations carried into effect; for it must be apparent to all that an
ordinary intellect in a healthy body, is capable of accomplishing
infinitely more than a strong mind in a _weak_ body. Regularity should
be observed in exercising the mental functions. For this reason a fixed
order in the pursuit of any literary occupation is very essential. The
pursuit of the most abstruse studies will thus become habitual and
comparatively easy, a consequence of systematic application. Mental
labor should always cease when the train of thought becomes confused,
and there is the slightest sensation of depression. All distracting
influences should be absent from the mind, in order to facilitate
intense study, for the intellect cannot attend perfectly to two subjects
at the same time. Painful sensations always have a tendency to paralyze
mental exertion. Great care should be taken that the head is not
subjected to injury of any kind, as it is almost invariably accompanied
by some nervous derangement. Exposure to extreme heat should be
carefully avoided. An attack of sun-stroke although it may not be
immediately fatal, may occasion tumors in the brain, or some organic
disease.
SLEEP.
For all animated beings sleep is an imperious necessity, as
indispensable as food. The welfare of man requires alternate periods of
activity and repose. It is a well-established physiological fact, that
during the wakeful hours the vital energies are being expended, the
powers of life diminished, and, if wakefulness is continued beyond a
certain limit, the system becomes enfeebled and death is the result.
During sleep there is a temporary cessation of vital expenditures, and a
recuperation of all the forces. Under the influence of sleep "the blood
is refreshed, the brain recruited, physical sufferings are extinguished,
mental troubles are removed, the organism is relieved, and hope returns
to the heart."
The severest punishment which can be inflicted upon a person, is to
entirely deprive him of sleep. In China, a few years since, three
criminals were sentenced to be kept awake until they should die. To do
this it was necessary to keep a guard over them. The sentinels were
armed with sharp, pointed instruments, with which to goad the victims
and thus prevent them from sleeping. Life soon became a burden, and,
although they were well fed during the time, death occurred sooner than
it would have done had starvation been the punishment.
SLEEPING ROOMS. The sleeping room should be large and well ventilated,
and the air kept moderately cool. The necessity for a fire may be
determined by the health of the occupant. Besides maintaining a proper
temperature in the room, a little fire is useful, especially if in a
grate, for the purpose of securing good ventilation. The windows should
not be so arranged as to allow a draught upon the body during the night,
but yet so adjusted that the inmate may obtain plenty of fresh air.
THE BED should not be too soft, but rather hard. Feathers give off
animal emanations of an injurious character, and impart a feeling of
lassitude and debility to those sleeping on them. No more coverings
should be used than are actually necessary for the comfort of the
individual. Cotton sheets are warmer than linen, and answer equally as
well.
SLEEPING ALONE. Certain effluvia are thrown off from our persons, and
when two individuals sleep together each inhales from the other more or
less of these emanations. There is little doubt that _consumption_, and
many other diseases, not usually considered contagious, are sometimes
communicated in this manner. When it is not practicable for individuals
to occupy separate beds, the persons sleeping together should be of
about the same age, and in good health. Numerous cases have occurred in
which healthy, robust children have gradually declined and died within a
few months, from the evil effects of sleeping with old people. Again,
those in feeble health have been greatly benefited, and even restored,
by sleeping with others who were young and healthy.
TIME FOR SLEEP. _Night_ is the proper time for sleep. When day is
substituted for night, the sleep obtained does not fully restore the
exhausted energies of the system. Nature does not allow her laws to be
broken with impunity.
Children require more sleep than old persons. They are sometimes
stupefied with "soothing syrups," and preparations of opium, in order to
get them temporarily out of the way. Such narcotics are very injurious
and dangerous. We have known a young child to be killed by a _single
drop_ of laudanum. This practice, therefore, cannot be too emphatically
condemned.
HOW TO PUT CHILDREN TO BED. The following characteristic lines are from
the pen of Fanny Fern, and contain such good advice that we cannot
refrain from quoting them: "Not with a reproof for any of the day's sins
of omission or commission. Take any other time than bed-time for that.
If you ever heard a little creature sighing or sobbing in its sleep, you
could never do this. Seal their closing eyelids with a kiss and a
blessing. The time will come, all too soon, when they will lay their
heads upon their pillows lacking both. Let them at least have this sweet
memory of happy childhood, of which no future sorrow or trouble can rob
them. Give them their rosy youth. Nor need this involve wild license.
The judicious parent will not so mistake my meaning. If you ever met the
man or the woman, whose eyes have suddenly filled when a little child
has crept trustingly to its mother's breast, you may have seen one in
whose childhood's home 'dignity' and 'severity' stood where love and
pity should have been. Too much indulgence has ruined thousands of
children; too much love not one."
POSITION IN SLEEP. The proper position in sleep is upon the right side.
The orifice leading from the stomach to the bowels being on this side,
this position favors the passage of the contents into the duodenum.
Lying on the back is injurious, since by so doing the spine becomes
heated, especially if the person sleeps on feathers, the circulation is
obstructed and local congestions are encouraged. The face should never
be covered during sleep, since it necessitates the breathing of the same
air over again, together with the emanations from the body.
THE AMOUNT OF SLEEP. The amount of sleep required varies with the age,
habits, condition, and peculiarities of the individual. No definite rule
can be given for the guidance of all. The average amount required,
however, is eight or nine hours out of the twenty-four. Some persons
need more than this, while others can do with less. Since both body and
mind are recuperated by sleep, the more they are exhausted the more
sleep is required. A person employed at mental labor should have more
than one who is merely expending muscular strength. Six hours of
unbroken sleep do more to refresh and revive than ten when frequently
interrupted. If it is too prolonged it weakens and stupefies both body
and mind. If an insufficient amount is taken the flagging energies are
not restored. Persons who eat much, or use stimulants generally require
more than others. To sleep regularity is desirable. If a person goes to
bed at a certain hour for several nights in succession, it will soon
become a habit. The same holds true with regard to rising. If children
are put to sleep at a stated hour for several days in succession, it
will soon become a habit with them.
CLEANLINESS.
"Cleanliness is next to godliness," and is essential to the health and
vigor of the system. Its importance cannot be overestimated, and it
should be inculcated early on the minds of the young. "Even from the
body's purity, the mind receives a secret sympathetic aid."
When we consider the functions of the skin, with its myriads of minute
glands, innumerable little tubes, employed in removing the worn-out,
useless matter from the system, we cannot fail to appreciate the utility
of frequent bathing with soap and water. Unless these excretions are
removed, the glands become obstructed, their functions are arrested, and
unpleasant odors arise. Many persons think because they daily bathe the
face, neck, and hands, dress the hair becomingly and remove the dirt
from their clothing that the height of cleanliness has been reached.
From a hygienic point of view, bathing the _entire_ body is of much
greater importance.
Notwithstanding the necessity for cleanliness of the body, we
occasionally meet with persons who, although particular about their
personal appearance, permit their bodies to be for weeks and even months
without a bath. Such neglect should never exceed one week. Plenty of
sunlight and at least one or two general baths every week are essential
to perfect health. Cleanliness is necessary to health, beauty,
attractiveness, and a cheerful disposition.
* * * * *
CHAPTER IV.
HYGIENE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.
The structure and functions of organized bodies are subject to continual
alteration. The changes of nutrition and growth, which are constantly
taking place in the tissues render them at the same time the seat of
repair and waste, of renovation and decomposition, of life and death.
The plant germinates and blossoms, then withers and decays; animal life,
in like manner, comes into being, grows to maturity, fades, and dies. It
is, therefore, essential to the perpetuation of life, that new organisms
be provided to take the place of those which are passing out of
existence. There is no physiological process which presents more
interesting phenomena than that of reproduction, which includes the
formation, as well as the development of new beings.
Since self-preservation is Nature's first law, the desire for food is a
most powerful instinct in all living animals. Not inferior to this law
is that for the perpetuation of the race; and for this purpose,
throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we find the Biblical
statement literally illustrated: "Male and female created He them."
Health is the gauge by which the prosperity of a people may be measured.
Were we to trace the history of nations,--their rise and fall,--we would
find that much of the barbarism and crime, degradation and vice, as well
as their decline and final extinction, was due to licentiousness and
sexual excesses. Since there is an intimate relation between mind and
body, when the body is enfeebled the mind becomes enervated. Morbid
conditions of the body prevent the highest mental development, and, on
the other hand, when the mind is debilitated, general depravity,
physical as well as mental, is the result. The highest development of
the body results from the equal and harmonious cultivation of all the
mental powers. The perfect development and health of the physical organs
is therefore essential to the happiness of mankind. But, before health
can be insured the nature and general functions of the physical system
must be understood. This being done, the question naturally arises: _How
can health be best maintained and longevity secured?_
INFLUENCE OF FOOD. We have previously noticed the effects which food,
exercise, and other hygienic agencies, have upon digestion, circulation,
and respiration; and we find that they exert a not less potent influence
upon the health of the generative organs. Excessive stimulation excites
the sexual passions. For this reason, children should not be
immoderately indulged in highly seasoned foods. Those persons who have
great muscular vigor are endowed with violent passions, and unless
restrained by moral considerations, are very likely to be overcome by
their animal propensities.
_Alcoholic stimulants_ have a debasing influence upon the whole system,
and especially upon the sexual organs; they excite the animal and debase
the moral nature; they exhaust the vitality, and, after the excitement,
which they temporarily induce, has passed away, the body is left in a
prostrated condition.
PHYSICAL LABOR MODIFIES THE PASSIONS. Labor consumes the surplus
vitality which a person may possess, and no better protective can be
found against the gratification of the passions, unless it be high moral
training, than daily toil extended to such a degree as to produce
fatigue. Labor determines the blood to the surface and to other parts of
the body, and prevents excitement and congestion of the sexual centers.
If, by education or association, the passions of children be excited,
they will be increased. If, on the contrary, they be taught to avoid
these social or solitary evils, they will be abated. Let them be
educated to work and the intellectual faculties will assert their sway,
the moral powers will be strengthened, and the body better developed,
for purity of mind is the result of the perfect development of man.
INFLUENCES OF CLIMATE. Individuals possess distinguishing peculiarities
characteristic of the nation to which they belong. Climate exerts a
powerful influence upon mankind. In tropical regions the inhabitants are
enervated, effeminate, and sensual. The rich live in luxury and ease,
vice is unrestrained and license unbridled. When the animal propensities
are allowed to predominate, the mental faculties are kept in subjection.
Hence races that inhabit those latitudes rarely produce scholars or
philosophers. A warm climate hastens the development of the reproductive
organs. Men and women become mature at a much earlier age in those
regions, than in countries where the temperature is lower. In like
manner there is a tendency to premature enfeeblement, for the earlier
the system matures, the sooner it deteriorates.
MAN IS A SOCIAL BEING. History demonstrates that when man is deprived of
the society of women, he becomes reckless, vicious, depraved, and even
barbarous in his habits, thus illustrating the maxim: "It is not good
for man to be alone." Social intercourse promotes mental and physical
development. The development of the individual implies the unfolding of
every power, both physical and mental. Nothing so regulates and
restrains passion as a healthy condition of the organs through which it
finds expression. And every organ of the body is powerful in proportion
to its soundness. The propensities play a prominent part in the
education of the child. When properly disciplined and held in
subordination to the higher faculties, they constitute an important
factor in the economy of man. Boys are more liable to be morbidly
excited when secluded from the society of girls, and vice versa. Again,
when the sexes are accustomed to associate, the passions are not apt to
be aroused, because of the natural antagonistic constitutional elements.
The influence of the one refines, and ennobles the other. Let children
be taught to understand their natures, and knowing them, they will learn
self-government. "As man rises in education and moral feeling he
proportionately rises in the power of self-restraint; and consequently
as he becomes deprived of this wholesome law of discipline he sinks into
self-indulgence and the brutality of savage life.
The passions may be aroused by the language, appearance or dress of the
opposite sex. A word spoken without any impure intent is often construed
in a very different sense by one whose passions color the thought, and
is made to convey an impression entirely unlike that which was intended
by the speaker. Also, the dress may be of such a character as to excite
the sexual passion. The manner in which the apparel is worn is often so
conspicuous as to become bawdy, thereby appealing to the libidinous
desires, rather than awakening an admiration for the mental qualities.
OBSCENE LITERATURE. Literature is a powerful agent either for good or
evil. If we would improve the morals, _choice_ literature must be
selected, whether it be that which realizes the ideal, or idealizes the
real. Obscene literature, or books written for the express purpose of
exciting or intensifying sexual desires in the young, goads to an
illicit gratification of the passions, and ruins the moral and physical
nature.
It not unfrequently happens that a child is born with a vigorous, mental
organism which promises a brilliant future, but manhood finds him
incompetent, debilitated, and totally incapacitated for mental or manual
labor. This may be the result of youthful indiscretion, ignorantly
committed, but not unfrequently it is the effect of a pernicious
literature which inflames the imagination, tramples upon reason, and
describes to the youth a realm where the passions are the ruling
deities.
Many persons are born into the world with disordered organizations for
which they are not themselves responsible. Such individuals are entitled
to the sympathy of humanity. Dyspepsia, scrofula, consumption, and a
thousand ills to which mankind is heir, are inherited from parents, the
results of ill-assorted marriages. Intoxicated parents often produce
offspring utterly demented. Children of healthy parents, with good
constitutions, are usually healthy and intelligent. There are marked
varieties of character in children of the same parents. One manifests
great precocity, another is below the average in mental attainments; one
is amiable, another irritable in disposition; indeed, there are often as
great differences between children of the same, as of different
families. This is due to the physical and mental conditions of the
parents, more especially the mother, not only at the time of the
impregnation but also during the period intervening between conception
and the birth of the offspring. The ancients regarded courage as the
principal virtue. By us, purity is so estimated. Moral purity is an
essential requisite to the growth and perfection of the character.
SELF-ABUSE. Untold miseries arise from the pollution of the body.
Self-pollution, or onanism, is one of the most prolific sources of evil,
since it leads both to the degradation of body and mind. It is practiced
more or less by members of both sexes, and the habit once established,
is overcome with the greatest difficulty. It is the source of numerous
diseases which derange the functional activity of the organs involved,
and eventually impair the constitution. This vicious habit is often
practiced by those who are ignorant of its dangerous results. Statistics
show that insanity is frequently caused by masturbation.
Immoderate indulgence in any practice is deleterious to the individual.
Emphatically true is this with regard to sexual excesses. Not
unfrequently does the marriage rite "cover a multitude of sins." The
abuse of the conjugal relation produces the most serious results to both
parties, and is a prolific source of some of the gravest forms of
disease. Prostatorrhea, spermatorrhea, impotency, hypochondria, and
general debility of the generative organs, arise from sexual excesses.
The health of the reproductive organs can only be maintained by leading
a _temperate_ life. The food should be nourishing but not stimulating.
Lascivious thoughts should be banished from the mind, and a taste
cultivated for that literature which is elevating in its nature, and the
associations should be refining and ennobling. Let these conditions and
the rules of hygiene, be observed, and virtue will reward her subjects
with a fine physique and a noble character.
Woman, from the nature of her organization, has less strength and
endurance than man. Much, however, of the suffering and misery which she
experiences arises from insufficient attention to the sexual organs. The
menstrual function is generally established between the ages of twelve
and fourteen. For want of proper instruction, many a girl through
ignorance HAS caused derangements which have enfeebled her womanhood or
terminated her life. At this critical period the mother cannot be too
considerate of her daughter's health. Preceding the first appearance of
the menses, girls usually feel an aching in the back, pains in the
limbs, chilliness, and general languor. The establishment of this
function relieves these symptoms. Every precaution should be taken
during the period to keep the feet dry and warm, to freely maintain a
general circulation of the blood, to avoid exertion, and to refrain from
standing or walking too much. Menstrual derangements should never be
neglected, for they predispose to affections of the brain, liver, heart,
and stomach, induce consumption and frequently end in death. Young women
should, therefore, properly protect themselves, and avoid extremes of
heat and cold.
* * * * *
CHAPTER V.
PRACTICAL SUMMARY OF HYGIENE.
1. The first step which should be taken for the prevention of disease,
is to make provision for the health of the unborn child. Greater care
should be exercised with women who are in a way to become mothers. Those
who are surrounded by all the luxuries which health can bestow, indulge
too much in rich food, and take too little exercise; while the poor get
too little nourishment, and work too hard and too long. A woman in this
condition should avoid over-exertion, and all scenes which excite the
passions or powerful emotions. She should take moderate exercise in the
open air; eat moderately of wholesome food, and of meat not oftener than
twice a day; take tea or coffee in limited quantities, and avoid the use
of all alcoholic liquors; she should go to bed early and take not less
than nine hours sleep; her clothing should be loose, light in weight,
and warm. She should take every precaution against exposure to
contagious or infectious diseases.
2. There is no better method for preventing the spread of contagious
diseases than perfect isolation of the infected, and thorough
disinfection of all articles of clothing or bedding which have been in
contact with the infected. Many persons erroneously believe that every
child must necessarily have the measles, and other contagious diseases,
and they, therefore, take no precautions against the exposure of their
children. The liability to infection diminishes as age advances, and
those individuals are, as a rule, the strongest and best developed who
have never suffered from any of the contagious diseases. Although,
vaccination is the great safeguard against-pox, yet it should never
prevent the immediate isolation of those who are suffering from this
disease.
3. To avoid the injurious effects of impure air, the following rules,
should be carefully observed. The admission of air which contains
anything that emits an unpleasant odor into closed rooms should be
avoided. The temperature of every apartment should be kept as near 70°
Fahr. as possible, and the air should not be overcharged with watery
vapor. Provisions should be made for the free admission into and escape
of air from the room at all times. When an apartment is not in use, it
should be thoroughly ventilated by opening the windows. Those who are
compelled to remain in an atmosphere tilled with dust, should wear a
cotton-wool respirator.
4. To insure a healthy condition of the body, the diet of man ought to
be varied, and all excesses should be avoided. The total amount of solid
food taken in the twenty-four hours should not exceed two and a half
pounds, and not more than one-third of this quantity should consist of
animal food. Many persons do not require more than one pound and a half
of mixed food. To avoid parasitic diseases, meat should not be eaten
rare, especially pork. The amount of drink taken should not be more than
three pints in twenty-four hours. The excessive use of tea and coffee
should be avoided. Pickles, boiled cabbage, and other indigestible
articles should never be eaten.
5. To avoid the evil effects of alcoholic liquors, perfect abstinence is
the only safe course to pursue. Although one may use spirituous liquors
in moderation for a long period of time and possibly remain healthy, yet
such an indulgence is unnecessary and exceedingly dangerous. A person
who abstains entirely from their use is safe from their pernicious
influence; a person who indulges ever so moderately is in danger; a
person who relies on such stimulants for support in the hour of need is
lost.
6. While the use of tobacco is less pernicious than alcohol in its
effects, et it exerts a profound disturbing influence upon the nervous
system, and gives rise to various functional and organic diseases. This
is the verdict of those who have given the subject the most study, and
who have had the best opportunities for extensive observation. Suddenly
fatal results have followed excesses in the use of tobacco. Therefore,
the habit should be avoided, or if already acquired, it should be
immediately abandoned.
7. The clothing should be light and porous, adapted in warmth to the
season. It is especially important that persons in advanced life should
be well protected against vicissitudes of heat and cold. Exposure is the
cause of almost all those inflammatory diseases which occur during
winter, and take off the feeble and the aged. The under-garments should
be kept scrupulously clean by frequent changes. Corsets or bands which
impede the flow of blood, compress the organs of the chest or abdomen,
or restrict the movements of the body, are very injurious, and should
not be worn. Articles of dress which are colored with irritating
dye-stuffs, should be carefully avoided.
8. It matters not how varied a person's vocation may be, change,
recreation, and rest are required. It is an error to suppose that more
work can be done by omitting these. No single occupation which requires
special mental or physical work, should be followed for more than eight
hours out of the twenty-four. The physical organism is not constructed
to run its full cycle of years and labor under a heavier burden than
this. Physical and mental exercise is conducive to health and longevity,
if not carried too far. It is erroneous to suppose that excessive
physical exertion promotes health. Man was never intended to be a
running or a jumping machine. In mental work, variety should be
introduced. New work calls into play fresh portions of the brain, and
secures repose for those parts which have become exhausted. Idleness
should be avoided by all. Men should never retire from business as long
as they enjoy a fair degree of health. Idleness and inactivity are
opposed to nature.
9. The average length of time which a person ought to sleep is eight
hours out of the twenty-four, and, as a rule, those who take this amount
enjoy the best health. The most favorable time for sleep is between the
hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. All excitement, the use of stimulants, and
excessive fatigue tend to prevent sleep. Sleeping rooms should be well
ventilated, and the air maintained at a equable temperature of as near
60° Fahr. as possible. An inability to sleep at the proper time, or a
regular inclination to sleep at other than the natural hours for it, is
a certain indication of errors of habit, or of nervous derangement.
10. Prominent among all other measures for the maintenance of Health, is
personal cleanliness. Activity in the functions of the skin is essential
to perfect health, and this can only be secured by thoroughly bathing
the entire body. Strictly, a person should bathe once every twenty-four
or forty-eight hours. The body should be habituated to contact with cold
water at all season of the year, so that warm water may not become a
necessity. The simplest and most convenient bath, is the ordinary
sponge-bath. An occasional hot-air, or Turkish bath, exerts a very
beneficial influence. It cleans out the pores of the skin and increases
its activity.
11. The emotions and the passions exert a powerful influence over the
physical organism. It is important, therefore, that they be held under
restraint by the reasoning faculties. This rule applies equally to joy,
fear, and grief; to avarice, anger, and hatred; and, above all, to the
sexual passion. They are a prolific source of disease of the nervous
system, and have caused the dethronement of some of the most gifted
intellects.
* * * * *
PART III.
RATIONAL MEDICINE.
CHAPTER I.
THE PROGRESS OF MEDICINE.
During the last half century a great change has taken place in the
treatment of disease. Medicine has advanced with rapid strides, from the
narrow limits of mere empiricism, to the broader realm of rationalism,
until to day it comprehends all the elements of an art and a science.
Scientific researches and investigations have added many valuable truths
to the general fund of medical learning, but much more has been effected
by observation and empirical discovery. It is of little or no interest
to the invalid to know whether the prescribed remedy is organic or
inorganic, simple, compound, or complex. In his anxiety and distress of
body, he seeks solely for relief, without regard to the character of the
remedial agents employed. But this indifference on the part of the
patient does not obviate the necessity for a thorough, scientific
education on the part of the practitioner. Notwithstanding all the laws
enacted to raise the standard of medicine, and thus protect the public
from quackery, there yet exists a disposition among many to cling to all
that savors of the miraculous, or supernatural. To insure the future
advancement of the healing art, physicians must instruct mankind in
Physiology, Hygiene, and Medicine. When the people understand the nature
of diseases, their causes, methods of prevention and cure, they will not
be easily deceived, and practitioners will be obliged to qualify
themselves better for their labors. The practice of medicine is every
year becoming more successful. New and improved methods of treating
disease are being discovered and developed, and the conscientious
physician will avail himself of _all_ the means, by a knowledge of which
he may benefit his fellow-men. The medical profession is divided into
three principal schools, or sects.
THE ALLOPATHIC, REGULAR, OR OLD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
This is the oldest existing branch of the profession. To it is due the
credit of collecting and arranging the facts and discoveries which form
the foundation of the healing art. It has done, and is doing, much to
place the science of medicine on a firm basis. To the text-books of this
school, every student who would qualify himself for medical practice
must resort, to gain that knowledge upon which depends his future
success. The early practice of this branch of the profession was
necessarily crude and empirical. Conservative in its character, it has
ever been slow to recognize new theories and methods of practice, and
has failed to adopt them until they have been incontrovertibly
established. This conservatism was manifested in the opposition to
Harvey when he propounded the theory of the circulation of the blood,
and to Jenner when he discovered and demonstrated the beneficial effects
of vaccination. Thus has it ever defended its established opinions
against innovation; yet out of this very conservatism has grown much
real good, for, although it has wasted no time or energy in the
investigation of theories, yet it has accepted them when established. In
this manner it has added to its fund of knowledge only those truths
which are of real and intrinsic value.
The history of medicine may be divided into three eras. In the first,
the practice of medicine was merely empiricism. Ignorant priests or
astrologers administered drugs, concerning the properties of which they
had no knowledge, to appease the wrath of mythological deities. In the
second or heroic era, the lancet, mercury, antimony, opium, and the
blister were employed indiscriminately as the _sine qua non_ of medical
practice. The present, with all its scientific knowledge of the human
structure and functions, and its vast resources for remedying disease
may be aptly termed the liberal era of medicine. The allopathic differs
from the other schools, mainly in the application of remedies. In its
ranks are found men, indefatigable in their labors, delving deep into
the mysteries of nature, and who, for their scientific attainments and
humane principles are justly considered ornaments to society and to
their profession.
HOMOEOPATHY.
Although this school is of comparatively recent origin, yet it has
gained a powerful hold upon the public favor, and numbers among its
patrons very many intelligent citizens. This fact alone would seem to
indicate that it possesses some merit. The homeopathic differs from the
allopathic school principally in its _"law of cure,"_ which, according
to Hahnemann, its founder, was the doctrine of _"similia similibus
curantur"_ or "like cures like." Its method of treatment is founded upon
the assumption that if a drug be given to a healthy person, symptoms
will occur which, if transpiring in disease, would be mitigated by the
same drug. While it may be exceedingly difficult for a member of another
school to accept this doctrine and comprehend the method founded upon
it, yet no one can deny that it contains some elements of truth.
Imbued with the spirit of progress, many of its most intelligent and
successful practitioners have resorted to the use of appreciable
quantities of medicine. This school associates hydropathy with its
practice, and usually inculcates rigid dietetic and hygienic
regulations. Many homoeopathic remedies are thoroughly triturated with
sugar of milk, which renders them more palatable and efficacious.
Whether we attribute their cures to the infinitesimal doses which many
homoeopathists employ, to their "law of cure," to good nursing, or to
the power of nature, it is nevertheless true that their practice is
measurably successful. No doubt the homoeopathic practice has modified
that of the other schools, by proving that diseases may be alleviated by
smaller quantities of medicine than were formerly employed.
THE ECLECTIC SCHOOL.
This school, founded by Wooster Beach, instituted the most strenuous
opposition to the employment of mercury, antimony, the blister, and the
lancet. The members of this new school proclaimed that the action of
heroic and noxious medicines was opposed to the operation of the vital
forces, and proposed to substitute in their place safer and more
efficacious agents, derived exclusively from the vegetable kingdom. The
eclectics have investigated the properties of indigenous plants and have
discovered many valuable remedies, which a kind and bounteous nature has
so generously supplied for the healing of her children. Marked success
attended the employment of these agents. In 1852, a committee on
"Indigenous Medical Botany," appointed by the "American Medical
Association," acknowledged that the practitioners of the regular school
had been extremely ignorant of the medical virtues of plants, even of
those of their own neighborhoods. The employment of podophyllin and
leptandrin as substitutes for mercurials has been so successful that
they are now used by practitioners of all schools. Although claiming to
have been founded upon liberal principles, it may be questioned whether
its adherents have not been quite as exclusive and dogmatic as those
whom they have opposed. It cannot be denied, however, that the eclectics
have added many important remedies to the Materia Medica. Their writings
are important and useful contributions to the physician's library.
THE LIBERAL AND INDEPENDENT PHYSICIAN.
After this brief review of the various medical sects, the reader may be
curious to learn to what sect the physicians of the Invalids' Hotel and
Surgical Institute belong. Among them are to be found graduates from the
colleges of all the different schools. They are not restricted by the
tenets of any one sect, but claim the right and privilege, nay, consider
it a duty, to select from all, such remedies as careful investigation,
scientific research, and an extensive experience, have proved valuable.
They resort to any and every agent which has been proved efficacious,
whether it be vegetable or mineral.
And here arises a distinction between _sanative_ remedial agents and
those which are _noxious_. Many practitioners deplore the use of
poisons, and advocate innocuous medicines which produce only curative
results. We agree with them in one proposition, namely, that improper
medicines not only poison, but frequently utterly destroy the health and
body of the patient. Every physician should keep steadily in view the
final effects, as well as present relief, and never employ any agent
without regard to its ulterior consequences. However, an agent which is
noxious in _health_, may prove a valuable remedy in _disease_. When
morbid changes have taken place in the blood and tissues, when a general
diseased condition of the bodily organs has occurred, then an agent,
which is poisonous in health, may prove curative. For instance it is
admitted that alcohol is a poison; that it prevents healthful
assimilation, solidifies pepsin, begets a morbid appetite; that it
produces intoxication, and that its habitual use destroys the body. It
is, therefore, neither a hygienic nor a sanative agent, but strictly a
noxious one; yet, its very distinct antiseptic properties render it
valuable for remedial purposes, since these qualities promptly arrest
that fatal form of decomposition of the animal fluids which is
occasioned by snake-venom, which produces its deadly effects in the same
manner as a drop of yeast ferments the largest mash. Alcohol checks this
poisonous and deadly process and neutralizes its effects. Thus, alcohol,
although a noxious agent, possesses a special curative influence in a
morbid state of the human system; but its general remedial effects do
not entitle it to the rank of a hygienic agent. We believe that medicine
is undergoing a gradual change from the darkness of the past, with its
ignorance, superstition, and barbarism, to the light of a glorious
future. At each successive step in the path of progress, medicine
approaches one degree nearer the realm of an exact science. The common
object of the practitioners of all medical schools is the alleviation of
human suffering. The only difference between the schools is in the
remedies employed, the size of dose administered, and the results
attained. These are insufficient grounds for bitter sectarianism. We are
all fellow laborers in the same field. Before us lies a boundless
expanse for exploration. There are new conditions of disease to be
learned, new remedies to be discovered, and new properties of old ones
to be examined.
We do not deplore the fact, that there are different schools in
medicine, for this science has not reached perfection, and they tend to
stimulate investigation. The remarks of Herbert Spencer on the
"Multiplication of Schemes of Juvenile Culture," may be pertinently
applied to the different schools in medicine with increased force. He
says: "It is clear that dissent in education results in facilitating
inquiry by the division in labor. Were we in possession of the true
method, divergence from it would, of course, be prejudicial; but the
true method having to be found, the efforts of numerous independent
seekers carrying out their researches in different directions,
constitute a better agency for finding it than any that could be
devised. Each of them struck by some new thought which probably contains
more or less of basis in facts--each of them zealous on behalf of his
plan, fertile in expedients to test its correctness, and untiring in its
efforts to make known its success--each of them merciless in its
criticism on the rest--there cannot fail, by composition of forces, to
be a gradual approximation of all towards the right course. Whatever
portion of the normal method any one of them has discovered, must, by
the constant exhibition of its results, force itself into adoption;
whatever wrong practices he has joined with it must, by repeated
experiment and failure, be exploded. And by this aggregation of truths
and elimination of errors, there must eventually be developed a correct
and complete body of doctrine. Of the three phases through which human
opinion passes--the unanimity of the ignorant, the disagreement of the
inquiring, and the unanimity of the wise--it is manifest that the second
is the parent of the third."
We believe the time is coming when those maladies which are now
considered fatal will be readily cured--when disease will be disarmed of
its terrors. To be successful, a physician must be independent, free
from all bigotry, having no narrow prejudice against his fellow-men,
liberal, accepting new truths from whatever source they come, free from
restrictions of societies, and an earnest laborer in the interests of
the Great Physician.
* * * * *
CHAPTER II.
REMEDIES FOR DISEASE.
It will be our aim, throughout this book, to prescribe such remedies as
are within the easy reach of all, and which may be safely employed. Many
of those of the vegetable class are indigenous to this country, and may
be procured in their strength and purity, at the proper season, by those
residing in the localities where they grow, while all others advised may
be obtained at any good drug-store. We shall endeavor to recommend such
as can be procured and prepared with the least trouble and expense to
the patient, when it is believed that they will be equally as
efficacious as more expensive medicines.
PROPRIETARY MEDICINES.
Having the invalid's best interests in view, it will often happen that
we cannot prescribe better or cheaper remedies nor those which are more
effective or easily obtained, than some of our standard preparations,
which are sold by all druggists. We are aware that there is a popular,
and not altogether unfounded prejudice against "patent medicines," owing
to the small amount of merit which many of them possess. The term
"Patent Medicine" does not apply to Dr. Pierce's remedies, as no patent
has ever been asked or obtained for them, nor have they been urged upon
the public as "cure alls." They are simply favorite prescriptions,
which, in a very extensive practice, have proved their superior remedial
virtues in the cure of the diseases for which they are recommended.
From the time of Hippocrates down to the present day, physicians have
classified diseases according to their causes, character or symptoms. It
has been proved that diseases apparently different may often be cured by
the same remedy. The reason for this singular fact is obvious. A single
remedy may possess a variety of properties. Quinine, among other
properties has a tonic which suggests its use in cases of debility; an
antiperiodic, which renders it efficient in ague; and an anti-febrile
property, which renders it efficacious in cases of fever. The result
produced varies with the quantity given, the time of its administration,
and the circumstances under which it is employed. Every practicing
physician has his favorite remedies, which he oftenest recommends or
uses, because he has the greatest confidence in their virtues. The
patient does not know their composition. Even prescriptions are usually
written in a language unintelligible to anybody but the druggist. As
much secrecy is employed as in the preparation of proprietary medicines.
Does the fact that an article is prepared by a process known only to the
manufacturer render that article less valuable? How many physicians know
the elementary composition of the remedies which they employ, some of
which never have been analyzed? Few practitioners know how morphine,
quinine, podophyllin, leptandrin, pepsin, or chloroform, are made, or
how nauseous drugs are transformed into palatable elixirs; yet they do
not hesitate to employ them. Is it not inconsistent to use a
prescription the composition of which is unknown to us, and discard
another preparation simply because it is accompanied by a printed
statement of its properties with directions for its use?
Various journals in this country, have at different times published
absurd formulae purporting to be receipts for the preparation of "Dr.
Sage's Catarrh Remedy" and Dr. Pierce's standard medicines, which, in
most instances, have not contained a single ingredient which enters into
the composition of these celebrated remedies.
In the manufacture of any pharmaceutical preparation, two conditions are
essential to its perfection, viz: purity and strength of the materials,
and appropriate machinery. The first is insured, by purchasing the
materials in large quantities, whereby the exercise of greater care in
selecting the ingredients can be afforded; and the second can only be
accomplished where the business is extensive enough to warrant a large
outlay of capital in procuring proper chemical apparatus. These facts
apply with especial force to the manufacture of our medicines, their
quality having been vastly improved since the demand has become so great
as to require their manufacture in very large quantities. Some persons,
while admitting that our medicines are good pharmaceutical compounds,
object to them on the ground that they are too often used with
insufficient judgment. We propose to obviate that difficulty by
enlightening the people as to the structure and functions of their
bodies, the causes, character, and symptoms of disease, and by
indicating the proper and judicious employment of our medicines,
together with such auxiliary treatment as may be necessary. Such is one
of the designs of this volume.
PROPERTIES OF MEDICINE.
It is generally conceded that the action of a remedy upon the human
system depends upon properties peculiar to it. The effects produced
suggest the naming of these qualities, which have been scientifically
classified. We shall name the diseases from their characteristic
symptoms, and then, without commenting upon all the properties of a
remedy, recommend its employment. Our reference to the qualities of any
remedy, when we do make a particular allusion to them, we shall endeavor
to make as easy and familiar as possible.
DOSE. All persons are not equally susceptible to the influence of
medicines. As a rule, women require smaller doses than men, and children
less than women. Infants are very susceptible to the effects of
anodynes, even out of all relative proportion to other kinds of
medicines. The circumstances and conditions of the system increase or
diminish the effects of medicine, so that an aperient at one time may
act as a cathartic at another, and a dose that will simply prove to be
an anodyne when the patient is suffering great pain will act as a
narcotic when he is not. This explains why the same dose often affects
individuals differently. The following table is given to indicate the
size of the dose, and is graduated to the age.
YEARS DOSE
21. . . . . . . . . .full
15. . . . . . . . . . 2-3
12. . . . . . . . . . 1-2
8 . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
6 . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
4 . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
2 . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
1 . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
½ . . . . . . 1-20 to 1-30
The doses mentioned in the following pages are those for adults, except
when otherwise specified.
THE PREPARATION OF MEDICINES. The remedies which we shall mention for
domestic use are mostly vegetable. Infusions and decoctions of these
will often be advised on account of the fact that they are more
available than the tinctures, fluid extracts, and concentrated
principles, which we prefer, and almost invariably employ in our
practice. Most of these medical extracts are prepared in our chemical
laboratory under the supervision of a careful and skilled pharmaceutist.
No one, we presume, would expect, with only a dish of hot water and a
stew-kettle, to equal in pharmaceutical skill the learned chemist with
all his ingeniously devised and costly apparatus for extracting the
active, remedial principles from medicinal plants. Yet infusions and
decoctions are not without their value; and from the inferior quality of
many of the fluid extracts and other pharmaceutical preparations in the
market, it may be questioned whether the former are not frequently as
valuable as the latter. So unreliable are a majority of the fluid
extracts, tinctures, and concentrated, active principles found in the
drug-stores, that we long since found it necessary to have prepared in
our laboratory, most of those which we employ. To the reliability of the
preparations which we secure in this way we largely attribute our great
success in the treatment of disease. Tinctures and fluid extracts are
often prepared from old and worthless roots, barks, and herbs which have
wholly lost their medicinal properties. Yet they are sold at just as
high prices as those which are good. We manufacture our tinctures, fluid
extracts, and concentrated, active principles from roots, barks, and
herbs which are fresh, and selected with the greatest care. Many of the
crude roots, barks, and herbs found in the market are inactive because
they have been gathered at the wrong season. These, together with those
that have been kept on hand so long as to have lost all medicinal value,
are often sold in large quantities, and at reduced prices, to be
manufactured into fluid extracts and tinctures. Of course, the
preparations made from such materials are worthless. Whenever the dose
of fluid extracts, tinctures, and concentrated, active principles, is
mentioned in this chapter, the quantity advised is based upon our
experience in the use of these preparations, as they are made in our
laboratory, and the smallest quantity which will produce the desired
effect is always given. When using most of the preparations found in the
drug-stores, the doses have to be somewhat increased, and even then they
will not always produce the desired effect, for reasons already given.
THE LIST OF MEDICINES which we shall introduce in this chapter will be
quite limited, as we cannot hope, by making it extensive, that the
non-professional reader would be able to prescribe with good judgment
any other than the simpler remedies. Hence, we prefer, since we have not
space in this volume to waste, to mention only a few of the most common
remedies under each head or classification.
TINCTURES. Very uniform and reliable tinctures may be made of most
indigenous plants, by procuring the part to be employed, at the proper
season, while it is green and fresh, bruising it well, and covering it
with good strong whiskey, or with alcohol diluted with one part of water
to three of alcohol, corking tightly, and letting it stand about
fourteen days, when the tincture may be filtered or poured off from the
drugs, and will be ready for use. Prepared in this imperfect manner,
they rill be found to be much more reliable than any of the fluid
extracts found in the drug-stores. An excess of the crude drug should be
used in preparing the tincture to insure a perfect saturation of the
alcohol with its active principles.
HOMOEOPATHIC TINCTURES. The tinctures prepared by several of the German
and French pharmaceutists, and called by them "Mother Tinctures," to
distinguish them from the dilutions made therefrom, we have found to be
very reliable, so much superior to any similar preparations made in this
country that we purchase from them all we use of Pulsatilla,
Staphisagria, Drosera and several others. They are prepared with great
care from the green, crude material, and although high in price, when
compared with other tinctures, yet the greater certainty of action which
we secure in our prescriptions by their employment more than repays for
the expense and trouble in procuring them, for of what account is
expense to the true physician when _life_ may depend upon the virtue of
the agent he employs?
INFUSIONS. These are generally made by adding one-half ounce of the
crude medicine to a pint of water, which should be closely covered, kept
warm, and used as directed. Flowers, leaves, barks, and roots become
impaired by age, and it is necessary to increase or diminish the dose
according to the strength of the article employed.
DECOCTIONS. The difference between a decoction and an infusion is, that
the plant or substance is boiled in the production of the former, in
order to obtain its soluble, medicinal qualities. Cover the vessel
containing the ingredients, thus confining the vapor, and shutting out
the atmospheric air which sometimes impairs the active principles and
their medicinal qualities. The ordinary mode of preparing a decoction is
to use one ounce of the plant, root, bark, flower, or substance to a
pint of water. The dose internally varies from a tablespoonful to one
ounce.
ALTERATIVES.
Alteratives are a class of medicines which in some inexplicable manner,
gradually change certain morbid actions of the system, and establish a
healthy condition instead. They stimulate the vital processes to renewed
activity, and arouse the excretory organs to remove matter which ought
to be eliminated. They facilitate the action of the secretory glands,
tone them up, and give a new impulse to their operations, so that they
can more expeditiously rid the system of worn-out and effete materials.
In this way they alter, correct, and purify the fluids, tone up the
organs, and re-establish their healthy functions. Alteratives may
possess tonic, laxative, stimulant, or diuretic properties all combined
in one agent. Or we may combine several alteratives, each having only
one of these properties in one remedy. We propose to enumerate only a
few alteratives, and give the doses which are usually prescribed; the
list which we employ in our practice is very extensive, but it cannot be
made available for domestic use.
MANDRAKE (_Podophyllum Peltatum_), also called May-apple, is a most
valuable alterative. The root is the part used. _Dose_--Of decoction,
one to two teaspoonfuls; of tincture, six to eight drops; of fluid
extract, three to five drops; of its active principle, Podophyllin,
one-twelfth to one-eighth of a grain.
POKE (_Phytolacca Decandra_), also called Skoke, Garget, or
Pigeon-berry, is a valuable alterative. The root is the part used.
_Dose_--Of decoction, one to three teaspoonfuls; of fluid extract, three
to ten drops; of concentrated principle, Phytolaccin, one-fourth to one
grain.
YELLOW DOCK (_Rumex Crispus_), The part used is the root. _Dose_--Of the
infusion, one to three fluid ounces three times daily; of fluid extract,
ten to thirty drops; of tincture twenty to forty drops.
[Illustration: Fig. 113.
Tag Alder. ]
TAG ALDER (_Alnus Rubra_), This is otherwise known as the Smooth,
Common, or Swamp Alder. The bark is the part used. It is excellent in
scrofula, syphilis, cutaneous and all blood diseases. _Dose_--Of
decoction, one or two tablespoonfuls from three to five times daily; of
tincture, one or two teaspoonfuls; of fluid extract, one-half to one
teaspoonful; of concentrated principle, Alnuin, one-half to one grain.
[Illustration: Fig. 114.
Black Cohosh. ]
BLACK COHOSH (_Macrotys or Cimicifuga Racemosa_) The part used is the
root. Its other common names are Black Snake-root, or Squaw-root. Black
Cohosh is an alterative stimulant, nervine, diaphoretic, tonic, and a
cerebro-spinal stimulant. It is a useful remedy. _Dose_--Of decoction,
one-fourth to one ounce; of tincture, ten to fifteen drops; of fluid
extract, five to ten drops; of the concentrated principle, Macrotin,
one-eighth to one-half grain.
[Illustration: Fig. 115.
Blood-root. ]
BLOOD-ROOT (_Sanguinaria Canadensis_), is also known as Red Puccoon. The
part used is the root. In minute doses Blood-root is a valuable
alterative, acting upon the biliary secretion and improving the
circulation and digestion. _Dose_--Of powdered root, one-fourth to
one-half grain; of tincture, one to two drops; of the fluid extract,
one-half to one drop. When given in a fluid form it should be well
diluted.
BURDOCK (_Arctium Lappa_). The root is the part used. Burdock is a
valuable alterative in diseases of the blood. _Dose_--Of tincture, from
one teaspoonful to a tablespoonful twenty minutes before meals; of fluid
extract, one to two teaspoonfuls.
BLUE FLAG (_Iris Versicolor_). The part used is the root. _Dose_--Of the
tincture, five to ten drops; of fluid extract, three to ten drops; of
concentrated principle, Iridin, one-half to two grains.
SWEET ELDER (_Sambucus Canadensis_). Sweet Elder-flowers are a valuable
alterative, diuretic, mucous and glandular stimulant, excellent in
eruptive, cutaneous, and scrofulous diseases of children. An infusion,
fluid extract, or syrup, may be used in connection with the "Golden
Medical Discovery." Both will be found valuable for cleansing the blood
and stimulating the functions to a healthy condition. _Dose_--Of the
infusion of the flowers, from one-half to one ounce, if freely taken,
will operate as a laxative; of fluid extract, one-fourth to one-half
teaspoonful. The flowers, or inner bark of the root, simmered in fresh
butter, make a good ointment for most cutaneous affections.
IODINE. This agent, in the several forms of Iodide of Potassium, Iodide
of Ammonium, Iodide of Iron, and Iodide of Lime, is largely employed by
physicians, and often with most happy results. But for domestic use we
cannot advise its employment, as it is liable to injure the invalid,
when its action is carried too far, which is apt to be the case, when
not administered under the supervision of a competent physician.
MERCURY. The various preparations of mercury have a profound, alterative
effect upon the system. When taken for some time, they change the
quality and composition of the blood; cause a diminution in the number
of red blood-corpuscles, and an increase in the various effete
materials. In the vast majority of cases we prefer the vegetable
alteratives, but in rare instances they exert a beneficial influence, in
small doses. None of the preparations of mercury should be taken
internally without the advice of a skillful physician, therefore, we
shall not give their doses.
THE COMPOUNDING OF ALTERATIVES.
The efficacy of this class of remedies can be greatly increased by
properly combining several of them into one compound.
This requires a knowledge of Pharmaceutical Chemistry; i.e., the
preparation of compounds founded on the chemical relation and action of
their several remedial, active principles. Many practitioners make
combinations of remedies which neutralize each other's influence,
instead of extending their efficacy and curative power.
DR. PIERCE'S "GOLDEN MEDICAL DISCOVERY," or Alterative Extract. This
compound is a highly nutritive and tonic preparation, combining the
remedial properties of the best vegetable alteratives at present known
to the medical profession. In perfecting this alterative compound, and
likewise other standard preparations of medicine, we have made an outlay
of many thousand dollars for chemical apparatus, and special machinery
by the aid of which these remedies have been brought to their present
perfection. Great pains are taken to obtain the materials at the right
season of the year, properly cured so that none of their remedial
qualities may be impaired. We, therefore, can with great confidence
recommend Dr. Pierce's "Golden Medical Discovery" as one of the best
preparations of the alterative class. Like all others of this type, its
action is insensible, producing gradual changes, arousing the excretory
glands to remove morbid materials, and at the same time toning the
secretory organs. The manufacture of this compound is under the special
supervision of a competent chemist and pharmaceutist, and it is now put
up in bottles wrapped with full directions for its use. We can
confidently recommend this compound whenever an alterative is required
to cleanse the blood, tone the system, increase its nutrition, and
establish a healthy condition. For these reasons we shall often advise
its employment.
DR. PIERCE'S PLEASANT PURGATIVE PELLETS. These pellets combine the pure,
concentrated, active principles of several vegetable alteratives, and
the result is, that within the small compass of a few grains he has most
happily blended and chemically condensed these properties so that their
action upon the ANIMAL ECONOMY is sanative and universal. They awaken
the latent powers, quicken the tardy functions, check morbid deposits,
dissolve hard concretions, remove obstructions, promote depuration,
harmonize and restore the functions, equalize the circulation, and
encourage the action of the nervous system. They stimulate the glands,
increase the peristaltic movement of the intestines, tone the nutritive
processes, while aiding in evacuating the bowels. All this they
accomplish without corroding the tissues or vitiating the fluids. Their
assistance is genial, helping the system to expel worn out materials,
which would become noxious if retained. Having expended their remedial
powers upon the various functions of the body, they are themselves
expelled along with other waste matter, leaving behind them no traces of
irritation. This cannot be said of mercurials, or of other harsh,
mineral alteratives. These Pellets may be safely employed when the
system is feeble, frail, and delicate, by giving them in less
quantities. _Dose_--As an alterative, only one or two Pellets should be
taken daily.
ALKALIES.
ALKALIES. These constitute an important list of remedial agents, their
administration being frequently indicated. The employment of other
medicines frequently should be preceded by the administration of an
agent of this class, to neutralize excessive acidity in the stomach and
bowels. Unless this be done, many medicines will fail to produce their
specific effects.
SULPHITE OF SODA (_Sodæ Sulphis_). This salt, as well as the
Hyposulphite of Soda, is not only generally preferable for
administration on account of its unirritating character and the
smallness of the dose required, but also because it is a valuable
antiseptic agent. The _Sulphite_ should not be confounded with the
_Sulphate_ of Soda (Glauber's Salt). _Dose_--This is from three to ten
grains.
SALERATUS (_Potassæ Bicarbonas_). This is a favorite domestic antacid.
_Dose_--Five to fifteen grains is the amount.
ACIDS.
As alkalies are important and often indicated as remedial agents, acids,
so their re-agents, acids, are also frequently necessary to meet
opposite conditions of the fluids of the system.
HYDROCHLORIC OR MURIATIC ACID. This agent may be administered in doses
of from five to ten drops, largely diluted in water or gruel.
AROMATIC SULPHURIC ACID, or Elixir of Vitriol, is the most agreeable
form of Sulphuric Acid for administration, and may be given in doses of
from five to fifteen drops, largely diluted with water.
In taking acids, they should be sucked through a straw, and not allowed
to come in contact with the teeth, as otherwise the latter organs will
be injured by their effects; or should the acid come in contact with the
teeth, the mouth should be immediately rinsed with a solution of
saleratus or soda, to neutralize the acid.
ANODYNES.
Anodynes are those medicines which relieve pain by blunting the
sensibility of the nerves, or of the brain, so that it does not
appreciate the morbid sensation. An anodyne may be a stimulant in one
dose, and a narcotic in a larger one. The properties of different
anodyne agents vary, consequently they produce unlike effects. The size
of the dose required, differs according to circumstances and condition.
An adult, suffering acute pain, requires a much larger dose to produce
an anodyne effect than one who is a chronic sufferer. An individual
accustomed to the use of anodynes, requires a much larger dose to
procure relief than one who is not. Doses may be repeated, until their
characteristic effects are produced, after an interval of thirty or
forty minutes. When the stomach is very sensitive and will not tolerate
their internal administration, one-sixth of a grain of Morphia can be
inserted beneath the skin, by means of a hypodermic syringe. Relief is
more quickly experienced, and the anodyne effect is much more lasting
than when taken into the stomach.
OPIUM (_Papaver Somniferum)._ Opium is a stimulant, anodyne, or
narcotic, according to the size of the dose administered. _Dose_--Of the
dry powder, one-fourth to one grain; of tincture (Laudanum), five to
fifteen drops; of camphorated tincture (Paregoric), one-half to one
teaspoonful; of
Morphine, one-eighth to one-fourth grain; of Dover's Powder three to
five grains.
HYOSCYAMUS (_Hyoscyamus Niger_), commonly known as Henbane. The herb is
used. It is a powerful narcotic, and unlike Opium, does not constipate
the bowels, but possesses a laxative tendency. Therefore, it may be
employed as an anodyne for allaying pain, calming the mind, inducing
sleep and arresting spasms, when opiates are inadmissible. _Dose_--Of
alcoholic extract, one-half to two grains; of fluid extract, five to ten
drops; of the concentrated principle, Hyoscyamin, one-twelfth to
one-fourth of a grain.
[Illustration: Fig. 116.
Poison Hemlock. ]
POISON HEMLOCK (_Conium Maculatum_). The leaves are the parts used.
Poison Parsley, as it is sometimes called, is an anodyne, narcotic, and
an excellent alterative. _Dose_--Of fluid extract, two to six drops; of
solid extract, one-fourth to one-half grain.
BELLADONNA (_Atropa Belladonna_) or Deadly Nightshade. The herb or
leaves are a valuable agent. In overdoses, it is an energetic, narcotic
poison. In medicinal doses it is anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic,
and diuretic. It is excellent in neuralgia, epilepsy, mania, amaurosis,
whooping-cough, stricture, rigidity of the os uteri, and is supposed by
some to be a prophylactic or preventive of Scarlet Fever. Its influence
upon the nerve centers is remarkable. It relaxes the blood vessels on
the surface of the body and induces capillary congestion, redness of the
eye, scarlet appearance of the face, tongue, and body. _Dose_--Of fluid
extract, one-half to one drop; of tincture, one to two drops; of
concentrated principle, Atropin, one-thirtieth to one-sixteenth of a
grain; of the _Alkaloid, Atropia_, one-sixtieth of a grain. Even the
most skillful chemists are very cautious in compounding these latter
active principles, and the danger of an overdose is great.
CAMPHOR. This drug is an anodyne, stimulant, and diaphoretic, and, in
large doses, a narcotic and an irritant. It is an excellent stimulant
for liniments. _Dose_--Of the powder, one to five grains; of the
tincture, ten to twenty drops, given in simple syrup.
HOPS (_Humulus Lupulus_). This is an excellent remedy in wakefulness,
and may be used when opium is contra-indicated. A bag of the leaves,
moistened with whiskey and placed as a pillow under the head, acts as an
anodyne. _Dose_--Of the infusion of the leaves, from one to four ounces;
of the fluid extract, one-fourth to three-fourths of a teaspoonful; of
the concentrated principle, Humulin, one to three grains.
DR. PIERCE'S COMPOUND EXTRACT OF SMART-WEED. This anodyne compound is
made by uniting several of the most valuable agents of this class, and
its medicinal qualities are rendered still more efficacious by the
addition of certain stimulating articles. It is free from narcotic
properties which are liable to produce deleterious results, and has been
found to be not only harmless in its action, but very genial and
effectual withal, and most reliable as a stimulant and diaphoretic
remedy.
ANTHELMINTICS.
Anthelmintic means "against a worm," and is a term employed to designate
those medicines which destroy or expel worms. It means the same as
_Vermifuge_. Little is understood concerning the origin of worms. There
are five distinct varieties described by authors as being more common
than others. There is the long worm, the short, or pin-worm, the
thread-worm, the tape-worm, and the broad tape-worm peculiar to some
countries of Europe. Irritation of the alimentary canal, from whatever
cause usually produces an abundant secretion of mucus, which is thought
to be a condition favorable for their production. Therefore, those
medicines which remove the cause of this irritation tend to diminish the
number, if not to entirely destroy the worms. Some medicines kill the
worms, others expel them alive. The remedies which successfully remove
one kind of worm, have little effect upon another, and to meet these
different conditions, we have a variety of worm-destroying medicines.
The pin-worm, inhabits the rectum, and may be destroyed by injecting
into it a strong solution of salt, or decoction of aloes, and when it is
allowed to pass away, the rectum should be anointed with vaseline,
butter, or lard. The eggs of this worm are developed around the orifice
of the large intestine, and when this latter precaution is not practiced
every time there is a passage from the bowels, they will multiply as
rapidly as they can be destroyed. Generally, vermifuge remedies should
be taken when the stomach is empty, and should be followed by the
administration of a cathartic in two hours after the last dose is
administered.
SANTONIN. This is decidedly the most reliable anthelmintic known to the
medical profession. It is deservedly a popular remedy for worms, and
when combined with Podophyllin, is very efficacious in removing the
pin-worm. _Dose_--For an adult, two to three grains of the powdered
Santonin, repeated every three hours until four or five doses are taken,
when it should be followed by a cathartic.
SAGE (_Salvia Officinalis_). Sage is a common and excellent domestic
remedy for worms. Make an infusion of Sage and Senna leaves, and drink
freely until it acts as a cathartic.
[Illustration: Fig. 117.
Pink Root.]
PINK-ROOT (_Spigelia Marilandica_). Pink-root is one of the most active
and certain anthelmintics for children. It is indigenous to the United
States. When taken in too large quantities, it is apt to purge, give
rise to vertigo, dimness of vision, and even to convulsions; therefore,
it should be combined with some cathartic. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one
ounce at night, followed by physic in the morning.
COMMON SALT (_Chloride of Sodium_). Common table salt is an
anthelmintic, and may be used in an emergency. Salt water is a very
common domestic remedy for worms. _Dose_--In solution, one-quarter to
one-half teaspoonful.
BALMONY (_Chelone Glabra_). This is also tonic and anthelmintic, and is
valuable in debility, dyspepsia, jaundice, and hepatic affections. It
also is known as Snake-head. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one to two ounces;
of the concentrated principle, Chelonin, from half to one grain.
MALE FERN (_Aspidium Filix Mas_). Male Fern is the anthelmintic which is
considered especially effectual in removing the tape-worm. _Dose_--Of
the powder, one to two drachms, given morning and evening in syrup,
followed by a brisk cathartic. The dose of the tincture of the buds in
ether is from eight to thirty drops.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.
Aspen.]
POPLAR (_Populus Tremuloides_). The White or Aspen Poplar is a common
tree, and contains active principles termed Populin and Salicin, both of
which are tonic. An infusion of the bark is a remedy for worms.
_Dose_--Of the tea made from the bark, one to four ounces; of Populin,
from one-half to two grains.
ANTIPERIODICS.
It is well understood that malarial diseases are characterized by a
periodicity which indicates their nature. Antiperiodics prevent the
recurrence of the periodic manifestations, and hence their name.
QUININE (_Sulphate of Quinia_). Quinine is a tonic, febrifuge, and
antiperiodic. It should generally be administered during the intervals
between the febrile paroxysms. It is beneficial also in all diseases
accompanied by debility. The dose varies from one to six grains
according to indications. Frequently it is given in much larger
quantities, but we cannot advise such for domestic use.
PRUSSIAN BLUE (_Ferri Ferrocyanidum_). Ferrocyanide of Iron is an
excellent tonic and antiperiodic remedy, and often is combined with
quinine. _Dose_--From two to five grains.
[Illustration: Fig. 119.
Boneset. ]
BONESET (_Eupatorium Perfoliatum_), or Thoroughwort. This is tonic,
diaphoretic, aperient, and possesses some antiperiodic properties; the
warm infusion is emetic. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one to four ounces; of
the fluid extract, from half to one teaspoonful; of the active
principle, Eupatorin, one to three grains.
THE "GOLDEN MEDICAL DISCOVERY" has gained an enviable reputation in
malarial districts for the cure of ague. From observing its action in
the cure of this and other miasmatic diseases, and knowing its
composition, we are thoroughly satisfied that it contains chemical
properties which neutralize and destroy the miasmatic or ague poison
which is in the system, and, at the same time, produces a rapid
excretion of the neutralized poisons. One strong proof of this is found
in the fact that persons who are cured with it are not so liable to
relapse as those in whom the chills are broken with Quinine or other
agents. No bad effects are experienced after an attack of ague which has
been cured with the "Golden Medical Discovery." This cannot be said of
Quinine, Peruvian Bark, Arsenic, and Mercurials, which comprise nearly
the whole list of remedies usually resorted to by physicians for
arresting ague. The "Golden Medical Discovery" not only has the merit of
being a certain antidote for miasmatic diseases, but is pleasant to the
taste, a matter of no small importance, especially when administered to
children. To break the chills, this medicine should be taken in doses of
four teaspoonfuls three times a day, and if this treatment pursued for
three days, does not entirely arrest the chills, these doses may be
repeated in alternation with five-grain doses of quinine for the three
succeeding days. But in no case should more than this amount of the
"Golden Medical Discovery" be given.
ANTISEPTICS AND DISINFECTANTS.
Antiseptics prevent, while disinfectants arrest putrefaction. Oxygen is
a natural disinfectant, but a powerful inciter of change. Although this
element is the cause of animal and vegetable decay, yet oxidation is the
grand process by which the earth, air, and sea are purified. A few
substances are both antiseptic and disinfectant. Heat up to a
temperature of 140° Fahr. promotes putrescence, but above that point, is
a drier or disorganizer, and destroys the source of infection.
YEAST (_Cerevisiæ Fermentum_). Yeast is an antiseptic, and is effective
in all diseases in which there is threatened putridity. Used externally,
it is often combined with elm bark and charcoal, and applied to ulcers,
in which there is a tendency to gangrene. _Dose_--One tablespoonful in
wine or porter, once in two or three hours.
CREASOTE. This is a powerful antiseptic. It is used in a solution of
glycerine, oil, water, or syrup. _Dose_--One to two drops, largely
diluted.
CARBOLIC ACID is a crystalline substance resembling creasote in its
properties. It is an antiseptic, and is used both internally and
externally. _Dose_--One-fourth to one-half drop of the melted crystals,
very largely diluted. Externally, in solution, one to five grains of the
crystals to one ounce of the solvent.
WHITE VITRIOL (_Zinci Sulphas_). White vitriol is a valuable
disinfectant, as it will arrest mortification. In solution it is
employed in ulcers and cancers and also as a gargle in putrid sore
throat. _Dose_--One-half to two grains in a pill; in solution, one to
ten grains in an ounce of water.
PERMANGANATE OF POTASH (_Potassæ Permanganas_). This substance is an
energetic deodorizer and disinfectant. A solution containing from one to
twenty grains in an ounce of water is used as a lotion for foul ulcers.
_Dose_--One-eighth to one-fourth of a grain.
WILD INDIGO (_Baptisia Tinctoria_). The root is the part used. This
plant possesses valuable antiseptic properties. It is an excellent
lotion for ill-conditioned ulcers, malignant sore throat, nursing
sore-mouth, syphilitic ophthalmia, etc. It is sometimes administered in
scarlet and typhus fevers, and in all diseases in which there is a
tendency to putrescence. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one-fourth to one-half
ounce; of the fluid extract, from three to ten drops, and of the
concentrated, active principle of the plant, Baptisin, from one to two
grains.
ANTISPASMODICS.
Antispasmodics are a class of remedies which relieve cramps,
convulsions, and spasms, and are closely allied to nervines. Indeed some
authors class them together. The following are a few of the most
important antispasmodics:
ASSAFETIDA (_Assafetida Ferula_). This is a powerful antispasmodic. It
is employed in hysteria, hypochondria, convulsions, and spasms, when
unaccompanied by inflammation. _Dose_--Of the gum or powder, from three
to ten grains, usually administered in the form of a pill; of the
tincture, from one-half to one teaspoonful.
[Illustration: Fig. 120.
Yellow Jessamine.]
YELLOW JESSAMINE (_Gelseminum Sempervirens_). The root is the part used.
This is a valuable remedy in various
diseases when associated with restlessness and a determination of the
blood to the brain; also in the neuralgia. _Dose_--Of the fluid extract,
three to eight drops; of the concentrated principle, Gelsemin,
one-fourth to one grain. The use of this drug by non-professional
persons should be attended with great caution.
VALERIAN (_Valeriana Officinalis_). The root is the part used. Valerian
is an effective remedy in cases of nervousness and restlessness.
_Dose_--Of the infusion, (one-half ounce to a pint of water) one-half
ounce; of the tincture, one-half to two tablespoonfuls; of the
ammoniated tincture of valerian, from one-half to two teaspoonfuls in
sweetened water or milk; of the valerianate of ammonia, one-half to
three grains.
YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER (_Cypripedium Pubescens_). The root is the part
used. This is a useful remedy in hysteria, chorea, and all cases of
irritability. _Dose_--Of the powder, fifteen to thirty grains; of the
infusion, one ounce; of the fluid extract, fifteen to thirty drops; of
the concentrated principle, Cypripedin, one-half to two grains.
WILD YAM (_Dioscorea Villosa_). The root is the part used. This is a
powerful antispasmodic, and has been successfully used in bilious colic,
nausea, and spasm of the bowels. _Dose_--Of the infusion (two ounces to
a pint of water), one to two ounces; of the fluid extract, five to
fifteen drops; of the concentrated principle, Dioscorein, one-half to
one grain.
HIGH CRANBERRY (_Viburnum Opulus._) The bark is the part used. It is
also known as Cramp Bark. This is a powerful antispasmodic, and is
effective in relaxing spasms of all kinds. It is a valuable agent in
threatened abortion. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one-half to one ounce; of
the fluid extract, one-half to one teaspoonful; of the concentrated
principle, Viburnin, one-half to two grains. These doses may be
increased if necessary.
ASTRINGENTS.
Astringents are medicines which condense and coagulate the tissues,
thereby arresting discharges. When taken into the mouth, they produce
the sensation known as puckering. They are used internally and locally.
The term _styptic_ is used as a synonym of astringent, but is generally
employed to designate those astringents which arrest hemorrhage, or
bleeding.
LOGWOOD (_Hæmatoxylon Campechianum_). Logwood is a mild astringent,
well adapted to remedy the relaxed condition of the bowels after cholera
infantum. _Dose_--Of powdered extract, five to ten grains; of the
decoction, one ounce; of the fluid extract, fifteen to thirty drops.
BLACKBERRY ROOT (_Rubus Villosus_). This astringent is a favorite,
domestic remedy in affections of the bowels. _Dose_--Of the infusion
(bruised root), one-half to one ounce, sweetened.
[Illustration: Fig. 121.
Witch-hazel. ]
WITCH-HAZEL (_Hamamelis Virginica_). The parts used are the leaves and
bark. This is a most valuable astringent and exerts a specific action
upon the nervous system. It arrests many forms of uterine hemorrhage
with great promptness, is a valuable agent in the treatment of piles,
and is useful in many forms of chronic throat and bronchial affections.
_Dose_-Of the infusion, one-fourth to one-half ounce; of the fluid
extract, eight to fifteen grains; of the concentrated principle,
Hamamelin, one fourth to one grain.
[Illustration: Fig. 122.
Cranesbill. ]
CRANESBILL (_Geranium Maculatum_). The root is used. This plant is also
known as Crow-foot, and Spotted Geranium. It is a pleasant, but powerful
astringent. _Dose_--Of the fluid extract, ten to thirty drops; of the
concentrated principle, Geranin, one to two grains.
[Illustration: Fig. 123.
Bugle-weed. ]
[Illustration: Fig. 124.
Hardhack. ]
HARDHACK (_Spirea Tomentosa_), Spirea, or Meadow Sweet. The stem and
leaves are used. It is a tonic and an astringent, and is used in
diarrhea and cholera-infantum. _Dose_--Of the infusion, one-half to one
ounce; of the fluid extract, three to six drops.
BUGLE-WEED (_Lycopus Virginicus_). This is variously known as
Water-hoarhound and Water-bugle. It is sedative and tonic, as well as
astringent, and is employed in hemorrhages and in incipient phthisis.
_Dose_--Of the infusion, one to two ounces; of the fluid extract,
fifteen to twenty-five drops; of the concentrated principle, Lycopin,
one-half to one grain.
[Illustration: Fig. 125.
Canada Fleabane. ]
CANADA FLEABANE (_Erigeron Canadense_). The leaves and flowers are used.
This plant, sometimes known as Colt's-tail, Pride-weed, or Butter-weed,
is astringent, and has been efficiently employed in uterine hemorrhages.
_Dose_--Of the infusion (two ounces of the herb to one pint of water),
one to two ounces; of the oil, five to ten drops on sugar, repeated at
intervals of from one to four hours.
CATECHU (_Acacia Catechu_). A tincture of this plant is a pure, powerful
astringent, and is especially useful in chronic diarrhea, chronic
catarrh, and chronic dysentery. _Dose_--Of the powder, five to twenty
grains; of the tincture, one-half to two teaspoonfuls.
TANNIN (_Acidum, Tannicum_). This acid has a wide range of application.
It is used as an astringent. _Dose_--One to five grains.
GALLIC ACID (_Acidum Gallicum_). This remedy is used chiefly in
hemorrhages. _Dose_--Three to five grains. In severe hemorrhages, this
quantity should be administered every half hour, until the bleeding is
checked.
CARMINATIVES.
Carminatives are medicines which allay intestinal pain, arrest or
prevent griping caused by cathartics and exert a general soothing
effect. They are aromatic, and to a certain extent, stimulant.
ANISE-SEED (_Pimpinella Anisum_). Anise is a pleasant, aromatic
carminative, and is used in flatulent colic. _Dose_--Of the powdered
seed, ten to fifteen grains; of the infusion (a teaspoonful of seed to a
gill of water), sweetened, may be given freely; of the oil, five to ten
drops on sugar.
FENNEL-SEED (_Anethum Foeniculum_). This is one of our most grateful
aromatics, and is sometimes employed to modify the action of senna and
rhubarb. _Dose_--Same as that of anise-seed.
GINGER (_Zingiber Officinale_). The root is the part used. This is a
grateful stimulant and carminative. _Dose_--Of the powder, ten to twenty
grains; of the infusion, one teaspoonful in a gill of water; of the
tincture, twenty to thirty drops; of the essence, ten to fifteen drops;
of the syrup, one teaspoonful.
WINTERGREEN (_Gaultheria Procumbens_). The leaves are used. This plant
possesses stimulant, aromatic, and astringent properties. The essence of
Wintergreen is carminative, and is used in colics. _Dose_--Of the
essence, one-half to one teaspoonful in sweetened water; of the oil,
three to five drops on sugar.
PEPPERMINT (_Mentha Piperita_). Peppermint is a powerful stimulant,
carminative, and antispasmodic. It is used in the treatment of spasms,
colic, and hysteria. _Dose_--The infusion may be used freely. The
essence may be taken in doses of fifteen to thirty drops in sweetened
warm water; of the oil, one to five drops on sugar.
SPEARMINT (_Mentha Viridis_). The carminative properties of spearmint
are inferior to those of peppermint, and its chief employment is for its
diuretic and febrifuge virtues. _Dose_--Same as that of peppermint.
COMPOUND EXTRACT OF SMART-WEED. Dr. Pierce's Extract of Smart-weed is a
valuable carminative and aromatic stimulant, and has been employed with
marked success in all diseases in which this class of remedies is
required.
CATHARTICS.
_Cathartics_, or _Purgatives_ are medicines which act upon the bowels
and increase the secretions and evacuations. In many parts of the
country, these agents are known as purges, or physics. They have been
variously divided and subdivided, usually with reference to the energy
of their operations or the character of the evacuations produced.
_Laxatives_, or _Aperients_, are mild cathartics. Purgatives act with
more energy and produce several discharges which are of a more liquid
character and more copious than the former.
_Drastics_ are those cathartics which produce numerous evacuations
accompanied by more or less intestinal irritation.
_Hydragogues_ are those purgatives which produce copious, watery
discharges.
_Cholagogues_ are those purgatives which act upon the liver, stimulating
its functions. Cathartics constitute a class of remedies which are
almost universally employed by families and physicians.
JALAP (_Ipomoea Jalapa_). The root is used. It is a drastic and a
hydragogue cathartic. Formerly it was combined with equal parts of
calomel. From this fact it received the name of "ten and ten."
_Dose_--Of the powder, five to twenty grains; of the fluid extract, ten
to fifteen drops; of the solid extract, two to four grains; of the
concentrated principle, Jalapin, one-half to two grains.
[Illustration: Fig. 126.
Culver's-root. ]
GAMBOGE (_Gambogia_). The gum is used. Gamboge is a powerful drastic,
hydragogue cathartic, which is apt to produce nausea and vomiting. It is
employed in dropsy. It should never be given alone, but combined with
milder cathartics. It accelerates their action while they moderate its
violence. _Dose_--Of the powder, one-half to two grains. This substance
combined with aloes and sometimes with scammony, constitutes the basis
of the numerous varieties of large, cathartic pills found in the market.
CULVER'S-ROOT. (_Leptandra Virginica_). The root is used. This plant,
known under the various names of Culver's Physic, Black-root, Tall
Speedwell, and Indian Physic, is a certain cholagogue, laxative, and
cathartic. _Dose_--Of decoction, one to two fluid ounces; of fluid
extract, ten to twenty drops; of tincture, twenty to thirty drops; of
the concentrated, active principle, Leptandrin, which is but feebly
cathartic, as a laxative, two to five grains.
RHUBARB (_Rheum Palmatum_). This is much used as a domestic remedy, and
by the profession, for its laxative, tonic, and astringent effects. It
is employed in bowel complaints. _Dose_--Of the powder, ten to thirty
grains; of the tincture, one-half to two teaspoonfuls; of the fluid
extract, ten to thirty drops; of the solid extract, three to five
grains; of the syrup, and aromatic syrup, an excellent remedy for
children, one-half to one teaspoonful.
CASCARA SAGRADA (_Rhamnus Purshiana_), is a very efficient remedy in
chronic constipation. _Dose_--Of the fluid extract, from ten to twenty
drops taken in a tablespoonful of water. The unpleasant taste may be
disguised with the extract of liquorice.
CASTOR OIL (_Oleum Ricini_). _Dose_--From one to four teaspoonfuls. It
may be disguised by rubbing it with an equal quantity of glycerine and
adding one or two drops of oil of anise, cinnamon, or wintergreen.
BUTTERNUT (_Juglans Cinerea_). The bark is the part used. Butternut is a
mild cathartic, which resembles rhubarb in its property of evacuating
the bowels without irritating the alimentary canal. _Dose_--Of the
extract, as a cathartic, five to ten grains; of the fluid extract,
one-half to one teaspoonful; of the concentrated principle, Juglandin,
one to three grains. As a laxative, one-half of these quantities is
sufficient.
ALOES (_Aloe_) The gum is used. This cathartic acts upon the lower part
of the bowels and sometimes causes piles; though some late authors claim
that in small doses it is a valuable remedy for piles. _Dose_--In powder
or pill, three to ten grains; as a laxative, one to three grains.
EPSOM SALTS (_Magnesia Sulphas_). Its common name is "Salts." Much used
in domestic practice. _Dose_--One-fourth to one-half ounce.
DR. PIERCE'S PLEASANT PELLETS, being entirely vegetable in their
composition, operate without disturbance to the system, diet, or
occupation. Put up in glass vials. Always fresh and reliable. As _a
laxative, alterative,_ or gently acting but searching _cathartic_, these
little Pellets give the most perfect satisfaction. Sick Headache,
Bilious Headache, Dizziness, Constipation, Indigestion, Bilious Attacks,
and all derangements of the stomach and bowels, are promptly relieved
and permanently cured by the use of Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets. In
explanation of the remedial power of these Pellets over so great a
variety of diseases, it may truthfully be said that their action upon
the system is universal, not a gland or tissue escaping their sanative
influence.
Everybody, now and then, needs a gentle laxative to assist nature a
little; or, a more searching and cleansing, yet gentle cathartic, to
remove offending matter from the stomach and bowels and tone up and
invigorate the liver and quicken its tardy action. Thereby the "Pleasant
Pellets" cure biliousness, sick and bilious headache, costiveness, or
constipation of the bowels, sour stomach, windy belchings, "heart-burn,"
pain and distress after eating, and kindred derangements of the liver,
stomach and bowels.
Persons subject to any of these troubles should never be without a vial
of the "Pleasant Pellets" at hand. In proof of their superior excellence
it can be truthfully said that they are always adopted as a household
remedy after the first trial.
The "Pleasant Pellets" are far more effective in arousing the liver to
action than "blue pills," the old-fashioned compound cathartic pills,
calomel or other mercurial preparations, and have the further merit of
being purely vegetable in their composition and perfectly harmless in
any condition of the system. Furthermore, no particular care is required
while using them.
Being composed of the choicest, concentrated vegetable extracts, their
cost of production is much more than that of most pills found in the
market, yet from forty to forty-four of them are put up in each glass
vial, as sold through druggists, and can be had at the price of the more
ordinary and cheaper made pills. Once used, they are always in favor.
Their secondary effect is to keep the bowels open and regular, not to
further constipate, as is the case with other pills. Hence, their great
popularity with sufferers from habitual constipation, piles and their
attendant discomfort and manifold derangements.
For all laxative and cathartic purposes the "Pleasant Pellets" are
infinitely superior to all "mineral waters," sediltz powders, "salts,"
castor oil, fruit syrups (so-called), laxative "teas," and the many
other purgative compounds sold in various forms.
If people generally, would pay more attention to properly regulating the
action of their bowels, they would have less frequent occasion to call
for their doctor's services to subdue attacks of dangerous diseases.
Hence it is of great importance to know what safe, harmless agent best
serves the purpose of producing the desired action.
DIRECTIONS FOR USING DR. PIERCE'S PLEASANT PELLETS.
In all cases, the size of dose to be taken must be regulated somewhat by
the known susceptibility of the individual to the action of laxative and
cathartic medicines. Some persons' bowels are readily acted upon by
small doses, while others require more. As a general rule, the smaller
doses which we recommend, are quite sufficient, and produce the best
results if persisted in for a reasonable length of time.
FOR A GENTLE APERIENT, OR LAXATIVE, take one or not more than two and
preferably in the morning, on an empty stomach.
FOR A GENTLE CATHARTIC, two or three are generally sufficient, if taken
in the morning, on an empty stomach.
FOR A VERY ACTIVE, SEARCHING CATHARTIC, four to six may be taken in the
morning, on an empty stomach.
FOR A CHILD OF TWO TO FOUR YEARS, one-half of a Pellet given in a little
sauce of some kind, or soft candy, will be sufficient for a laxative, or
one for a mild cathartic.
FOR A CHILD OF FOUR TO EIGHT YEARS, one for a laxative or two for a
cathartic will act nicely, if given on an empty stomach.
AS A DINNER PILL.--To promote digestion and increase the appetite, take
only one Pellet each day after dinner.
_To overcome the disagreeable effects of a too hearty meal_, take two
Pellets as soon as conscious of having overloaded the stomach.
IN ALL CHRONIC DISEASES, it is of the utmost importance that the bowels
be kept _regular_, yet thorough purgation should be avoided, as it tends
to debilitate the system. Small laxative doses of one or at most two
Pellets, taken daily and continued for a long time, is the plan that we
would recommend to produce the best results.
IN DROPSY, an occasional active cathartic dose of the Pellets of say 4
to 6, taken once in a week or ten days, will do good, if, in the
interval between these doses, Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery be
taken to invigorate and regulate the system.
TO BREAK UP SUDDEN ATTACKS OF COLDS, FEVERS, AND INFLAMMATIONS.--It is
only in these sudden and severe attacks of _acute_ diseases that we
recommend the Pellets to be taken in active purgative doses, and in
these cases _only one_ large or cathartic dose of say 5 or 6 Pellets
should be taken.
In colds, fevers, and inflammatory attacks, warm sweating teas should be
taken freely, and hot foot baths, or a hot general bath, employed to
assist in equalizing the circulation of the blood and restoring the
equilibrium of the system.
SUPPRESSED MENSTRUATION.--This combined treatment of an active dose of
Pellets, coupled with the use of a hot bath, foot bath, or, better
still, a hot sitz-bath, will bring on _menstruation_, when suppressed
from taking cold. In the latter case the effect will be insured if, in
addition to the use of the Pellets and baths, a full dose of Dr.
Pierce's Compound Extract of Smart-Weed, or Water Pepper, be also used.
CAUSTICS.
_Caustics_ are substances which have the power of destroying or
disorganizing animal structures. By their action they destroy the tissue
to which they are applied, and form a crust, which is thrown off by a
separation from the parts beneath. Their caustic property may be
destroyed by dilution with other substances, to such an extent that they
will only irritate or stimulate, and not destroy. Much care is necessary
in their employment, and it is not expected that the unprofessional
reader will have much to do with them; hence, we have deemed it best not
to give a list of these agents.
COUNTER-IRRITANTS.
_Counter-irritants_ are substances which produce irritation of the part
to which they are applied, varying in degree from a slight redness to a
blister or pustule. They are applied to the surface with a view of
producing an irritation to relieve irritation or inflammation in some
other or deeper seated part. They are a class of agents which we very
seldom employ, and, hence, we shall notice only a couple of the most
simple.
MUSTARD (_Sinapis_). The flour of mustard, which is best adapted for
domestic use, is employed in the form of a paste spread on cloth. It
takes effect in a few moments; the length of time it remains in contact
with the skin and the strength of the mustard determine the effect
produced.
HORSE-RADISH (_Cochlearia Armoracia_). The leaves are the parts used.
Let them wilt and bind them on the part affected. They act nearly as
energetically as mustard.
DIAPHORETICS.
_Diaphoretics_ are medicines which increase perspiration. Those which
occasion profuse sweating are termed _Sudorifics_. The two terms
indicate different degrees of the same operation. They constitute an
important element in domestic practice, on account of the salutary
effects which generally follow their action. Their operation is favored
by warmth externally, and warm drinks, when they are not given in hot
infusion.
[Illustration: Fig. 127.
Pleurisy-root. ]
PLEURISY-ROOT (_Asclepias Tuberosa_), is also known as White-root, and
Butterfly-weed. It is a valuable remedy, well adapted to break up
inflammations and disease of the chest. _Dose_--Of infusion, one to two
ounces; of fluid extract, one-fourth to one-half teaspoonful; of the
concentrated principle, Asclepin, one to three grains.
SAFFRON (_Crocus Sativus_). Golden Saffron. _Dose_--Of infusion (one
drachm to a pint of water), one to two ounces.
Sage (_Salvia Officinalis_). The warm infusion drunk freely is a
valuable, domestic diaphoretic.
[Illustration: Fig. 128.
Virginia Snake-root. ]
VIRGINIA SNAKE-ROOT (_Aristolochia Serpentaria_), is an efficient
agent. _Dose_--Of infusion, one to two ounces; of tincture, one-fourth
to one teaspoonful; of fluid extract, one-fourth to one-half
teaspoonful.
JABORANDI (_Pilocarpus Pinnatus_). Jaborandi increases the flow of
saliva, causes profuse perspiration, and lowers the temperature of the
body. In doses of from twenty to sixty drops of the fluid extract,
administered in a cup of warm water or herb-tea on going to bed, we have
found it very effectual for breaking up recent colds. We have also found
it valuable in whooping-cough, in doses of from three to ten drops,
according to the age of the child, given three or four times a day. The
fluid extract may be obtained at almost any drug-store.
[Illustration: Fig. 129.
May-flower. ]
MAY-WEED (_Maruta Cotula_), is also known as Wild Chamomile, and
Dog-fennel. It is not much used, though it is a powerful diaphoretic.
_Dose_--Of infusion, one to two ounces.
CATNIP (_Nepeta Cataria_). A deservedly popular, domestic remedy, always
acceptable, and certain in its action. The warm infusion is the best
form for its administration. It may be drunk freely.
GINGER (_Zingiber Officinale_). The hot infusion may be sweetened and
drunk as freely as the stomach will bear.
DR. PIERCE'S COMPOUND EXTRACT OF SMART-WEED. This is unsurpassed as a
diaphoretic agent, and is much more certain in its operation than any
simple diaphoretic.
DILUENTS.