Mother's Remedies - Thomas Jefferson Ritter (guided reading books .txt) 📗

the Bowels, Hop Poultice for.—"Take hops, strain them and put in a sack. Lay across the stomach and bowels."

4. Inflammation of the Bowels, Griddle Cake Poultice for.—"Apply hot griddle cakes on bowels. This acts as a poultice, and should be replaced as soon as cold." This remedy saved my life when I was seventeen years of age. Am now fifty. This remedy will be found very good, but care should be taken not to burn the patient.

5. Cold or Pain in the Bowels, Spice Poultice for Child or Adult.—"Take a cloth sack large enough to cover abdomen; take all kinds of ground spices, put in the bag and tie up, sprinkle bag lightly with alcohol, just enough to dampen spices; lay this on abdomen." This serves as a poultice and is an excellent remedy for this trouble. This may be used for a child as well as an adult.

6. Inflammation of the Bowels, Simple Remedy Always at Hand for.—"Apply hot woolen cloths to abdomen as hot as can be wrung out, change every few minutes. My life was saved twice when I was several hundred miles from a doctor by this treatment." This simple but never failing remedy is easily prepared and, as we all know, heat is the most essential thing for this trouble, especially moist heat.

7. Inflammation of the Bowels, a Rather Unique Remedy for.—"Cut the head off of a hen, cut open down the breast, take out the inwards, pound flat and roll with rolling pin and apply to the bowels. This will draw out all inflammation, but must be done in as little time as possible." The above remedy can do no harm. Many people use it. Perhaps other poultices would be easier to prepare, just as effective and save the hen.

8. Inflammation of the Bowels, Marshmallow Leaves, a Canadian Remedy for.—"Green marshmallow leaves (dry will do). Wet flannel and apply hot." Make a strong tea of the marshmallow leaves and while hot dip flannels and apply to abdomen.

[DIGESTIVE ORGANS 119]

9. Inflammation of the Bowels, Syrup of Rhubarb for.—"Add to three pints of simple syrup one and three-fourths ounces of crushed rhubarb, one-fourth ounce each of crushed cloves and cinnamon, one dram of bruised nutmeg, one pint of diluted alcohol, evaporate liquid by a gentle heat to one-half pint. Excellent in bowel complaint in one-half dram (one-half teaspoonful) doses every hour until it operates." The rhubarb moves the bowels and casts out all irritating matter. The oil of cloves stimulates the membranes of the bowels and the cinnamon and nutmeg are astringents.

MOTHERS' REMEDIES for Toothache, Dry Salt and Alum for.—1. "Equal parts. Take common salt and alum. Mix and pulverize these together, wet a small piece of cotton and cause the mixture to adhere to it and place in the hollow tooth. At first a sensation of coldness will be produced, which will gradually disappear, as will the toothache. This is an excellent remedy and should be given a trial by any person suffering with this trouble."

2. Toothache, Oil of Cloves Quick Relief for.—"If the tooth has a cavity take a small piece of cotton and saturate with oil of cloves and place in tooth, or you may rub the gum with oil of sassafras." These are both good remedies, and will often give relief almost instantly.

3. Toothache, Home-Made Poultice for.—"Make a poultice of a slice of toast, saturate in alcohol and sprinkle with pepper and apply externally. This will give almost instant relief."

4. Toothache, Clove Oil and Chloroform for.—"Clove oil and chloroform, each one teaspoonful. Saturate cotton and apply locally."

5. Toothache, Sure Cure for.—

    "Peppermint water 1/2 ounce
    Nitre 1/4 ounce
    Chloroform 1 dram
    Ether 1 dram
    Oil of mustard 10 drops

Remark: This remedy will give relief where all others fail. Not only for toothache, but for neuralgia pains in any part of the body, apply with cloth moistened and lay on the parts affected. Continue until relieved."

6. Toothache, Salt and Alum Water for.—"Fill a bottle of any size half full of equal parts of pulverized alum and salt, then fill up the bottle with sweet spirits of nitre. Shake and apply it to the tooth and gums. Apply it freely, as there is nothing to hurt or injure you."

7. Toothache, Oil of Cinnamon for.—"A drop of oil of cinnamon will frequently relieve very serious cases of toothache. Apply to the tooth with a little cotton. This will at least give temporary relief until you can see your dentist and have the tooth treated."

8. Toothache, Reliable Remedy for.—"Chloroform, clove oil, alcohol, one half ounce of each. Mix together and saturate a piece of cotton and place it in the tooth. This is sure to give relief."

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9. Toothache, From Decayed Teeth.—"If the tooth is decayed take a small piece of raw cotton, saturate with chloroform and place in cavity."

MOTHERS' TOOTH POWDERS.—1. "The ashes of burnt branches of the common grape vine make a very superior tooth powder. It will clean the blackest of teeth, if continued for a few mornings, to that of pure white."

2. Tooth Powder.—"Precipitated chalk four ounces, powdered orris root eight ounces, powdered camphor one ounce; reduce camphor to fine powder moistening with very little alcohol, add other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and sift through fine bolting cloth." Have used this with great success.

3. Tooth Powder.—"All tooth powders, or anything that has a grit will, with the friction of the brush, scour loose from the enamel of the teeth; and this is far superior to any of them in every respect.

    Soap tree bark 1 pound
    Turpentine 2 ounces
    Powdered orris root 2 ounces
    Alkanet root 1/2 ounce

Diluted alcohol, half water, sufficient to make the whole into one gallon. Let it stand in an earthen jar to macerate for fourteen days; stir occasionally, then strain and filter through filtering paper. The alcohol will have no injurious effect. This is an excellent tooth remedy."

4.—Tooth Wash.—"One teaspoonful of boracic acid in a pint of boiling water.

    Tincture Myrrh 1/2 teaspoonful
    Spirits of Camphor 1/2 teaspoonful
    Essence of Peppermint 1/2 teaspoonful

Use in the water in which you brush your teeth. Let boracic acid water cool, then add last three ingredients."

5. Tooth Powder.—"Precipitated chalk four ounces, pulverized sugar two ounces, powdered myrrh one ounce, pulverized orris root one ounce. Mix and sift through fine bolting cloth. This is fine."

6. Tooth Powder, Commonly Used.—

    "Precipitated Chalk 12 drams
    Rose Pink 2 drams
    Carbonate of Magnesia 1 dram
    Oil of Rose 5 drops

Mix all well together and after using it you will find the following mouth-wash fine for rinsing out the mouth."

Antiseptic Mouth Wash.—

    "Boric Acid 10 grains
    Resorcin 4 grains
    Salol 2 grains
    Thymol 1/2 dram
    Glycerin 1/2 dram
    Pure water 1 ounce

This sweetens and cleanses the mouth."

[DIGESTIVE ORGANS 121]

7. Tooth Powder, Simple and Unsurpassed.—

    Cream of Tartar, powdered 3 ounces
    Cochineal 1 dram
    Alum, powdered 4 drams
    Myrrh 1 dram
    Cinnamon 1 ounce
    Sugar 1 ounce

Mix and pass through a sieve. This is a preparation that has no superior for cleaning, preserving and whitening the teeth.

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for Toothache.—1. Chloretone dissolved in oil of cloves and applied on a cotton wad is very good for toothache.

2. Creosote.—Put on a piece of cotton and put this in the hollow tooth.

3. Toothache in an ulcerated or hollow tooth, caused from wet feet, etc. Take a hot foot bath and drink a hot lemonade, hot ginger, or hot pennyroyal tea, and go to bed and take a good sweat. Aching tooth needs the care of a dentist. It pays to retain your natural teeth in good shape.

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION.—Causes.—This may be caused by strangulation, telescope (intussusception) of the bowels, twists and knots, strictures and tumors, abnormal contents.

1. Strangulation is the most frequent cause; this is caused by adhesions and bands from former peritonitis, or following operations. The strangulation may be recent and due to adhesion of the bowels to the abdominal cut or wound, or a coil of the bowel may be caught between the pedicle of a tumor and the wall of the pelvis. These cases are rather common after some operations.

2. Intussusception.—This means that one portion of the bowel slips into an adjacent portion. These two portions make a cylindrical lump varying in length from one-half inch to a foot or more. Irregular worm-like motion of the bowel is a cause of intussusception.

3. Twists and knots.—Most frequent between thirty and forty. (There is an unusually long mesentery.)

4. Strictures and tumors.—These are not very important causes.

5. Abnormal contents.—Fruit stones, coins, pins, needles, false teeth, round worms rolled in a mass. Coins rarely cause inconvenience.

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Symptoms of Acute Obstruction.—Constipation, pain in the bowels, and vomiting are the three most important symptoms. Pain sets in early, and may come on abruptly when walking or more commonly when working. It is at first colicky, but soon becomes continuous and very intense, vomiting soon follows and is constant and very distressing. First the stomach contents are vomited, and the greenish bile-stained material, and soon the material vomited is a brownish-black liquid, with a bowel odor. This peculiar vomiting is a very characteristic symptom. Constipation may be absolute, without the discharge of either feces or gas. Very often the contents of the bowel below the obstruction are discharged. The abdomen is usually distended and when the large bowel is involved this is extreme. If it is high up in the small intestine, it may be very slight. At first, the abdomen is not tender, but later it becomes very sensitive and tender. The face is pale and anxious and finally collapse symptoms intervene. The eyes are sunken, the features look pinched and a cold, clammy sweat covers the skin. The pulse becomes rapid and weak. There may be no fever, and it may go below normal. The tongue is dry, parched, and the thirst is incessant.

Recovery.—The case terminates as a rule in death in three to six days, if aid is not given.

Treatment.—Purgatives should not be given. For the pain, hypodermics of morphine are needed. Wash out the stomach for distressing vomiting. This can be done three to four times a day. Thorough washing out of the large bowel with injections should be practised, the warm water being allowed to flow in from a fountain syringe and the amount carefully estimated. Hutchinson recommends that the patient be placed under an anesthetic, the abdomen kneaded, and a copious enema given with the hips placed high or patient in inverted position. Then the patient should be thoroughly shaken, first with the abdomen held downward and subsequently in the inverted position. If this and similar measures do not succeed by the third day surgical measures must be resorted to.

For bloating, turpentine cloths should be used, and other hot, moist applications.

Diet.—Should