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

may be the main seat, for La Grippe has no respect for any organ. We have then symptoms of acute indigestion with fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains or acute bowel trouble with fever, colicky pain in the abdomen; diarrhea; or we may have the febrile (fever) type. This may be the only symptom. The fever may be continuous or remittent, and last several days or several weeks and often with pains accompanying it.

In all forms convalescence is often gradual on account of the bodily and mental prostration with general soreness for several days. Many persons never fully regain their health, especially if they are careless during the attack, and almost any disease like bronchitis, kidney disease, pleurisy, pneumonia, etc., may follow.

[INFECTIOUS DISEASES 193]

LA GRIPPE, Mothers' Remedies.—1. Pepper, Red or Cayenne for.—"Make a tea of red pepper or cayenne, and take a tablespoonful in a cup of hot water, drink slowly, before each meal and on retiring. Larger doses in proportion to the intensity of the disease." Sponging the face, temples and neck with water as hot as can be borne relieves the headache of la grippe, which is often very painful and annoying.

2. La Grippe, Easy Remedy for.—"Plenty of good physic with hot teas of any kind has helped my own family."

3. La Grippe, Pleasant and Effective Remedy for.—"Use the oil of peppermint freely; rubbing it on the forehead, in front and back of the ears and each side of the nose. Inhale through each nostril separately. If the throat is affected pour two or three drops in small dish of hot water. Invert a funnel over the dish with the small end in the mouth and draw long breaths. Soak the feet in hot water at bedtime and take a good sweat, if possible."

4. La Grippe, To Allay Fever in.—"To produce sweating and to act on the kidneys and to allay restlessness in fever use the following: Lemon juice and water equal parts, enough to make four ounces; bicarbonate of potassium, one dram; water, three ounces. Make and keep in separate solutions to be used in tablespoonful doses several times daily and taken while effervescing, that is, foaming and bubbling up."

5. La Grippe. Poor Man's Herb Vapor Bath for.—"Give a Turkish or vapor bath every other day. A pail of hot water, with a hot brick thrown into it and placed under a cane-seated chair is the poor man's vapor bath. The patient should be covered. Then take the following herb tea:

    Yarrow 2 ounces
    Vervain 2 ounces
    Mullein 2 ounces
    Boneset 1 ounce
    Red Sage 2 ounces

Add two quarts of water and boil down to three pints; strain, and then add one ounce fluid extract of ginger; sweeten with honey or syrup; take a wine glassful three times a day, hot. Keep the bowels open and let the diet be light."

6. La Grippe, Red Pepper Treatment From Canada for.—"Take a bottle of alcohol and put enough red peppers in it so that when four drops of this liquid are put in a half cup of water it tastes strong. This is what I always break up my grippe with." Peppers thus prepared stimulates and warms up the stomach and bowels, and increases the circulation.

[194 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

PHYSICIANS' TREATMENT for La Grippe.—All discharges from the nose, throat and lungs should be disinfected, for the disease is contagious. Go to bed and stay there. You have no business to be around if you value your health. I am not writing of common cold. A great many people say they have had this disease when they have not had it. One who has had this disease is sick enough to go to bed, and there is where he should be. For the chill a sweat should be produced by putting hot water in fruit jars, wrapping them and placing them around the patient's feet, legs and body. Hot tea drinks can be given; hot lemonade, teas made from hoarhound, ginger, hops and catnip are good.

Corn Sweat.—The corn sweat can be used. Put from ten to twenty-five ears of corn in a boiler, boil thoroughly until the boiled corn smell appears, then put the corn ears into five packs, putting from two to five ears in a pack, according to the age of the patient. Use cloths or towels, but do not put the ears in contact, wrap the cloth between them. Put one pack to the feet and one at each side of the hips, and in each armpit. This will soon cause sweating and restore the external (capillary) circulation. It will generally produce a grateful sweat. Keep the clothes on the patient. After the patient has perspired enough you can remove one pack at a time. Have fresh aired sheets and night dress ready, and after bathing the patient slowly and carefully under the clothes with tepid water and drying all of the body put on the new night-dress and sheets. This remedy is also good for colds and inflammatory diseases of all kinds and when used carefully and thoroughly is always good. Of course, if there is great weakness it cannot be used, for it weakens a patient somewhat. I have saved lives with this sweat, and I know I have cut short many colds and inflammatory diseases. After the sweat the patient should have enough covering to keep comfortably warm and care must be taken to keep from the cold.

Fever.—If the disease goes on and there is high fever, so that the patient suffers from it, it is better to reduce it by cool sponging than by the coal tar products like antipyrin, acetanilid, etc. They are weakening and this is a weakening, prostrating disease. Good, careful cool sponging generally relieves the excessive fever and restlessness. The fever does not continue so long in this disease and it is not, therefore, so harmful. Delirium is present in some cases when the fever is not high.

Irritating Cough.—This can frequently he controlled by steam inhalations as directed under tonsilitis. You can also put in the steaming water one teaspoonful to one tablespoonful of compound tincture of benzoin for this disease. Hoarhound tea can be put in the water and the steam inhaled. If such measures do not stop the cough, medicine will be needed.

[INFECTIOUS DISEASES 195]

Sore Throat.—Spraying the throat with a solution of boric acid, one dram to one pint of hot water, is good. Listerine is good in the same way and dose.

Bowels.—They should be kept open from the first. Salts are usually handy and good.

Medicines.—Ten grains Dover's powder at night is good; unless there is much weakness. Some give quinine, some salol. Quinine, one to two grains, is given one to three hours. Salol, five grains, every three hours, especially for the backache.

Aspirin in five-grain doses for an adult every four hours is given very much now. The bowels should be kept open with salts.

Diet.—Children should take milk if there is no vomiting or diarrhea. If there is vomiting and diarrhea, give only water or diluted milk, or nothing if they continue. Water can generally be given.

For adults a good, nourishing diet when convalescence commences is necessary. During the sickness, milk, eggs,—raw and soft boiled, broths, soups, milk toast, can be given. A person must be very careful after an attack of the grip. He should remain in the house for some time, a week after he is well and thinks he can go out.

TYPHOID FEVER.—Typhoid fever is an acute infectious disease caused by a (Bacillus) germ, named after the discoverer (Eberth). This germ enters into the system, as stated below, locates itself in different organs, especially in the small intestine. It does its worst work in Peyer's glands, situated in the small intestines. They enlarge, ulcerate, break down and their structure is cast off into the bowel. This eating goes so far, in some cases, that it eats through the tissue to the blood vessels and other bleeding follows. Sometimes it goes through all the coats, the peritoneal being the last one. If this occurs we have what is called perforation of the bowel and the peritoneum around this perforation inflames and there is the dread complication of peritonitis. This is very fatal, as the patient is weakened from the inroads of weeks of fever and from the effects of the poison germ. Typhoid fever is also characterized by its slow (insidious), slyly, creeping onset, peculiar temperature, bloating of the abdomen, diarrhea, swelling of the spleen, rose-colored spots and a liability to complications, such as bleeding from the bowels, peritonitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Its average duration is three to four weeks, often longer. In order to take this disease there must first be the poison germ and then this enters into the system, generally through water that contains the germ, milk, oysters and other foods, etc.

Cause.—The typhoid bacillus (typhoid). This enters into the alimentary canal usually through contaminated water or with milk directly infected by the milk or by water used in washing cans. Also through food to which the germs are carried from the excreta (discharges) by flies, occasionally through oysters by freshening.

Filth, improper drainage and poor ventilation favor the preservation of the bacillus germ and lower the power of resistance in those exposed.

[196 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Time.—It occurs most frequently between August and November and in those of from fifteen to twenty years of age. The Peyer's patches and solitary glands of the bowel enlarge, become reddish and are somewhat raised. These go on and ulcerate until the blood vessels may be eaten into and bleeding sometimes results, it eats through the bowel, then there is perforation and peritonitis. The spleen is enlarged, the liver shows changes, the kidney functions are also deranged.

Symptoms.—The symptoms are variable. The following gives the symptoms in a typical case:

Incubation.—The period of incubation lasts from eight to fourteen and sometimes to twenty-three days. During the period the patient feels weak, is almost unable to work, has chilly feelings, headache and tiring dreams, does not know what is the matter with him, constipation or diarrhea, has no appetite, may have some pain in the abdomen which is occasionally localized in the right lower side. Soreness on deep pressure is often found there. In some cases there is nosebleed.

First Week.—After the patient is obliged to take to his bed: During the first week there is in some cases a steady rise in the fever each evening showing a degree or degree and one-half higher than the preceding evening, reaching 103 to 104, and each morning showing higher fever than the preceding morning. The pulse is characteristically low in proportion to the temperature, being about 100 to 110, full of low tension, often having double beat. The tongue is coated; there is constipation or diarrhea; the abdomen is somewhat distended and a little tender to the touch in the lower right portion. There may be some mental confusion at night. Bronchitis is often present. The spleen becomes enlarged between the seventh and tenth day and the eruption usually appears during this period on the stomach and abdomen.

Second week.—All the symptoms are intensified in the second week, the fever is always high and the weakening type; the pulse is more frequent; the headache is replaced by dullness; the bowel symptoms increase and we have the "pea soup" discharge if there is diarrhea; there is a listless, dull expression on the face; the tongue is coated in the center, red along the edges and the tip, becomes dry and sometimes cracked and almost useless. It is hard to put it out of the mouth, it sticks to the teeth or lips and curls there, and sometimes the patient allows it to remain partly out of the mouth. There may be bleeding from the bowels and perforation of the bowel, producing peritonitis.

[INFECTIOUS DISEASES 197]

Third week.—The temperature is lower in the morning with a gradual fall; the emaciation and weakness are marked. Perforation of the bowel or bleeding may occur. Unfavorable symptoms now include low muttering, delirium, shakings of the muscles, twitching of the tendons, grasping at imaginary things, lung complications and heart weakness.

Fourth week.—In a favorable case: The fever gradually falls to normal, the other symptoms disappear. Death may occur at any time after the second week from the disease or complications. The convalescence is very gradual and the appetite is very great.

Special symptoms and variations.—It may come on with a chill sometimes it is observed by nervous symptoms only.

Walking type.—In this type the patient is able to be around and can walk. The temperature is as high, but some of the other symptoms are not so violent. This is a dangerous