Throat, Dry and Irritable States of, giving rise to Cough.

Inhale the vapour of Hot Decoction of Abelmoschus (3) or of Hot Water (390). In Inflammatory States of, without Ulceration, use the same inhalations, and allow a piece of Nitre to dissolve in the mouth (266). Relaxed or Ulcerated Sore Throat. Use gargles of Alum (29), Capsicum (78), Moringa (238), Black Pepper (300), or Pomegranate Rind (313), Catechu (89), Ginger (158), and Omum Seeds (316), used in substance, prove useful in some cases, as do inhalations of the vapour of Hot Vinegar (377), or simple Hot Water (390).

    

Tic Douloureux.

See Face Ache and Neuralgia.

    

Tongue, Fissures or Cracks of, in the advanced stages of Fever, &c.

Use Borax (55) or Alum (29).

    

Toothache.

Sometimes yields to Opium (292*) or Catechu (89) locally applied, with or without Ginger (157), or Mustard Poultices (253) externally. Extraction is the only certain cure in the majority of cases.

    

Tumours, Painful.

Apply Datura in one of the forms advised in Paragraph 130, and give Opium (283) or Tincture of Datura (128) at night to procure sleep. A Tobacco leaf may often be advantageously substituted for Datura.

    

Ulcers.

May be successfully treated by the local application of solution of Sulphate of Copper (114*). Ceromel (167*) "Oil Dressing" (338) "Water Dressing" (394), (Dr. Aitchison states that for years he has discarded Water Dressing in any form to ulcers, but has substituted for cleansing and dressing them a mixture of one part of Carbolic Acid and ten of Sweet Oil. He pronounces this a far more effectual mode of treatment), and Rice Poultices (322), varied according to circumstances; if attended with fetid discharge, Charcoal Poultices (91); if with much discharge, Catechu Ointment or Lotion (90) and Myrobalans Ointment (257). To destroy Maggots on surface of, Butea Seeds (65). Sloughing, Gangrenous, or Ill-conditioned Ulcers require Alum Ointment (31), Borax (59), Camphor (75), Ním Poultices (261), Oil of Country Nutmeg (274), Petroleum (412), Toddy Poultices (355*) Turpentine Ointment (367), Resin Ointment (372), or Sugar (408). "Irrigation" (395) is most useful in removing the slough and stimulating to healthy action. If the pain and irritation are so great as to prevent sleep, Opium (283) or Tincture of Datura (128). To excessive Granulations ("Proud flesh"), apply Sulphate of Copper (114). In all cases Country Sarsaparilla (163), Hydrocotyle (170), or Mudar (242) may advantageously be given internally; and for Ulcers occurring in Scrofulous subjects, Fish Liver Oil (137, 138) proves most useful. "Whenever in India an ulcer looks angry and is in an unhealthy and non-healing condition, as is the case with Scind boils, Multan sores, Delhi sores, &c. &c., all applications to the ulcer itself are useless until the general health of the patient undergoes a thorough alteration. The want of power to heal in the ulcer shows that the system is in an unhealthy condition and that it is incapable of putting on the healing process in the ulcer. This state of things is no doubt due to the climate, malaria, poor food, and bad water; these combined develop in the system, scurvy, or a condition of the body allied to scurvy.

"An addition to, and a change in the diet is of the first consequence. This is to be done by administering as drugs a daily liberal proportion of good butter, sugar, and lime-juice.

"In many parts of India, especially during the hot weather, good butter is not to be got as a fresh article of food; an excellent substitute for it is the tinned article, now so readily obtainable, which, if salt, can be carefully prepared for use by having the salt washed out of it. The lime-juice should be, if possible, in the form of fresh limes, lemons, or oranges; rather than the lime-juice of commerce. Where fresh limes, &c., or lime-juice cannot be procured, sweet mango pickles, lime pickles, or the bazaar commodity Ám-chur (see Index, Scurvy) should be employed; from the last excellent preserves and tarts can be made, which are relished as a diet.

"The water supply should be changed, and even, if necessary, condensed water be drunk, in place of the saline stuff so common along our north-west frontier, where the river water is to be preferred to that of brackish wells full of nitrates.

"Other vegetables, such as potatoes, cauliflower, and artichokes should be added to the dietary if obtainable, and when possible an immediate change of climate, even for a few days, and to another water supply is of immense importance.

"The good results in following up the above proposals can be at once seen in the rapid alteration of the conditions of the ulcer, or ulcers, which at once begin to take on a healing action. They require after this but simple dressing, and indeed disappear as if by a miracle, leaving, however, behind them a scar, a well known momento of having once lived in an unhealthy climate."—Aitchison.

    

Urine, to relieve pain and scalding on passing.

Nitre (269), with Rice Conjee (322), Decoction of Abelmoschus (2), or of Ispaghúl Seeds (305) and the Hip Bath (392) generally afford relief. For Retention of Urine, Opium (287*) and a Hip Bath (392), with Hot Water Fomentations to the pubes, often succeed in recent cases; if these fail, no time should be lost in placing the patient under medical care.

    

Uterus, Painful Affections of.

Camphor (73), Opium (289*), Datura Poultices (130), and Hip Bath (392), either alone or conjointly, are calculated to afford relief. Chronic Affections of, Borax and Cinnamon (58). For Prolapsus or descent of, use vaginal injections of Decoction of Galls (147), or of Babúl Bark (9), holding Alum (25*) in solution. Bleeding from, see Hæmorrhage, and Menstrual Discharge, Excessive.

    

Vaginal Discharges.

Cubebs (125), and Gurjun Balsam (160) internally (given by the mouth) and vaginal injections of Lime Water (224), Alum (30) and Decoctions of Babúl Bark (9), Galls (149), or Pomegranate Rind (313) are indicated. [Employ at first simply cold or warm water injections, regulating the temperature according to the feelings of the patient; if these do not benefit, try Solution of Sugar (one part), Water (four parts). Add Alum or other astringents, if necessary, but do not commence with them until a fair trial has been given to the simpler means.—Aitchison.] For the Vaginal Discharges of Young Children, the local application of Lime Water (224), with Fish Liver Oil (138) internally offer the best chance of success.

    

Vaginal Irritation.

Is often removed, like a charm, by the application to the parts of a very weak solution of Carbolic Acid (one to twenty of Sweet Oil); if used stronger it is apt to cause pain, this pain is at once removed by a free application of sweet oil alone (Aitchison).

    

Voice, Loss of.

Catechu (89), or any of the other measures directed for Hoarseness.

    

Vomiting.

Amongst the remedies to allay this, are Infusion of Cloves (105), Infusion of Ginger, (155), Lemon Grass Oil (216*), and Omum Water (318), with or without the addition of a little Opium (290). Apply Mustard Poultices (251), or Turpentine Stupes (362). In obstinate cases try Leeches (213). Lime Water (223*), though especially adapted for Vomiting arising from Acidity of the Stomach, is well worthy of a trial in all obstinate cases, especially in the Vomiting of Infants and Young Children. It is best given in milk. Vomiting in Fevers. Hot Water (358).

    

Warts.

Seldom resist the persevering application for a week or two of Sulphate of Copper (108); a piece of it moistened should be rubbed lightly over the wart, avoiding the surrounding skin. It may be applied once every day, or every other day.

    

Wasps Stings of.

See Bites, Venomous.

    

Water on the Brain.

See Hydrocephalus.

    

Water-brash (Pyrosis).

Butea Gum (62), and Lime Water (223) may often be used with advantage.

    

Whites.

See Leucorrhœa, and Vaginal Discharges.

    

Womb, Affections of.

See Uterus, Affections of.

    

Worms.

For Tænia, or Tape Worm, give Kamala (189), Pomegranate Root Bark (314), or Turpentine (365). When one fails another will often succeed. For Lumbricus or Common Round Worm, try Butea Seeds (64), Vernonia Seeds (373b), or Papaw Juice (295).

The best remedy in these cases is Santonin, and considering the great prevalence of these worms amongst the people of India, and the many anomalous nervous and other affections to which they give rise, it is advisable always to have on hand a supply of this drug. The dose for children under four years is from two to four grains; above twelve years from six to eight grains, rubbed up with about twice its weight of sugar repeated every six or eight hours thrice in succession. A good plan is to give the Santonin at bedtime, and a small dose of Castor Oil in the morning, three days in succession. In many cases, it has been stated, no aperient is needed, one or two stools succeeding its administration containing the worms, if any are present; still, it is safer to follow up its use by an aperient. It is of little or no use in Tape Worm; and in Thread Worm, though it will aid, often strikingly, in removing the worms, it will not prevent their reappearance. For Round Worm it is by far the most effectual remedy we possess. For Ascarides, or Thread Worm, use enemas of Lime Water (227), Asafœtida (36), or Turpentine (365).

    

Wounds, Ulcerated.

See Ulcers, Bleeding from. See Hæmorrhage.

APPENDIX A.
DIRECTIONS FOR RESTORING THE APPARENTLY DEAD FROM DROWNING.

(Reprinted by permission from the Directions issued by the Royal Humane Society.)

As soon as the body is taken out of the water, lay it on the ground, wipe it dry, and let the wind blow freely upon the surface. With this view, on no account let people crowd round the body.

The points to aim at are—first, and immediately, the RESTORATION OF BREATHING; and secondly, after breathing is restored, the PROMOTION OF WARMTH AND CIRCULATION.

Treatment to Restore Natural Breathing.

Rule 1.To maintain a Free Entrance of Air into the Windpipe.—Cleanse the mouth and nostrils;[3] open the mouth; draw forward the patient's tongue, and keep it forward; an elastic band over the tongue and under the chin will answer this purpose. Remove all tight clothing from about the neck and chest.

Rule 2.To adjust the Patient's Position.—Place the patient on his back on a flat surface, inclined a little from the feet upwards; raise and support the head and shoulders on a small firm cushion or folded article of dress placed under the shoulder blades.

Rule 3.To imitate the Movements of Breathing.—Grasp the patient's arms just above the elbows; and draw the arms gently and steadily upwards, till they meet above the head (this is for the purpose of drawing air into the lungs), and keep the arms in that position for two seconds. Then turn down the patient's arms, and press them gently and firmly for two seconds against the sides of the chest. See Engravings I. and II. (This is with the object of pressing air out of the lungs. Pressure on the breastbone will aid this.)

Repeat these measures alternately, deliberately, and perseveringly, fifteen times in a minute, until a spontaneous effort to respire is perceived, immediately upon which, cease to imitate the movements of breathing, and proceed to Induce Circulation and Warmth (as below).

Should a warm bath be procurable, the body may be placed in it up to the neck, continuing to imitate the movements of breathing. Raise the body in twenty seconds in a sitting position, and dash cold water against the chest and face, and pass ammonia under the nose. The patient should not be kept in the warm bath longer than five or six minutes.

p263

 I.—Inspiration.
II.—Expiration.
To illustrate the position of the Body during the employment of this Method of Inducing Respiration.

Rule 4.To excite Inspiration.—During the employment of the above method excite the nostrils with snuff or smelling salts, or tickle the throat with a feather. Rub the chest and face briskly, and dash cold and hot water alternately on them.

Treatment after Natural Breathing has been Restored.

Rule 5.To induce Circulation and Warmth.—Wrap the patient in dry blankets and commence rubbing the limbs upwards, firmly and energetically. The friction must be continued under the blankets or over the dry clothing.

Promote the warmth of the body by the application of hot flannels, bottles or bladders of hot water, heated bricks, &c., to the pit of the stomach, the armpits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet. Warm clothing may generally be obtained from bystanders.

On the restoration of life, when the power of swallowing has returned, a teaspoonful of warm water and subsequently small quantities of wine, warm brandy and water, or coffee should be given. The patient should be kept in bed, and a disposition to sleep encouraged. During reaction large mustard plasters to the chest and below the shoulders will greatly relieve the distressed breathing. Great care is requisite to maintain the restored vital actions, and at the same time to prevent undue excitement.

The above treatment is to be persevered in for three or four hours, or until the pulse and breathing have ceased for at least one hour. It is an erroneous opinion that persons are irrecoverable because life does not soon make its appearance; as cases are on record of a successful result even after five hours' perseverance in the use of the above means.

APPEARANCES WHICH GENERALLY INDICATE DEATH.

There is no breathing or heart's action; the eyelids are generally half closed; the pupils dilated; the jaws clenched; the fingers semi-contracted; the tongue appearing between the teeth, and the mouth and nostrils are covered with a frothy mucus. Coldness and pallor of surface increase.

[3]   A good plan is to turn the body gently over for a few seconds with the face to the ground, one of the hands being placed under the forehead. By this means the water will run out of the mouth and the tongue will fall forward, leaving the breathing opening free. On no account should the body be held up by the feet as has been advised by some old writers.

APPENDIX B.
SUMMARY OF TREATMENT OF PERSONS BITTEN BY VENOMOUS SNAKES.[4]

As soon as possible after a person is bitten by a snake, apply a ligature, made of a piece of cord, round the limb or part at about two or three inches above the bite.

Introduce a piece of stick or other lever between the cord and the part, and by twisting tighten the ligature to the utmost (See Stick Tourniquet, p. 224).

Apply other two or three ligatures above the first one at intervals of four or six inches, and tighten them also. After the ligature has been applied, scarify by cutting across the puncture to the depth of a quarter of an inch with a penknife or other similar cutting instrument, and let the wounds bleed freely; or better still, excise the punctured part.

Apply either a hot iron or live coal to the bottom of these wounds as quickly as possible, or some carbolic or nitric acid.

If the bite be not on a finger or toe or part where a ligature can be applied, raise up the integument with the finger and thumb, and with a sharp penknife cut out a circular piece as big as a finger nail round each puncture, i.e., round the points of the finger and thumb, to the depth of quarter to half an inch. Then apply the hot coal or hot iron to the very bottom of the wounds.

Give fifteen drops of Liquor Ammoniæ, diluted with an ounce of water, immediately, and repeat it every quarter of an hour for three or four doses, or longer, if symptoms of poisoning appear.

Or give hot brandy, or rum, or whisky, or other spirit, with an equal quantity of water, about an ounce of each (for an adult) at the same intervals.

Should no symptoms of poisoning appear in half an hour after the application of the ligatures they should be relaxed, or the part will perish from gangrene; if they should, however, appear, the ligatures should not be relaxed until the person be recovering from the poison, or until the ligatured part be cold and livid.

Suction of the wounds is likely to be beneficial, but as it may be dangerous to the operator, it cannot be recommended as a duty.

If, notwithstanding, symptoms of poisoning set in, and increase, if the patient become faint or depressed, unconscious, nauseated or sick, apply Mustard Poultices, or Liquor Ammoniæ on a cloth, over the stomach and heart; continue the stimulants, and keep the patient warm, but do not shut him up in a hot, stifling room or small native hut; rather leave him in the fresh air than do this.

Do not make him walk about if weary or depressed; rouse him with stimulants, mustard poultices, or ammonia, but let him rest.

If the person be first seen some time after the bite has been inflicted, and symptoms of poisoning are present, the same measures are to be resorted to. They are less likely to be successful, but nothing else can be done.

In many cases the prostration is due to fear; the bite may have been that of a harmless or exhausted snake, and persons thus bitten will rapidly recover under the use of the above measures. If poisoned, but, as is frequently the case, not fatally, these measures are the most expedient; if severely poisoned, no others are likely to be more efficacious.

People should be warned against incantations, popular antidotes, and loss of time in seeking for aid.

To the above remarks, Sir J. Fayrer adds: "The measures suggested are no doubt severe, and not such as under other circumstances should be entrusted to non-professional persons. But the alternative is so dreadful that even at the risk of unskilful treatment, it is better that the patient should have this chance of recovery."

PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED BY PERSONS RESIDING IN SNAKE-INFESTED LOCALITIES.

That prevention is better than cure is admitted on all hands; hence those persons whose lot is cast in snake-infested localities will do well to lay to heart the following passage from the official "Report on Indian and Australian Snake-poisoning," by Drs. Joseph Ewart, Vincent Richards, and S. Coull Mackenzie (Calcutta, 1874).

The poisonous snakes of India, as a general rule, "are, until provoked, perfectly inoffensive to all animals not required by them as food. They seldom assume the aggressive until they are rudely and accidentally disturbed. Thus a native sleeping on the ground rolls over a venomous snake, or whilst walking in the jungle, or long grass, or in the dark, treads upon some part of a snake's body. In either case the snake bites if he can. It is in this way that a large proportion of snake accidents happen.

"A large number of lives would be saved annually if the native population could be prevailed upon to sleep on charpoys, and if they got into the habit of never stepping from their beds at night without first seeing, by means of a light, that the ground below is clear, and free from snakes. Much of the immunity which Europeans and educated natives enjoy from snakebite is due to their using these very necessary precautions, especially during the rainy season, and in the mofussil by their never walking abroad at night without a light. There is scarcely a European of experience in the mofussil who cannot recount examples of lives (often their own) having been saved by means of these simple precautions."

To the above judicious advice (the most important points of which I have italicised) may be added the following excellent practical precautions, communicated to me by friends whose Indian experience gives great weight to their suggestions.

1. Snakes never voluntarily traverse rough or broken ground: it is therefore advisable in snake-infested localities to surround your dwelling with a cordon or belt of broken bricks or kunkur—a breadth of three or four feet is quite sufficient for the purpose.—Dr. Norman Chevers.

2. Be careful, especially during the wet season, to keep the verandahs, &c., free from frogs: a frog is a temptation which a snake has little or no power to resist.—Dr. Norman Chevers. The same remark is equally applicable to rats.

3. In the cold season, if you see a snake coiled up or in an apparently lifeless state in an open, well-frequented road or pathway, be careful how you approach him. Should you handle or disturb him roughly, he will in all probability rouse up and bite you. He is only torpid from cold, not dead.—Dr. Norman Chevers.

4. Have a piece of perforated zinc or tin fitted to the opening made for the purpose of carrying off the water out of the bath-room, if it be on the ground floor. A similar piece should be added to the bottom of the bath-room door should it not (as it rarely does) reach the ground beneath.—Mr. Arthur J. Waring.

5. Discard vegetation, especially thick straggling shrubs like the Rangoon Creeper, close to your house. They are very apt to harbour snakes.

6. Important as are the above "Precautions," they are comparatively of small moment compared with the destruction—extermination if possible—of the snakes themselves. And this can only be efficiently carried out under Government supervision. That this is the only mode of effectually grappling with this gigantic evil, under which thousands of lives are annually sacrificed—the numbers are 19,060 in 1880, and 18,610 in 1881, besides 4568 cattle in the two years—is forcibly set forth by Sir Joseph Fayrer in two able papers in Nature, December 28, 1882, and January 18, 1883. Most earnestly is it to be hoped that Government, agreeably to his suggestion, will lose no time in establishing a department, with a responsible chief and subordinate agents, under whom a system of organised, determined, and sustained efforts for the destruction of the snakes shall be adopted and carried out. It would be a public boon if Sir Joseph's two papers were reprinted in pamphlet form, and circulated throughout the length and breadth of India.

In the meanwhile zealous individual effort should be brought to bear in the same direction. To this end money rewards (heading the list with eight annas for a Cobra) should be freely offered to the natives for every dead poisonous snake brought in, but for poisonous ones alone. Of these there are life-like coloured plates in Fayrer's Thanatophidia of India, and in Ewart's Poisonous Snakes of India, one or other of which works is to be found in almost every large station, and which it is highly desirable for every one to make himself acquainted with. One other point remains to be noticed, namely, the necessity of carefully impounding every such dead snake brought in and paid for; otherwise it is likely to do duty a few hours later, or even next day, or it may be made the means of extracting further "buck-sheesh" from one or more of the neighbouring "Sáhib-lóg!"

[4]   Reprinted by permission from Sir Joseph Fayrer's splendid work, The Thanatophidia of India. Folio. London: Churchill. 1874.

APPENDIX C.
METHOD OF TREATMENT OF SMALL-POX BY MEANS OF CARBOLISED OIL.

My reason for giving this treatment of small-pox in detail is the frequent presence of the disease in India, in an epidemic form amongst the natives, with the hope that it may prove useful in ameliorating it, and thus save many useful lives which otherwise would probably succumb to its ravages from the terrible purulent discharge acted upon by a hot climate, creating a form of disease scarcely known in colder latitudes.

Before attending upon or assisting in the treatment of a case of small-pox, it is the duty of every one to see that they, their households, and those others who are likely to attend upon the case are sufficiently protected from the likelihood of infection by having been properly vaccinated, and that this operation had been successfully performed within at least four years. When there is a necessity for any one coming into immediate contact with the disease, as on the occurrence of an epidemic, it is advisable to be vaccinated whenever such epidemics occur.

There is a general belief that vaccination does not prove a success in the hot weather in India; do not credit this. If small-pox occurs as virulently as it does during the hot weather, on occasion, the success of the vaccination is also a certainty, if performed with care and a determination in its success.

Never mind how young an infant is, vaccinate it, even if it is only a day old, if you believe there is any probability whatsoever of its having come into, or likely to come into, contact with the infection of small-pox. Remember "the mortality of small-pox in childhood is very high up to the age of ten years. Infants usually succumb to the disease even in the discrete form."

Since the time that I first gave my opinion to Dr. Waring (in 1872) upon the treatment of small-pox with carbolised oil, I have seen a good deal more of the disease, and I still, with slight modifications, maintain my preference for this form of treatment. When I first used the application I employed a mixture of one part of Carbolic Acid and ten parts of Sweet Oil, applied twice daily over the whole body. I now advocate the employment of one part of Carbolic Acid to fifteen parts of any bland or Sweet Oil, moistening the body on such parts as may require it, frequently during the day and night.

Sesamum or Til Oil is ordinarily the most easily procurable throughout India, but any of the following will do: Poppy, Ground-nut, Apricot, Walnut, Cocoa-nut, Linseed, Almond, or Olive Oil, the two last being rather expensive. On no account be led into using any of the Mustard oils, which, owing to the natives using some of them in their diet, are occasionally spoken of as "sweet oils."

At whatever stage of the disease the patient comes under treatment, at once apply this liniment over all the parts being affected, or are affected by the eruption, by means of a mop of soft cotton-wool (never on any account employ a sponge); apply the liniment freely as if you were treating a severe burn, and then carefully cover the oiled surface with cotton-wool, so as to exclude all air, and keep the cotton-wool dressing in position. The carbolised oil to be freshly reapplied every four or six hours, so as to keep the parts moist, and the cotton-wool to be renewed every forty-eight hours. If flakes of wool stick into the broken skin, moisten these freely with oil, but do not tear them away. Any amount of cotton-wool can be obtained throughout India at the smallest hamlet, on a few hours' notice; and at all hours in any bazaar.

Let the patient lie between blankets, not cotton sheets; in commencing to dress the patient on the first occasion have a layer of cotton-wool placed upon the lower blanket, then place the patient on this cotton-wool naked, cover with a similar sheet of cotton-wool and over this again a blanket; having done this, set to and piecemeal dress the whole body, where the presence of the coming eruption requires it, with the carbolised oil, and cotton-wool, supporting the position of the cotton by means of very light bandages, or by a few stitches with a needle and thread, so as to keep the wool carefully together as well as firmly against the body. If suitable under the circumstances, a thin elastic gauze jersey and drawers keep the cotton protected from being rubbed off by restless patients.

So soothing and comforting is the application of the oil, that almost the youngest patients look forward to its re-application, will at once tell you when the body is getting hot and dry, and will in all probability ask to be allowed to apply the liniment themselves when they begin to feel uncomfortable, especially at the inflammatory stage of the vesicles when they are just changing to their pustular condition.

What is gained by the above treatment?

1. The carbolised oil soothes and cools down the inflamed surface of the skin, exactly as is done when oil is applied to a burn.

2. The cotton keeps all air from the skin, and aids in keeping the skin moist with the oil.

3. The oil saturates the surface of the eruption, penetrates into the skin desiccation, and as the oil becomes heated by the temperature of the body it gives off some of its carbolic acid in the form of gas.

4. The carbolic acid keeps the oil from becoming rancid.

5. If the liniment is applied to the eruption at a sufficiently early stage, viz., when the eruption is becoming vesicular, the carbolised oil on the surface of the eruption, and the gaseous carbolic acid, between the skin and the cotton and in the interstices of the cotton, prevent the microbes of the atmosphere from coming into direct contact with the epidermis, and subsequently with the contents of the vesicle, the result of which is the contents of the vesicle do not become pustular and purulent; and the eruption dries up without ulceration.

6. If the liniment is applied late in the vesicular stage, or not until the pustular stage has set in, the carbolised oil penetrates more or less into the epidermis which is being thrown off by the suppuration of the pustule; as the pus is discharged by rupture of the epidermis the oil mixes with the pus, disinfects it, and keeps it sweet, as is to be observed by the entire non-existence of, or extremely modified condition of, the horrid stench that accompanies small-pox, subsequent to the pustular stage of the disease.

7. The exuviæ becoming loaded with the carbolised oil, are (probably) disinfected and are incapable of spreading the disease.

8. If the eruption is prevented from reaching the pustular stage, the complications that would otherwise have resulted from pus absorption are no longer to be dreaded, such as the secondary fever, boils, abscesses, acute cellulitis, erysipelas, pyæmia, &c. &c.

No eroding ulcers with deep cavities, leaving the well-known cicatrices of small-pox, are produced.

9. The pustular stage having occurred before the carbolised oil treatment was applied, it still proves of immense value, as it prevents the pus becoming impure and poisonous, and this greatly ameliorates the results of the disease even at this stage.

So long as the disease lasts is this application to be applied, limited certainly to the extent of the eruption; as long as this treatment is being adopted, not a drop of water should be allowed to touch any part of the skin surface (no washing of any sort) until healthy action of the skin has set in, recognised by the falling off of the crops of scabs, without any raw, ulcerated surfaces.

Is there any danger to the patient from the absorption of the carbolic acid into the system? So long as the oily solution is used, and no water allowed to come into contact with the skin, I consider there is little or no danger, but it is necessary always to be careful. Should the patient be suffering from the absorption of the carbolic acid, you will find a cold, clammy skin, rapid fall of both temperature and pulse, and the urine of a smoky greenish-brown colour, and having the odour of carbolic acid. In many cases of small-pox, but where no carbolic acid has been employed, the urine becomes smoky-brown, but it has not the peculiar greenish tinge of where carbolic acid is present. To judge the odour correctly, the urine should be put into a fresh dish and examined in some other room, or, what is better, the open air, so that there can be no mistake, as the air of any house gets so saturated with the odour of carbolic acid that it is not easy to judge whether the odour is that of the air or of the urine. If danger from excess of absorption of carbolic acid is feared, do not give up the treatment, but lower the strength of the carbolic acid in the oil to 1 in 20, and more or less limit the number of the applications. But what is far more important, see that there is abundance of ventilation in the room. I would fear more from a close chamber and excess of carbolic acid vapour in the air than the possibility of the excess of acid having been absorbed from the oil. Remember you are not dealing with a watery solution where there, I believe, is danger, as water, besides quickly evaporating, rapidly yields up its carbolic acid to the tissues, which too readily absorb it. Oil but slowly evaporates, and with difficulty parts with the carbolic acid it holds in solution to the tissues.

All the swabs, mops, &c., of cotton-wool, and the wool itself that may have been employed in treating a case, should be burnt at once when they are no longer required.

The blankets and bedding, after a good washing and exposure to sun, will be found to be free of infection, and may be again with safety employed.

Upon the above principles I have treated the vesicle of vaccination, with much comfort to the patient, and in most of the cases entirely prevented the pustular stage.

Aitchison.

APPENDIX D.
THE CLINICAL THERMOMETER.

The possession of a self-registering Clinical Thermometer in every household, in a tropical or malarious climate is a necessity, more especially when at a distance from medical aid. It is a means for assisting to ascertain most accurately, in a very few minutes, whether a child or patient is really ill, and the necessity there might be for the administration of remedies; for calling in other and more proficient assistance; or to allay anxiety that might have accrued from a nervous fear, when possibly no actual illness existed.

From one single observation of an abnormal temperature, we learn:

"1. That the patient is really bodily ill.

"2. When there is considerable elevation of temperature, we know that there is fever.

"3. When there are extremes of temperature, we know that there is great danger.

"The mean normal temperature of the human body in health is 98·6° Fahrenheit's scale."[5] This may vary in health, in exceptional cases from 97·5° to 99·5° Fahrenheit.

The accompanying diagrams represent (A) a thermometer that has been employed, we will say, in a case of Intermittent fever, the Index showing the temperature to have been 104°; (B) a thermometer with the Index at 95°.

The Index in a Clinical Thermometer is a small quantity of mercury separated by a bubble of air from the rest of the mercury; or, owing to the peculiar construction of the glass tube, without any air being present, a portion of the mercury separates itself from the bulk, and remains separated in the tube, as an Index. Upon placing the Thermometer in a favourable situation, in or against the body of a patient, owing to the amount of heat with which it there comes in contact, the mercury in the bulb expands, and the Index is pushed up to the highest point in the Thermometer that the heat of the body at that time is capable of causing, if the Thermometer is kept in contact with the body for the requisite time; and when the Thermometer is removed from its contact with the body, the mass of mercury suddenly cooling down, contracts, and returns into the bulb, the Index being left behind at the point to which the heat of the body had forced the mercury in the bulb to raise it; thus the Thermometer in Diagram A shows that in that instance the Index had been raised to 104° Fahrenheit and that that was the temperature of the body at that observation.

In commencing to take the temperature of a patient, first of all see that the Index is in the position as seen in Diagram B, not necessarily always as low as 95°, but at all events well under the arrow →, which marks off the mean normal temperature of any one in healthy viz., 98·4° Fahrenheit, as given in most English thermometers (98·6° as used on the Continent). The temperature of an infant or young child is frequently found to be 99° whilst in health.

Supposing a Thermometer is put into any one's hands, reading as at Diagram A 104°, how is the Index to be replaced to the position it occupies in Diagram B? Hold the Thermometer by its upper end (the bulb being considered the lower end) then swing it round with your arm, suddenly stopping the arm with a jerk, this jerk causes the Index to fall towards the bulb, continue this, and after each jerk see how far the Index has fallen, when it has got well under the arrow →, the Thermometer for an ordinary case is ready for use.

When, however, one expects a low temperature, it is best to have the Index of the Thermometer at or under 95°.

p283

Fahrenheit's Scale.

How and when to apply the Thermometer. With grown up children and adults I have always found it more convenient to take the Temperature by placing the bulbous end of the Thermometer into the mouth under the tongue, keeping it there, with the mouth, shut, for the requisite time, the patient in the meanwhile breathing only through the nostrils; with infants the most convenient place is to put the Thermometer in the flexure of the thigh, laying one of the thighs somewhat across the other, but being careful not to allow the clothes to touch the Thermometer; some prefer to place it in the armpit, or axilla. This I have not found always as convenient as the other two localities; any of these, however, is good for the purpose. Use the one you may deem most convenient, but be careful to keep the clothes from coming into contact with the Thermometer.

Thermometers are now made with such a rapid action, that at the very longest they do not now require to be kept in position for more than three minutes.

Immediately after having made an observation note down the temperature, along with the time at which the observation was taken; having done so, and not before, wash the Thermometer, but not with hot water, and then jerk down the Index; so that the Thermometer is ready for future use. If the reading is in any way a doubtful one, take another observation at once.

If there is any anxiety connected with the case, it is advisable to take an observation every three hours, so long as the patient is awake; never disturb a patient during natural sleep for the purpose. Ordinarily take an observation two or three times during the day, but at set hours and at regular intervals, always noting the time.

Whenever the temperature of a patient is found to be below or above the normal 98·4°, viz., the arrow-mark on the Thermometer, then watch the case, as one requiring care. If the temperature has fallen as low as 97°, or gone up to 100°, make up your mind that there is something wrong; be vigilant. But a falling temperature below 97° means danger from collapse, and a rising one reaching 105° is a dangerous fever heat. In the last two occurrences remedial agents require to be applied to at once, and medical assistance urgently asked for.

Along with each thermometric observation, it is advisable to count the pulse, and the number of respirations [the average number of pulsations in a minute of a healthy adult are about 72, and the number of respirations about 16. In young children and infants the number of pulsations and respirations are usually much higher than in the adult, and so irregular that to the non-professional their value alone in diagnosing disease may be considered as doubtful, other signs and symptoms require to be more carefully studied, and taken into consideration along with them, and the temperature] that occur during the minute (the latter is easily done by laying the open hand on the upper part of the abdomen, and counting the number of rises) noting these, along with the temperature, and the time. Such data, if taken carefully and at regular intervals of time, form an invaluable means for assisting the physician in his diagnosis.

Example.

May 17. May 17. May 17.
Time 9 A.M. 12 noon 3 P.M.
Temperature 98·4° 100° 100°
Number of Pulsations 72 80 80
Number of Respirations 16 20 20