678 MEDICAL DICTIONARY

If a woman becomes depre ed in spirits, irritable in temper, and easily fagged with the least exercise,' we will find on inquiry that this is not all a umed, but that there is some irritation present internally which is exhausting her nervous system and developing these symptoms. It therefore becomes important that when a female complains in this way that the condition of the womb should be immediately examined. It is strange indeed that such an important organ should have been so systematically ignored when examining for the cause of disease. All sentimentality should be put aside when the health is at stake, and the condition of every organ of the body ascertained before arriving at a diagnosis, as, by ignoring this, a great many women while suffering intensely receive no sympathy because of the ignorance manifested by their medical attendants on this important subject. The symptoms of the patient in these circumstances have frequently been said to be imaginary, when the patient herself knew full well that they were too well founded upon fact. Of course there are impre ionable females who give way more readily than others, and who make the most of their symptoms it is nece ary in such cases to act firmly, but this firmne ; should always be accompanied by kindne —cruelty should never be resorted to. The follows:—Lowne general symptoms of hysteria may be summed up as of spirits accompanied by weeping at the slightest cause, sometimes alternating with fits of what is called hysterical laughter; it is a seldom that a hysterical patient looks on the bright side a of things, and there is always considerable irritability of temper. Another prominent symptom is what is termed the globus hysteric us, which gives a sensation as if a ball were in the throat, and conjoined with these there is always more or le an exce ive flow of urine, the urine being almost colourle . Neuralgia frequently accompanies this disorder, and there is always sleeple ne . If we dip further into the symptoms we will find that there is a bearing-down sensation at the bottom of the abdomen with weakne and pain in the back, also pain extending from the groin down the limbs these of course are due to the direct cause o£ the hysterical; symptoms. The treatment consists^in, first of all, removing the local irritation, which will be materially a isted Dy enjoining rest in the horizontal posture the bowels should also be very carefully watched; the tincture of valerian or the ammoniated tincture of; valerian will be found very efficacious when a paroxysm threatens or is actually present—this may be given in teaspoonful doses in water every two or three hours, a pill containing 2J grains of valerian ate of zinc, and 2 grains of extract of conium given forenoon and afternoon will be found the best nerve tonic for a hysterical patient. These may be continued for ten or twelve days at a stretch. Women, and young women especially, are very much given to underclothe themselves, and especially to abjure the use of flannel next the skin..This, it need hardly be said, is a very pernicious habit it is therefore e ential that all suffering from nervous; prostration, from whatever cause it may arise, should wear flannel next the skin. The digestive functions are liable to go out of order in hysterical patients the diet, therefore, should be carefully regulated and; adapted to the conditions of the stomach of the patient. From what has been said it is absurd to say that a man can be affected by hysteria, doubtle he may suffer from nervous symptoms, but that these are hysterical carries absurdity on the face of it. (See " Woman in Health and Sickne .”) be said to be water from which the latent heat has been extracted. It is a most useful article in the treatment of many diseases e.g. in congestion of the head the application of iced; cloths or a bladder filled with ice is a most potent remedy. It also has a most a powerful remedial effect in certain diseases where the temperature is unduly high. The author has seen it of the utmost value in typhoid fever, where death seemed imminent from the high temperature affecting the heart's action and causing it almost to cease in such circumstances the application of a bag of ice over; the heart and upper portion of the abdomen has frequently tided the patient over what appeared to be a fatal crisis. By this jneans the temperature of the body may be reduced In a very short tune 4°. or 5, any and proves it is along astonishing with the to subsidence find how the of heart this s abnormally action employed imciency may high temperature. Ice is also frequently as externally such in severe as a local cases anaesthetic, of neuralgia. and is As specially an m application useful petiginous by to the throat, externally, it is most useful in flamm a reach tory affections. As an internal remedy, ice is highly of beneficial in obstinate vomiting—a good plan to give it of in such circumstances is, to powder the ice and give it in teaspoonful doses, requesting the patient to swallow cient it before it is melted in the mouth. Iced drinks will is also be retained when the stomach is highly irritable, certain • when fluids at a wanner temperature would not be sequence retained for a moment. It is also very grateful in sleep. inflammatory affections of the throat, when taken is these internally.. Ichor an unhealthy discharge emanating. from an suffer ulcer. Its Is properties are very acrid and irritating, and to in every instance retard healing, and When are liable to make at the original sore extend its area. an ichorous does discharge is present in a wound or ulcer, the raw surrounds face should be thoroughly cleansed and rendered medicines aseptic by the application of some antiseptic substance amongst or fluid, probably the best application in these cir cum vomica, stances is aristol, but iodoform, dermatol, and other quently substances are also of service. worms Ichthyosis is a disease of the skin which develops removed. hard scales, making the surface somewhat resemble and the skin of a fish. The disease is frequently he red i very tary and usually congenital. It is to a certain extent Incubus, endemic to some districts, and is very difficult to treat something succe fully. too Idiocy ajid Imbecility may be described as or the result of an immature or ill-developed brain. These intestine. diseases are invariably congenital, the one being only refreshing a milder type of the other. They are usually the for result of frequent inter-marriages, but they also occur hand, where the constitutions of the parents have been retiring, tainted by syphilis or tubercle. If these diseases exist quantity in the parent, and inter-marriage also exists, the off retiring spring are thereby much more liable to be deficient make in their intellectual powers. No doubt a great deal Indigestion, can be done for the amelioration of the subjects of common these distre ing mental conditions, but the idea of this curing and elevating them to the platform of intellectual their beings is beyond the scope of medicine. Both imbebowels. ciles and idiots should invariably be placed in asylums chief or institutions devoted to their care. some Idiosyncrasy is that peculiar state of the mental remedied or physical apparatus which reacts in such a manner as stances to render an individual peculiarly susceptible to certain the diseases and influences which other people are not mental affected by e.g. hay fever is an idiosyncrasy, so is of asthma, but; the most peculiar form of susceptibility a which I have known was in an individual who, on frequently smelling the aroma of certain flowers, was immediately condition attacked by catarrh of the mucous membrane of the others nose, or, as it is commonly called, cold in the head. exists It was not, however, as can be easily seen, due to cold, deficiency but to irritation arising from the emanations of certain purely flowers. With regard to the administration of mediof cine many peculiar idiosyncrasies require to be stated with and noted e.g. the least quantity of mercury admin is dyspepsia tered to some; people will cause salivation, whereas of others may be able to take it in considerable quantities This without any apparent effect being produced. Eruptions food, on the skin occur in some people when certain articles stomach of diet are partaken of or certain medicines given, result while others, and the majority, are uninfluenced by consequence these substances. Certain individuals are unable to or take 'quinine from the physiological effect it pro accompanies duces upon the hearing, others again are purged give by taking iron, while as a rule it has an opposite this effect. Then, again, it has been stated that Epsom This salts have actually produced constipation in certain agreeable individuals. frequently Imperial Drink is made by pouring upon half of an ounce of cream of tartar and one lemon cut into fested slices a pint of boiling water and allowing it to cool, together the fluid afterwards being poured off as required for due the patient. It has an excellent effect on certain canal. sluggish conditions of the kidneys, and is also a mild a laxative. It may be taken ad libitum where there is found slight feverish condition combined with a defi of urine. Impetigo is a pustular eruption of the skin. It be a ociated with eczema, when it is called imeczema. It should invariably be treated a competent medical man, but if this is beyond great benefit will be derived by the application an ointment containing a small proportion ot nitrate mercury, chrysarobin, and quinine. Incontinence of Urine arises from a defi action of the sphincter muscle of the bladder. It not at all of unfrequent occurrence in boys up to a age, and sometimes even in girls, who, in con of this weakne , pa their urine during It again occurs in very aged persons, when it usually a symptom of approaching death, as it is in circumstances due to paralysis. When children from incontinence of urine, the important point attend to is to keep the lower portion of the body a higher elevation than the bladder, so that pre ure not occur upon this sphincter muscle which surthe orifice of exit from the bladder. Certain are also useful in these circumstances, -.which may be mentioned belladonna, nux and steel drops. As this condition is freaggravated by constipation or the presence of in the intestines, these causes should be Douching the parts with cold water night morning and using considerable friction are also beneficial adjuncts to other treatment. or Nightmare, is invariably the result of disturbing the digestive tract, either eating much indigestible food shortly before going to bed an accumulation of foetid matter within the large It is a mistake to suppose that sleep is more and le disturbed by abstinence from food some hours before retiring to rest. On the other it is a greater mistake to eat too much before yet it must be conceded that a moderate of easily digested food, an hour or so before for the night, will not only facilitate sleep, but it more lasting and refreshing. or Dyspepsia, is probably the most complaint that the human frame is liable to is largely due to the fact that people will not study diet and attend to the daily evacuation of the Indigestion may arise from many causes, the of which are—the partaking of rich or unwholearticles of diet: this of course can be easily by abstaining from those particular sub which one by experience learns is the cause of trouble; nervous debility brought on either by fatigue and worry or from the enervating effects certain diseases while febrile disturbances also have direct effect upon; the digestion. Dyspepsia also arises from catarrh of the stomach, and this is in many instances hereditary, while in it is the result of exposure to cold. When this an undue secretion of mucus takes place, and a When of gastric juice results. indigestion is stomachic in its origin it is _ indicated by a feeling discomfort or pain immediately after taking food, an inclination to vomit. In other forms the manifests itself by a sensation of distention the stomach, accompanied by frequent eructations. is generally accompanied by fermentation of »the the fact being that the temperature of the favours this kind of decomposition, and the is the generation of acid and gas, which is in accompanied by the eructation of flatus, wind, as it is popularly called. The acidity which it may be of such an acrid nature as to rise to what is popularly known as heartburn, and is also accompanied by pyrosis, or water-brash. is an eructation of a watery fluid having a distaste. Along with indigestion there i$ an undue inflation of the intestine as well as the stomach, and when this is the case it is maniby a feeling of fulne low down in the abdomen, with a griping sensation. As a rule, this is to undigested food finding its way into the intestinal When indigestion is present it is e ential that proper dietary should be attended to, and it will be that the following instructions, if carefully carried out, will be of considerable service, viz., the avoidance of soups, stewed meat, and boiled meat, and if such articles as porridge and vegetables produce acid, these should be abstained from also. Another pregnant cause of indigestion is the partaking of tea in too large quantities, and especially of tea which has been long infused it is therefore nece ary that tea should not be infused; for more than three or lour minutes at the outside. Bread should not bo eaten before it is at least one day old, and brown bread, or that which is made from whole wheaten meal, will be found much more easy of digestion than white bread. Then, it may be nece ary to a ist the digestion materially by adopting an exceedingly simple diet. It may be nece ary to abstain entirely for a little while from butcher meat, and only such articles as chicken, fish, sweetbreads, revalenta, and milk diet generally will require to be fallen back upon. It is also a well-known fact that butcher meat underdone is much more easily digested than that which is overcooked. It need hardly be mentioned that in cases of dyspepsia it is e ential that thorough mastication of the food should take place, but perhaps that which requires as much care as anything is the daily evacuation of the bowels, and where this requires a istance a small dose of Gregory’s mixture will probably answer the purpose better than anything else. If catarrh of the stomach is present, or if dyspepsia from other causes exists, great service will be obtained by washing the stomach thoroughly out before eating, and this can be done very easily by sipping a teacupful of very hot water about an hour or three quarters of an hour before meals. Regular and systematic exercise in the open air, and the employment of a cold bath, either by means of the spray or sponge, with a good rub down in the morning, will also be found very advantageous. Then, again, must be remembered that proper clothing is a most useful and beneficial means to adopt in persons who are of a dyspeptic habit it is e ential that the body be kept warmly, but not over,; clothed, and with a view of accomplishing this, flannel should always be worn next the skin. If the feet are cold, and the sleep disturbed by dreams, with a feeling of fatigue in the morning accompanied by bad taste and frontal headache, we may rest a ured that the bowels are in an unsatisfactory condition. These symptoms are frequently ascribed to biliousne , but the liver is not altogether at fault, the condition being due to a very large extent to the fact that the lower bowel is in torpid condition. When such symptoms are observed a saline purgative, very thoroughly diluted with water, taken before breakfast, will prove most beneficial. When it is nece ary to a ist the digestion, pepsine. ingluvin, papain or zymine will be of considerable service if taken immediately? after meals. Frequently, pepsine combined with aromatic powder, bi-carbonate of soda, and magnesia, or with helalin, will give great comfort and relieve the distre ing symptoms. The following prescription may be taken with advantage combined with the regulations as to diet which have just been given Pepsine and aromatic powder, of each three parts, bi-carbonate of soda, eight parts, and heavy magnesia, four parts half a teaspoonful of this powder taken in water immediately; after food will often prove to be of immense service. If, however, the indigestion proceeds from an atonic condition of the stomach it may be nece aiy to combine this with 20 drops of tincture of nux vomica and a tablespoonful of a bitter infusion, such as that of qua i, calumba, or gentian. Nux vomica is an admirable stomachic where the stomach requires tone. It will, however, always be advisable when indigestion is present to consult competent medical man, as it is quite impo ible for any patient to treat himself, however well he may be advised in a work of this kind indeed, medical men; themselves are quite unable to treat a disorder of this kind occurring in their own persons. Infection is applied to the contraction of disease through the breath. It is contra-distinct from contagion, in so far that this is the contracting of disease by touch. Some diseases are both infectious and contagious. It is a question, however, if infection can be in every instance due to the inhalation of the poison. It is very probable, I think, that it is the result of the