XLI.—Gripes, Cholic, Diarrhœa, English Cholera, or Cholera Morbus.
All partake more or less of the same character; to describe the symptoms, nature, and medical treatment of these complaints, more volumes have been written than there are days in the year.
My object is not to inquire how such complaints arise, but to show how by the most simple and safe means they are to be cured.
Cholic.—This complaint invariably gives way to sitz-baths, clysters, bandages, and drinking plentifully of cold water.
A patient suffering from pain in the bowels for some days, was ordered injections three times a day, notwithstanding the bowels were perfectly free.
W——, taken with sickness and griping pains, could retain nothing on his stomach, supposed that it arose from eating unripe fruit. An injection of cold water was first resorted to; one not being sufficient, a second in half an hour was administered, and during the day ten others. Then two rubbing sheets, followed by a tepid bath, with great friction, and large bandage, three hours afterwards, a sitz-bath, tepid, fifteen minutes.
Again, after a lapse of three hours, the former process. This put an end to the gripes the same day.
An Austrian officer, attacked with violent pain in the abdomen, which extended through to the back. Great heat and pain in the head, with cold feet.
Priessnitz wetted the body all over with cold water, particularly the feet, and without drying the parts thus wetted, ordered the patient to sit quite naked near to the window, which was open, for one hour in a sitz-bath, his servant rubbing him the whole time. Patient was then covered up well in bed to bring on re-action, the pains of which for a short time were worse than cholic. The attack was put an end to by this one application, or it was to have been renewed in the morning.
The singular part of this treatment is, that the body was thus exposed to the inclemency of a Siberian winter, wet and naked, for one hour. When asked why he adopted such positive treatment, Priessnitz said, because there was a great tendency to intestinal inflammation. The patient was out and well next day.
Dysentery and Diarrhœa.—For the information of the general reader, it may be well to state, that Dysentery is brought on by damp, cold, or unripe fruit, and is attended by the evacuation of bloody glaires, violent pain of the stomach, burning at the arms, and spasms of the bladder, a constant desire to evacuate without being able to render anything but glaires. Diarrhœa is attended with many of these symptoms, but there is no blood in the evacuation. Hereafter it will be shewn how both these complaints are to be treated.
Cold clysters, rubbing-sheets, sitz-baths, and bandage, are the chief agents in the cure of these complaints. When attended with inflammation take three or four sitz-baths a day, and change the body bandages every ten minutes.
In Diarrhœa or Dysentery the patient should take but little exercise.
When Diarrhœa is recent, it is sufficient to drink plentifully of water, wear a bandage round the wrist, eat little, and that of farinaceous food.
Diarrhœa is often the work of nature to carry off prejudicial humours; which ought not to be prevented. At the same time it must not be suffered to continue too long without resorting to measures to check it. A patient came to Gräfenberg who had suffered six weeks from this complaint, which had reduced him almost to a skeleton. He was cured in a few days.
Where abundant evacuations of glaires are alternate with constipation, cold injections are a great relief. If patients in Cholera, Diarrhœa, Cholic, or Dysentery, cannot sleep, administer a very cold foot-bath, water only half an inch deep, for fifteen minutes. Let the feet, legs, and thighs be rubbed with wet hands the whole time, then the patient should walk bare-footed in the chamber for ten minutes.
Dysentery.—Begin with one or two rubbing-sheets, then cold injections every quarter of an hour for two or three hours.
Then tepid sitz-bath, rather warmer than usual, for half an hour, followed by a large heating bandage doubled three or four times, from before the hips to the arm-pits, leaving the arms free. Change this every ten or fifteen minutes. Let the covering to the bed be light, but keep the feet warm. Drink large quantities of cold water.
When the bandage has been changed three or four times, if the patient is better, let him remain quiet; otherwise repeat the treatment.
Miss B——, attacked with dysentery attended with great pain; ordered four sitz-baths in a day, one hour each large bandage from hips to arm-pits; changed often.
Took them two days, and one in the night. These chilled her exceedingly, which Priessnitz said was as it ought to be.
Diarrhœa.—A delicate lady, ordered not to drink milk for some days, but sixteen to twenty glasses of water; take but little exercise; at noon wash with cold water; at eleven o’clock, cold sitz-bath, twenty minutes, then walk a few times in the room, with only dry sheet over the person; then sitz-bath again for twenty minutes; repeat this a third time to complete the hour.
F——, had diarrhœa two days, when Priessnitz said, “If you are not in pain, do nothing; if the contrary, take a morning rubbing-sheet, and sitz-bath three quarters of an hour; noon, the same; afternoon, sitz-bath three quarters of an hour; change bandages and walk less; drink plentifully of water.”
A—— had Diarrhœa whilst travelling, as he could not procure sitz-bath, he lay in bed, changed bandages every half hour, and drank freely of water. This treatment sufficed.
Chronic Diarrhœa.—Morning, packing-sheet from hips to arm-pits until warm, then cold bath; noon, two rubbing-sheets and sitz-bath half-an-hour; evening, sitz-bath half-an-hour; or in the morning, sitz-bath for half an hour, then walk, return and take cold bath; drink plentifully of water and wear large bandages.
Pain in the Bowels.—Tepid sitz-bath 62° for three quarters of an hour; rubbing the abdomen all the time; in a simple case this puts an end to the pain at once.
Severe Pain in the Bowels.—Tepid sitz-bath, half an hour to an hour; much rubbing with wet hands on the back, stomach, and abdomen when in the bath; no exertion of mind or body; eat only of one thing; drink much water. When constipated, or had pain in the bowels, extended the period of the sitz bath. Patient’s recovery quite marvellous.
The sitz-bath may be resorted to two or three times a day, and also rubbing-sheet, if the case proves obstinate.
Pain in Bowels and Diarrhœa.—Ordered sitz-bath fifteen minutes, walk gently about the room five minutes, then repeat the sitz-bath fifteen minutes, and again walk for five minutes, and after third time take sitz-bath. Put on a large bandage well wrung out, and change it every quarter of an hour. If not cured in three or four hours, repeat the above treatment. If obstinate use cold injections.
Relaxed Bowels.—Three rubbing-sheets and a sitz-bath on rising from bed, for ten minutes in the morning; one rubbing sheet, and sitz-bath twenty minutes at noon; the same repeated in the afternoon. If not better, a clyster of cold water on going to bed; bandage, and drink water as usual.
A young lady, troubled with relaxed bowels for some days—
Morning, three rubbing-sheets, and immediately after, tepid bath for fifteen minutes; large bandage; at two o’clock two rubbing sheets.
These simple means effected a cure; if they had not, the sitz-bath was to have been resorted to again.
English Cholera.—A Russian General attacked with English Cholera, was suffering extreme torture when Priessnitz came. He ordered three rubbing-sheets, five minutes interim between each; patient then to be put to bed for half-an-hour, and well covered up to promote heat; this was followed by a cold sitz-bath of 30 or 40 minutes; drank plentifully of water and wore a large heating bandage.
This one application effected a complete cure; had it not, the General was to have repeated the treatment in the afternoon.