XXXIII.—Questions put to Mr. Priessnitz, and his Answers.
1.—Q. What should be done for:—
Severe cold settled on the lungs, attended with cough and expectoration?
A. Rub the chest and throat with cold water, and hold water in the mouth often. In cold climates, bandage the throat: in warm climates, washing it often is best.
2.—Q. Inflammation and soreness of throat attended with hoarseness and difficulty in speaking?
A. As No. 1.
3.—Q. Exposure to change of climate with clothes occasionally wet, attended with shivering?
A. Rubbing-sheets.
4.—Q. Continual public speaking of damp evenings?
A. Rubbing-sheets. Wash head well. A foot-bath for a long time; and take exercise afterwards until feet are warm.
5.—Q. Cold accompanied by fever and restlessness at night?
A. As No. 4.
6.—Q. Head-ache occasioned by excitement?
A. As No. 4.
7.—Q. Shooting pain and tightness across the chest?
A. As No. 4, and rub the chest well with wet hand.
8.—Q. How guard against the effects of a damp atmosphere?
A. Keep the throat and chest always bare; if kept close and warm they will soon become relaxed. Parts most used should be exposed to the air.
9.—Q. At present I am packed for half an hour, and take the plunge bath at 5 a.m. Douche for three minutes at 12. Two Abreibungs and a Sitz-bath for half an hour at 5 p.m. If I remain the summer, should I continue or diminish this cure?
A. Continue it certainly for a month, and then begin to diminish it, leaving off the Douche for instance.
10.—Q. If continued, might I take the Douche after my walk in the morning before breakfast, and the Abreibungs at mid-day, so as to have my afternoons free?
A. Some cure must be taken after dinner as a rule; but in case of necessity the cure may be shirked.
11.—Q. Ought I to continue any part of the treatment on leaving Gräfenberg, and what?
A. Washing morning and evening, either bath or Abreibung.
12.—Q. After leaving must I attend to the same diet, and abstain entirely from Wine, Coffee, and Tea? or may I indulge in them continuously in small quantities, or only occasionally?
A. Wine, Coffee and Tea may be taken now and then, but by no means regularly.
13.—Q. On any return of my old complaints, blistered mouth, indigestion, restlessness, uneasy sensations in the back and side, what portion of the cure should I have recourse to?
A. The old complaints ought not to return, and will not if the cure is carried through the summer; on the appearance of any of them, they must be treated the same as they were here.
14.—Q. The sensations mentioned before now return sometimes; but vanish after a few days’ severe treatment. It is only since the last month that my limbs and muscles have appeared to recover their tone and firmness, and enlarge.
A. Both of these observations speak volumes for the continuance of the cure, as one cannot do too much: but one may easily do too little; and it would be highly advisable to keep on cleansing and strengthening every possible way.
15.—Q. Should I continue any of the treatment for the child?
A. Bathe the child every morning and evening, that is, cold washing, by means of bath or Abreibungs.
16.—Q. Might I myself treat her in the cases of measles and scarlatina, and how?
A. In case of slight fever, a rubbing-sheet and Umschlag; but it is impossible to prescribe beforehand how these diseases are to be treated, as one cannot know how the child may be affected. If the fever is severe, more wet sheets or rubbing-sheets must be used than if it is slight. The criterion of treatment is the degree of fever.