“If the head is hot, linen wet with vinegar and water, or eau de Cologne and water, is to be repeatedly applied to the temples and forehead; or those parts may be occasionally moistened with æther, the evaporation of which will cause the head to become cool.
“Where reducing the temperature of the head does not diminish the pain, it will be well to try the effect of heat, which may be accomplished in the following manner: pour a little æther into the palm of the hand, and apply it to the forehead, or temples. The heat will be kept up so long as the hand is pressed to the part, and any of the æther remains.
“In severe cases of headache, the patient is to lie perfectly quiet, with the head moderately raised by pillows, and the room is to be darkened.
“If the feet are cold, they should be put into warm water; and if they have a disposition to become chilled again soon, they are to be kept warm by heated flannels, or bottles filled with hot water.
“During an attack of headache, arising from disordered digestive organs, it is essential that the food be very simple, and small in quantity.
“In headache, from nervous disorders, requiring stimulants, the food may be of a nutritious quality; the quantity, however, should be moderate.
“The foregoing remarks apply to sudden, or severe attacks of headache. When slighter affections of the same nature often occur, strict attention to diet, exercise, and the use of aperients, as recommended in a previous chapter, will greatly tend to mitigate the suffering, and to keep off the complaint altogether.
“Where headache comes on in consequence of fulness of the blood-vessels of the head, it will be indicated by a sense of weight within the skull, drowsiness, giddiness, particularly on stooping, sickness, ringing or other sounds in the ears, and bright flashes, or sparks in the eyes. In these cases, it will generally be necessary to bleed the temples with eight or ten leeches; and if their application to those parts is known to produce swelling of the eyes and face, the leeches may be placed behind the ears. The head is then to be kept cool by applying cold vinegar and water to it; and purgatives are to be administered.
“The diet is to be very simple, animal food is to be avoided, and no stimulants are to be taken.
“Headache may arise from whatever induces debility. It is generally experienced where great loss of blood has taken place, and it may seem singular that the symptoms and sensations of this kind of headache, appear to be the consequence of the vessels of the head having too much blood in them. For instance, there are usually noises resembling the violent beating of a hammer, the rushing of water, the blowing of wind, ringing, &c. It is therefore necessary to notice the condition of the system, to be enabled to decide whether the pain arises from a deficiency, or from an over supply of blood to the head.