Friction. In medicine, friction, whether simple or conjoined with liniments, is a therapeutical agent of considerable power. By it the circulation is promoted in debilitated parts, and medicinal substances (iodine, mercurials, opium, &c.) are made to penetrate the pores of the skin. “The benefit of friction, which consists of motion and heat, whether or not the same be raised by rubbing the body with a coarse cloth or the flesh-brush, has advantages inconceivable and scarcely credible, by which the obstructions of the pores and cutaneous glandules are opened, their stagnating juices broken into small particles, dissolved, and rendered fit to be carried off in perspiration, in the room of which, as my Lord Verulam well observes, new juice will succeed with new vigour to the body; and longevity, saith that great naturalist, is this way most certainly promoted” (Daniel Turner).
Simple friction is performed by the hand alone, or with a piece of flannel, a hair glove, or a flesh-brush. “If it be properly performed—namely, by short, brisk strokes with the tips of the fingers, and with great celerity, when the naked hand is the agent; and if it be continued for an hour or upwards, and repeated several times a day—its influence in reducing swelled glands and swellings of the joints, as well as in alleviating rheumatic pains, is very great; but, besides being well performed, the friction should be continued for (at least) half an hour, in order to render it useful.” (Dr R. E. Griffith.)
Gentle, slow, and equable friction, by producing a continued repetition of an agreeable impression on the nervous system, acts both as an anodyne and hypnotic. For this purpose “the operator should sit by the side of the bed, and introducing the hand under the bedclothes, rub the legs or the arms (or other parts) gently with equally lengthened but slow movements. When the invalid is a child, its influence is more powerful when aided by a monotonous, but a soft tune, which, although it operates upon a distinct sense, yet, by combination, renders the friction more soporific.” (Griffith.)
When the friction is accompanied with the use of any acrid or irritating substance, or is intended to introduce any active remedy into the system, the rubbing should be brisk, and of sufficient force to slightly abrade and inflame the cuticle; and should be continued until the substance, which is usually in the form of an ointment, either wholly or partially disappears, owing to its absorption by the skin. The hand of the operator should, in most cases, be guarded by a glove; otherwise he is likely to share with the patient the effects of the medicine, a result not always agreeable or even safe.
FRIGORIFIC MIXTURES. See Refrigeration.
FRIT. The pulverulent materials of glass, heated until they coalesce without melting. See Enamel, Glass, &c.
FRIT′TERS. Fried batter. A species of pancake, containing fruit, sweetmeats, poultry, meat, or fish.
Prep. 1. (M. Alexis Soyer.) “The following is thirty receipts in one:”—Soak crum of bread, 1 lb., in cold water, q. s.; take the same quantity of any kind of boiled or roasted meat (a little fat), and chop it into fine dice; press the water out of the bread; put into the pan butter, lard, or dripping, 2 oz., with chopped onions, two teaspoonfuls; fry two minutes, add the bread, stir with a wooden spoon until rather dry, then add the meat, and season with salt, 1 teaspoonful, pepper, 1⁄2 do., and a little grated nutmeg if handy; stir till quite hot; then further add two eggs, one at a time, mix very quickly, and pour it on a dish to cool; next roll it into the shape of small eggs, then in flour, ‘egg’ them, and bread-crum them; lastly, fry in abundance of fat to a nice yellow colour, and serve either plain or with any sharp or other savory sauce you fancy. Innumerable dishes can be made in this way; in fact, from everything that is eatable, and at any season of the year—from the remains of meat, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, &c. The same can be done with chopped, dried, or preserved fruits, simply using a 1⁄4 lb. more bread, and sifting powdered sugar and cinnamon over them. Cream may also be used for fruit, or curds.
Fritters are also (and more commonly) fried in ordinary batter, instead of bread-crumbs. “There is no end to what may be done with these receipts.” “They can be ornamented and made worthy the table of the greatest epicure if the bread be soaked in cream, and spirits or liquor introduced into them.” (Soyer.)
2. Mrs Rundell:—a. (Apple fritters.) See Fruit fritters.