In bed, a wet compress is put on the throat, and another on the stomach, which, beside the direct influence it has on that organ, acts as a derivative upon the throat and head, and as a diaphoretic upon the skin, assisting in allaying the fever and heat. This compress on the stomach is an excellent remedy with small children and infants in a restless, feverish condition. I often use it, even with infants scarce a week old, and always with perfect success. I wish, mothers could be made to substitute it for paregoric and the like stupefying stuff, to procure their crying infants relief and themselves rest. There is more power in the compress than any one who is not familiar with its use, can imagine. At the same time it has a very good effect on the bowels, which should be kept regular, either with the assistance of tepid injections, or, if they fail to operate, with a moderate dose of castor oil. If possible, however, avoid the irritation of the digestive apparatus through medicines, which are apt to counteract the external applications, whose object is to draw the morbid poison as early and as completely as possible to the skin.
73. HIGHLY INFLAMED THROAT—CROUP.
If the throat is in a highly inflamed condition, repeated packing is the surest means of allaying the inflammation and preventing croup. Although I have had very bad cases under my hands, I never saw a case of scarlet-croup under water-treatment. All you have to do is, to pack your patient early enough and often enough to keep the inflammation down, to keep a wet compress on his throat and chest, and, in general, treat him as I have prescribed. The condition of the throat will improve in proportion to your perseverance in packing.
74. NECESSITY OF ALLAYING THE HEAT.
The packs and baths should be continued, even when the patient cannot be prevailed upon to stay long enough in the packs to perspire. The heat of the skin and the general inflammatory condition of the whole organism must be allayed, especially, when there is much delirium. In that case, the patient ought to be kept long enough in the bath to clear off the head, and care ought to be taken, that he should never stay in the pack to become much excited.
75. THE HALF-BATH—THE SITZ- OR HIP-BATH.
Should the half-bath or shallow-bath (which are technical terms for the bath described above), not be sufficient to relieve the head, the patient must be placed in a sitz- or hip-bath of 65° to 70° and stay there, with his body covered by a blanket or two, till the head is easy. During and after the sitz-bath, the parts exposed to the water, as well as the lower extremities, should be rubbed repeatedly, to favor the circulation of the blood. The head should be covered with a compress, dipped in cold water and but slightly wrung out, to be changed every time it becomes warm. The time required will vary according to the condition of the patient, from half an hour to one hour and a half. There is no danger of his taking cold, provided the body be covered sufficiently. The room ought not to be too warm, as a hot room will increase the tendency of the blood to the head; 65 to 70° is perfectly warm enough. I would rather have it between 60 and 65.