If the aura be brief, buy a few "pearls" of Amyl Nitrite, crush one in your handkerchief, and sniff the vapour. This has the same affect as nitroglycerin, but the action occurs in 15 seconds and only persists 7 minutes. A headache occasionally follows the use of these drugs, and they should not be employed without professional advice.
When the warning is felt in the hand or foot, a strap should be worn round the ankle or wrist, and pulled tight when the aura commences. This sometimes aborts a fit, as biting a finger in which the aura commences may also do.
If a victim feels unwell after a meal, he must never eat the next meal at the usual time, simply because it is the usual time.
Should a patient feel unwell between, say, dinner and tea, instead of eating his tea he must empty his bowels by an enema, or croton oil (see chemist), and his stomach by drinking a pint of warm water in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of mustard powder and a teaspoonful of salt. After vomiting, drink warm water.
Never attempt to empty the stomach at the onset of a definite aura, for if the seizure occurs, the vomit will probably obstruct the trachea, and suffocate the victim.
After the stomach has been empty ten minutes, the patient should take a double dose of bromides ([Chapter XIX]) and go to bed. Next morning he will be well,
whereas if he eats but a single piece of bread-and-butter he will probably have a fit within five minutes.
Unfortunately, in 60 per cent of cases, there is no warning at all, while in those cases which do exhibit an aura, the measures mentioned above more often fail than succeed.