Cold Bath, Tub or Sponge. For fever. Cool as patient can react from, beginning at 85° and working lower. Give several times during day, continuing ten to fifteen minutes. Add 25% alcohol for severe cases.
Cold Compress. Useful as counter-irritant and stimulant in sore throat, cough, croup, cold in chest, constipation. Wring cloth out of cold water (50°); wrap on part; cover with flannel and with oiled silk or rubber sheeting. Leave on overnight. For greater effect, may be preceded by hot fomentation. For throat, apply from ear to ear, bring up behind ears and hold in place by tapes over head.
Cold Cloths for Local Congestion in Head or Back. Apply to temples, throat, base of brain, and to spine. Change every ten minutes, or sooner if warm. For severe congestion and pain, alternate hot and cold cloths, changing as soon as warm.
Feeding in Illness. The food is a great factor in recovery from illness, and should be regulated with much care. Do not urge eating. Sick animals refrain from eating, or seek grass or special herbs. Less food is needed when patient is in bed, except in wasting diseases. In any illness give simple, easily digested food, requiring minimum of chewing, providing much nourishment with minimum of effort for patient. In disease, provide anti-toxic diet, highly alkaline, with little or no purins, laxative (except in intestinal disorders), dainty, small servings, served hot, with variety from day to day. Note all symptoms and fit dietary to all conditions present. It is an error to stuff a cold, but rather it should be starved. Beef tea and meat broths contain very little nourishment, but harmful extractives; their stimulation is in part from extractives, in part from the salt and heat. Hot milk, toast-water with butter, clear vegetable broths, provide the stimulation, with a higher percentage of nourishment and minerals, and with none of the disadvantages of meat broths.
Colds. Reduce food almost entirely for one or two days. Follow general diet for illness, or as for constipation.
Constipation. (See page [171].) Increase oils, fruits, and fruit juice, especially on rising and at bedtime. Oatmeal is laxative to some children, constipating to others. Figs, prunes, and seedless dates may be cooked together or made into a paste. Pecan nuts, ground for children under five, may be used for sandwiches or with fig paste. Use olive oil and lemon juice for salad. Serve eggs raw. Avoid foods prescribed for diarrhea.
Diarrhea. Flour browned in oven lightly, then made into gruel, cooking twenty minutes; season with salt. Milk boiled, bread toasted; cornstarch pudding, blackberry juice, gelatine, buttermilk made with yogurt tablets; especially avoid purins, cellulose, raw milk, raw eggs, as well as laxative foods.
Fever. Moot question whether diet should be limited or increased. Reduce proteins, omit purins; provide salads, highly alkaline foods, as celery, spinach, baked potato, cantaloupe; allow gelatine, fruit juices, strained vegetable purées, pure ice cream, sherbets, yogurt buttermilk, whey, toast-water.
Sore Throat. Infection or from operation. Soft, soothing, healing food. Gelatine, honey, dipped or milk toast, fig paste, date butter, jellies, raw beaten egg, egg and milk, blanc mange, pure ice cream. Avoid hard, strongly acid foods, or those requiring any chewing.
Wasting Diseases. Increase diet to patient’s capacity, especially milk, eggs, spinach, salads, fruits, butter, olive oil.