e. The poison taken from a snake, mixed with gall (from the snake) and clay is also given in small quantities by some doctors.
Mealie-meal porridge and meat-soups are allowed and solids forbidden. So it is in all fevers.
Smallpox. In-gqakaqa, as in the case of Measles.
Typhoid Fever. I-cesina Seronya.
This is the typical Kaffir fever disease, caused by the entrance of the snake, In-qumbabane and its eating the patient up inside.
Treatment:—a. The patient is steamed, dosed, and rubbed all over with wormwood (Unhlonyane), the dosing being very liberal. All intended to prevent the snake killing the man and to drive it out of him.
b. The following herbs are also used as the infusions of their roots:—I-tshongwe (Xysmalobium lapatifolium) Dutch: Bitter wortel, and ubuvumba (Withania somnifera.)
The residuum of any of the above infusions is well rubbed over the orifices, to prevent the In-qumbabane from entering in numbers. The [[55]]couch and hut are strewn with the leaves of evil smelling plants and even nicotine has been used to rub round the orifices, principally the anus, through which the snake usually enters and the I-qwili (Alepidea amatymbica), an evil smelling plant is similarly used.
Diet as in fevers generally.
Memo. Owing to the practice of throwing refuse and excreta about the neighbourhood of kraals, this disease, as might be expected, often occurs in epidemics.