Or for a change, the following:—
Take of—Wine of Iron, one ounce and a half
Distilled Water, six ounces and a half
To make a Mixture. Two table spoonfuls to be taken three times a day.
Iron medicines ought always to be taken after instead of before a meal. The best times of the day for taking either of the above mixtures will be eleven o'clock, four o'clock, and seven o'clock.
376. You had a great objection to a mother administering calomel either to an infant or to a child, have you the same objection to a boy or a girl taking it when he or she requires an aperient?
Equally as great. It is my firm belief that the frequent use, or rather the abuse, of calomel and of other preparations of mercury, is often a source of liver disease and an exciter of scrofula. It is a medicine of great value in some diseases, when given by a judicious medical man, but, at the same time, it is a drag of great danger when either given indiscriminately, or when too often prescribed. I will grant that in liver diseases it frequently gives temporary relief, but when a patient has once commenced the regular use of it, he cannot do without it, until, at length, the functional ends in organic disease of the liver. The use of calomel predisposes to cold, and thus frequently brings on either inflammation or consumption. Family aperient pills ought never to contain, in any form whatever, a particle of mercury.
377. Will you give me a list of remedies for the prevention and for the cure of constipation?
If you find it necessary to give your son or daughter an aperient, the mildest should be selected, for instance, an agreeable and effectual one, is an electuary composed of the following ingredients—
Take of—Beat Alexandria Senna, powdered, one ounce
Best figs, two ounces,
Best Raisins (stoned), two ounces,
All chopped very fine. The size of a nutmeg or two to be eaten, either early in the morning or at bedtime.