A patient suffering from pain in the bowels for some days, was ordered injections three times a day, notwithstanding the bowels were perfectly free.
W——, taken with sickness and griping pains, could retain nothing on his stomach, supposed that it arose from eating unripe fruit. An injection of cold water was first resorted to; one not being sufficient, a second in half an hour was administered, and during the day ten others. Then two rubbing sheets, followed by a tepid bath, with great friction, and large bandage, three hours afterwards, a sitz-bath, tepid, fifteen minutes.
Again, after a lapse of three hours, the former process. This put an end to the gripes the same day.
An Austrian officer, attacked with violent pain in the abdomen, which extended through to the back. Great heat and pain in the head, with cold feet.
Priessnitz wetted the body all over with cold water, particularly the feet, and without drying the parts thus wetted, ordered the patient to sit quite naked near to the window, which was open, for one hour in a sitz-bath, his servant rubbing him the whole time. Patient was then covered up well in bed to bring on re-action, the pains of which for a short time were worse than cholic. The attack was put an end to by this one application, or it was to have been renewed in the morning.
The singular part of this treatment is, that the body was thus exposed to the inclemency of a Siberian winter, wet and naked, for one hour. When asked why he adopted such positive treatment, Priessnitz said, because there was a great tendency to intestinal inflammation. The patient was out and well next day.
Dysentery and Diarrhœa.—For the information of the general reader, it may be well to state, that Dysentery is brought on by damp, cold, or unripe fruit, and is attended by the evacuation of bloody glaires, violent pain of the stomach, burning at the arms, and spasms of the bladder, a constant desire to evacuate without being able to render anything but glaires. Diarrhœa is attended with many of these symptoms, but there is no blood in the evacuation. Hereafter it will be shewn how both these complaints are to be treated.
Cold clysters, rubbing-sheets, sitz-baths, and bandage, are the chief agents in the cure of these complaints. When attended with inflammation take three or four sitz-baths a day, and change the body bandages every ten minutes.
In Diarrhœa or Dysentery the patient should take but little exercise.
When Diarrhœa is recent, it is sufficient to drink plentifully of water, wear a bandage round the wrist, eat little, and that of farinaceous food.