Treatment.—Open the bowels well by means of calomel, six grains, followed by a saline purge and hot-water enema. Some prefer castor oil in large doses. Give ten grains of bicarbonate of soda three times a day. Give cooling drinks, such as fruit salt. Make the skin act. Apply hot fomentations to the back and mustard leaves to the pit of the stomach.
The question of feeding is very important. During the first two or three days of the fever the patient is better without any food at all. As he recovers his appetite returns, and great care must be exercised about gratifying it. Only the plainest foods in very small quantities should be permitted, the amounts being gradually increased, as otherwise relapses may occur. Stimulants are usually required in the later stages of the fever, but they must be carefully employed as they may tend to increase the vomiting. It is possible that the discovery of the parasite may lead to new and more efficient methods of treating the disease.
MEDICINES, MEDICAL APPLIANCES, ETC.
Weights and Measures.
Solids.
| A Grain | Symbol | Gr. | ||
| 20 Grains | 1 Scruple | { weights now rarely used | ” | ℈ |
| 60 Grains | 1 Drachm | ” | ℨ | |
| 437.5 Grains | 1 Ounce | ” | ℥ | |
| 16 Ounces | 1 Pound | ” | ℔ |
Note.—An ounce weighs not 8 but rather under 7½ drachms.
| 1 Gramme | about 15½ grains. |
| 1 Kilogramme | ” 2 lbs. 3¼ ozs. |
Liquids.
| 1 | Minim | About 1 drop, or 0.06 c.c. | Symbol | ♏ |
| 60 | Minims | One fluid drachm | ” | ℨ |
| 8 | Fluid drachms (480 Minims) | One fluid ounce | ” | ℥ |
| 20 | Fluid ounces | One pint | ” | O |
| 1 | Cubic centimetre | 17 Minims. |