Avoid the necessity of a physician, if you can, by careful attention to your diet. Eat what best agrees with your system, and resolutely abstain from what hurts you, however well you may like it. A few days' abstinence, and cold water for a beverage, with cold or warm bathing, as the case may require, have driven off many an approaching disease.
If you find yourself really ill, send for a good physician. Have nothing to do with quacks; and do not tamper with quack medicines. You do not know what they are; and what security have you that they know what they are?
1348. A few Remedies for Sickness.—The ague may be rendered milder by the timely use of an emetic, given one hour before the fit is expected to return. For this purpose, one scruple of ipecacuanha may be given in an ounce of water. After each return of vomiting, give half a pint of tepid chamomile tea, which may be repeated three or four times, but not oftener. When the disease has continued for some days, and the force of the fever is weakened by emetics, give to an adult the following preparation of bark:—
Take of Peruvian bark, in fine-powder, one ounce; port wine, one quart; mix them, and let them stand together for twelve hours. Shake the bottle, and give four large spoonsful immediately after the hot stage of the disorder, repeating it every second hour till the whole be taken; unless the coming on of the next ague-fit should require its suspension.
1349. Hysteric Affections.—So numerous and various are the symptoms said to belong to this disease, that it becomes difficult to mark its peculiar character. It is frequently described by the patient, as a round body moving in the bowels, ascending to the stomach, and from thence affecting the throat with a sense of stricture, threatening suffocation. The patient also complains of palpitation, a costive habit, cold feet and legs, &c. To counteract the force of these attacks, the bowels should be kept open by the following aperient mixture:—
Take of infusion of senna, one ounce and a half; tincture of senna, tincture of cardamoms, of each half an ounce. Three large spoonsful to be taken occasionally.
The feet and legs should be kept warm, the head cool; the diet should consist chiefly of animal food of easy digestion, as beef or mutton; avoiding vegetables and malt liquor, indeed everything that has a tendency to generate flatulency. As a beverage, weak brandy and water, toast and water, tea or coffee, whichever suits the palate of the patient, may be freely used. Much depends on the cause—as that varies, so must the treatment. A dash of cold water on the face will frequently put an end to the paroxysm.