It has been mentioned, that liver complaints rarely recovered in Egypt, and, likewise, that cases of hepatitis and flux, which, in India, had long remained obstinate, here yielded of themselves and without medicine. This fact leads me to the suggestion of a measure, which, I conceive, would save many useful lives. It is, whenever a case of fever, dysentery, or liver complaint, in India, is obstinate, or continues for a long time on the reports, to send such cases to sea or to Europe.
It is a truth, well known to every medical man in India, that, after continuing ill of these disorders a certain time, soldiers or sailors never do well there. They linger, and are, at length, carried off, either by a suppuration in the liver or ulceration of the intestines. In India, when patients, whose situation in life permits them to take a voyage to Europe, are in this state, they never fail to take it, and, most commonly, are recovered by it; but there is no hope for the poor soldier or sailor there.
The same benefit might, however, be acquired for the soldier, and with little, or, perhaps, no, expense: it is not always necessary that the voyage be a long one, or, that the change of climate be to Britain. Were the cruisers of the company or the king’s ships, from time to time, to take on-board some of these chronic cases, for one cruise, the men would be frequently recovered by it, and, in many cases, they would soon be capable of doing duty on ship-board, where, in time of war, Europeans are very much wanted, but cannot be found in India. Whenever a voyage in India is not attended with complete success, a voyage to Europe still offers one chance for life. The prospect of this, by removing that despondency which, in chronic diseases is a never-failing attendant, and which we have too often found baffle every mode of treatment, would cheer the patient, and of itself do infinite good. Men of his Majesty’s regiments might be brought home, and attached to the recruiting companies there, whence able healthy men might be sent in exchange for them, while the invalid from India would at the same time recover his health in a country-quarter at home, and be equally useful as another man on the recruiting service.
Humanity, as well as policy, loudly calls for something to be done. From what I have seen, I fear that invalids and ineffective men are sometimes detained by far too long in India.
END OF PART II.
PART III.
OF THE DISEASES OF THE INDIAN ARMY IN EGYPT.
We have now arrived at the last part of these Sketches; where it is intended to offer some account of the diseases which we met with in Egypt.