To stop violent diarrhœa, take 2 drops each brandy and laudanum in 1 teaspoonful water every 3 minutes; go up to 60 doses if necessary.
Dr. Christopher Elliott speaks strongly in favour of the use of camomile tea in infantile diarrhœa. The dose for infants under 1 year is ½-1 dr., and double that quantity for older children, given 2 or 3 times a day, or oftener. The rationale of the action is the power the drug possesses of subduing reflex excitability. This power belongs especially to the volatile oil contained in the flowers.
Dislocations.—These are distinguished from broken bones by stiffness at the joint, intense pain and swelling. They demand surgical skill and must not be touched by any one but a doctor.
Ear complaints.—Do not wear anything over the ears which presses upon them. Growths may occur in the ear from the custom of wearing ear-rings, and especially when of base metal, although gold ones sometimes give rise to the same. Such may require removal by the surgeon’s knife. Inflammation may be set up in the lobe after piercing it for wearing ear-rings, should a portion of gristle happen to be transfixed by the needle, and all the more likely should that be a dirty or rusty one. The best thing to do is to bathe it frequently with hot water. The silly habit of pulling children’s ears is very liable to cause disease and injury. Never “pick” the ears with any sharp implement. For removing excess of wax, syringe gently with warm water, softening it first, if necessary, by dropping a little glycerine and water or soda dissolved in water, into the ear for a night or two. Any foreign body (including insects) accidentally getting into the outer ear can generally be removed by dropping a little warm water or salad oil into the ear, and then inclining the head. The popular dread of their getting into the brain is utterly unfounded: the drum head of the ear is an effectual stop. Dr. Jacobi remarks that closing the mouths of infants and children and simply blowing into the nose is often a very valuable method of relieving earache, the cause of the trouble probably being a catarrhal affection of the Eustachian tube. Perhaps even better is the method of inflating the ear by blowing into it gently, while the mouth and nose are held closed, and syringing the ear with warm water. Much harm has been done by putting oil, chloroform, laudanum, the heart of roasted onion, and similarly improper things into the ears of children.
Eye complaints.—In every case skilled advice should at once be sought. The following remarks relate only to what should be done in urgent cases ere professional assistance can be obtained. In inflammation, simple bathing with water (either cold or tepid as the sensations may direct) is the safest remedy, and no other application should be had recourse to, till sanctioned by the doctor. The practice of applying poultices, common bread and water, bread and milk, tea-leaves, porridge, &c., to an inflamed or injured eye is totally wrong, often endangering the sight. Keeping wet cloths applied to the eye, and bandaging up an inflamed eye, may also be productive of much mischief, and should never be employed without orders.
A particle of foreign matter entering the eye will often produce such a flood of tears that it is soon washed out, especially if the eye be kept closed and not rubbed for a few minutes; but sometimes the irritating substance finds its way under the upper eyelid, and remains fixed there by the pressure of the lid. In some cases plunging the face into cold water and opening the eyes under the water will suffice to remove it, but generally the eyelid requires to be turned inside out, and the offending body picked off with a feather; or the upper eyelid drawn forwards off the eye by means of the eyelashes, and the lower eyelid pushed up under it: when the eyelids are released, the eyelashes of the lower lid will brush over the inner surface of the upper lid, and almost certainly remove any substance that may lodge there. To evert the lid, lay a bodkin or pencil along it, and turn it up by taking hold of the eyelashes about the middle, the patient meanwhile looking down. Should such simple means fail, the eye may be tied up with a pad of cotton wool over it, so as to prevent the eyelid moving till professional advice be secured.
Serious damage is frequently occasioned by lime or other caustic substance getting into the eye. Wash the eye as quickly as possible thoroughly with cold water or vinegar very much diluted with water (say 1 teaspoonful vinegar in 2 oz. warm water), a stream being allowed to course across the opened eye, while any particle of caustic substance that remains should be carefully removed. A drop of castor oil or olive oil applied every half-hour to the inside of the eye will greatly allay irritation. Never bandage or poultice. In all cases of injury the less done at home the better. A light pad of cotton wool applied over the closed lids and kept in position by a handkerchief or a pledget of cotton wool soaked in cold water reapplied cold at least every 5 minutes, may be employed till the doctor comes.
Dr. Louis Fitzpatrick says he has never seen a single instance in which a stye continued to develop after the following treatment had been resorted to: The lids should be held apart by the thumb and index finger of the left hand, or a lid retractor, if such be at hand, while tincture of iodine is painted over the inflamed papilla with a fine camel’s-hair pencil. The lids should not be allowed to come in contact until the part touched is dry. A few such applications in the 24 hours are sufficient. (Lancet.)
Hair complaints.—Ladies should undo their hair at night, unplait the hair, and wear it loosely in a net. In this way the nourishment of the hair is duly provided for. Night-caps should always be light. When forced to remain in bed for long periods, through illness, have the hair oiled and combed with a coarse comb daily; if circumstances permit, the head may be washed twice a week with soap and water, warm, lukewarm, or cold, as taste or health directs. In long-continued illness, it is often advisable to cut the hair, so as to reduce its length by about a third, not merely from considerations connected with the cleanliness of the hair, but also that stronger aftergrowth may be encouraged. Few realise the injurious effects of curling-irons and hair-dyes.
Ordinary baldness may be constitutional or local. The former is a matter for the medical man. For persistent daily loss of hair, the following remedy is recommended by Pincus:—15 gr. soda bicarbonate dissolved in 1 oz. water; a little to be well rubbed into the scalp daily, and persisted in. Sir Erasmus Wilson says that a lotion composed of 1 oz. each spirits of hartshorn, chloroform, and sweet almond oil, added to 5 oz. spirits of rosemary, and well rubbed into the roots of the hair after brushing, is effective; it may be used half-strength, diluted with eau-de-cologne. Other lotions are:—(a) 2 dr. tincture of Spanish flies, ½ oz. tincture of nux vomica, 1 dr. tincture of capsicum, 1½ oz. castor oil, 2 oz. eau-de-cologne; apply night and morning with a sponge to the roots of the hair after brushing. (b) 2 oz. spirit minderus, ½ dr. ammonia carbonate, ½ oz. glycerine, ½ oz. castor oil, 5 oz. bay rum; apply as in (a). These will be found serviceable in the treatment of commencing general baldness, where the whole scalp is parting with its hair. Singeing the hair is not of the slightest use for hair stimulation, and the frequent use of the “curling-tongs” cannot but be detrimental to the health of the head-covering. When the hair demands a tonic application, the following—which any chemist will compound—may be tried:—1 oz. tincture of red cinchona bark, 2 dr. tincture of nux vomica, ½ dr. tincture of cantharides, add eau-de-cologne and coconut oil to make up 4 oz.; apply to the roots of the hair with a soft sponge night and morning. Where means are being taken to restore the health in cases of sudden or premature greyness of hair, Dr. Leonard recommends the following application:—2 oz. coconut oil, 3 dr. tincture of nux vomica, 1 oz. bay rum, 20 drops oil of bergamot. Washing with egg yolk is highly commended in such cases.