The nervous system itself seems to be chiefly at fault in organic, nervous, and neuralgic headaches. The organic headache often precedes insanity. The nervous headache, more commonly known from the nausea and vomiting which occur during an attack, as “sick headache,” is due to various exciting causes, such as brooding over unpleasant thoughts, bodily fatigue, dietetic errors, too little exercise, overstraining of vision, loud noises of a disagreeable character, unpleasant smells, and even disturbances of the weather; it is often inherited. The attack may sometimes be warded off by the application of atropine; the tendency to attack has been got rid of by the use of a proper pair of spectacles. The neuralgic headache is a form of tic douloureux, has its seat in one or other of the nerves of the head, and may be excited by decayed teeth, exposure to cold, and similar causes. It rarely occurs, even in those conditions, unless the nervous system is lowered in tone. Many people have decayed teeth without suffering the slightest ache so long as they keep their health at par. Too much work, bodily or mental, or exposure to conditions which act injuriously on the health, result in a neuralgic headache.
Any irregularity in the mode of life, such as errors in diet and drink, must be particularly shunned by those who are liable to any form of headache. Where alcohol is found to do good, it should be taken only in small quantities and with the meals. All worry and excitement must be avoided. Sleep in sufficiency, as well as moderate exercise, is essential. When headaches continue to burden the frame and to make life miserable, change of air or scene, prolonged absence from business, pleasant society, music, and other enjoyments may help to get rid of them. Sometimes all that is wanted may be cod-liver oil, or some other nutrient and tonic medicine. During the paroxysms of sick headache, complete rest on sofa or bed in a darkened room is found by many to be the only thing which gives relief; while others believe they are assisted to endure by drinking cups of strong tea or coffee. Those who suffer from this tendency, and disorders of vision, should consult an oculist regarding the condition of their eyes. (Dr. Maxwell Rose.)
Indigestion.—Indigestion may be due to the food or condition of the stomach. The food may be defective in quality. There may be excess or deficiency of the normal ingredients, saccharine, starchy, albuminous, or fatty, or some of the natural indigestible materials which form a part of all food. The food may be introduced in an indigestible form on account of defects in the cooking of it, or imperfect mastication, or from its having undergone putrefaction or fermentation, which arrests the functions of the stomach. Imperfect mastication of food is a very common cause of indigestion. Eating too much is probably the most common of all causes of indigestion. The secretion of the gastric juice in the stomach seems to be proportioned to the amount of material required for the nourishment of the system. Food taken in excess of this amount acts as a foreign substance undergoing fermentation and putrefaction, and occasioning much disturbance in the system. Much may be done for the cure of indigestion by eating very abstemiously of suitable food, thoroughly masticated, taking exercise in the open air, breathing pure air, and observing the laws of health generally. The amount of food should be reduced until the quantity is reached which the stomach can digest without evincing any symptoms of indigestion.
Hot water of a temperature varying from 110° F. to 150° F., has been found highly serviceable in relieving painful conditions induced by improper feeding. This beverage, diluting the ordinary fluids and secretions of the digestive system, effects the work of the liver and kidneys, and produces the happiest results. Dr. Cutter, of New York, has summarised the methods of using hot water. He tells us that the water must be really hot, and not merely lukewarm. If lukewarm, it will only excite vomiting; whereas, when really hot, it appears to soothe the irritable lining membrane of the stomach and bowels. The quantity of hot water to be taken at a draught, according to Dr. Salisbury, varies from ½ pint to 1 pint or more at a drinking. The test of benefit being derived from the use of hot water is said to be that derived from the kidney-secretion, which should be pure, free from odour and deposit. Regarding the times at which hot water should be taken, 1-2 hours before each meal, and ½ hour before retiring to rest, are stated as the periods most suitable for its administration; while the water must be sipped, and not taken so fast as to cause distension of the stomach. Dr. Cutter says that ¼-½ hour may be consumed in the draught of hot water. This form of hydropathic treatment, according to the authorities just named, should be practised in cases of digestive troubles for a period of 6 months or thereabouts. Regarding the amount of liquid to be taken with a meal, not more than 8 oz. has been prescribed as the regulation quantity; a larger amount tends to dilute the gastric juice to too great an extent. Various additions may be made to hot water by way of rendering it palatable, although persons accustomed to drink it in time learn to like it.
Dr. Milner Fothergill made some experiments with our ordinary native fruits, to test the value of correcting the acid by means of alkali to render the fruit more suitable for dyspeptics. The result was that the amount of bicarbonate potash required for each lb. of fruit was found to be about as much as would lie upon a shilling. With all fairly ripe fruit this is just sufficient to neutralise the acidity, and bring out the natural sweetness; indeed, the resultant product was quite sweet enough for most adult palates. Such stewed fruit can be eaten alone, or with milk puddings, cream, or Swiss milk; gooseberries, currants, apples and plums are excellent when so prepared. With dark fruits, as the black plum, the colour is impaired by the alkali, and the fruit is less attractive to the eye than is that of the ordinary stewed fruit, which is of a deep clear crimson. A little cochineal will give the desired colour. Where there is no natural sweetness, to neutralise the acid completely by an alkali leaves nothing, simply a cold mass, to which the palate is indifferent. Such is the case with rhubarb. Here it is well to use half or all the amount of alkali with some sugar. The same is the case with early gooseberries before they have any natural sweetness; no sugar formed in them. Here the full quantity of alkali should be used, and the remaining acidity be met by sugar. When ¾ lb. of sugar is required to sweeten 1 lb. of fruit, only ¼ lb. of sugar is necessary after the alkali has been added. The sour-sweet taste is thus secured, which is toothsome. In these two instances the stewed fruit is only rendered less objectionable to the stomach plagued with acidity, not made quite inoffensive.
Infectious Diseases.—All infectious (catching) diseases have several features in common. They begin with a period of dormancy (“latency” or “incubation,”) during which the poison is actively developing. The duration of this period in smallpox is 12 days; in typhus fever, 8-14 days; in typhoid fever, 14-21 days; in scarlet fever, 3-6 days; measles about 4 days, at the termination of which the sickness is said to begin, though its distinctive characters may not appear for some days longer. These diseases (fevers) all commence with a marked, and sometimes sudden, elevation of bodily temperature, which, with variations, continues during the course of the illness. Characteristic eruptions appear in scarlatina on the 2nd, smallpox on the 3rd, measles on the 4th day, and so on; with them begins the infection, and increases with the activity of the disease. The following table, modified from that given by Domville in his ‘Manual for Hospital Nurses,’ is exceedingly useful:—
| Name. | Period of Dormancy. | Day of Rash. | Characters of Rash. | Duration of Illness. | Observations. |
| Chicken-pox. | 21 days | — | Small rose pimples, becoming vesicles. | 6-7 days. | |
| Erysipelas | 3-7 days | 2nd or 3rd. | Diffuse redness and swelling. | — | Most common in face and head, and after surgical operations or injuries. |
| Measles | 10-14 days. | 4th day of fever. | Small red dots like fleabites. | 6-10 days. | Accompanied with running at eyes and nose. |
| Relapsing Fever. | Sudden | — | Purpuric spots | — | Caused by want of food. After 7-14 days from the first attack, and during convalescence, it is liable to recur 2 or 3 times. |
| Scarlet Fever. | 4-6 days | 2nd day of fever. | Bright scarlet diffused. | 8-9 days | Very infectious. Often accompanied by sore-throat, followed by desquamation (peeling off of the skin). |
| Smallpox | 12 days | 3rd day | Small red pimples, becoming vesicles, then pustules. | 14-21 days. | Discrete or confluent. Great pain in back and intense headache. Secondary fever sets in about 11th day of disease. |
| Typhoid Fever. | 10-14 days or suddenly | 7th to 14th. | Rose-coloured spots, few in number. | 22-30 days. | Seldom infectious. Usually caused by bad drainage. Accompanied by diarrhœa and sometimes bloody stools. |
| Typhus Fever. | 1-12 days. | 4th to 7th. | Mulberry colour general over abdomen. | 14-21 days. | Very infectious. Usually caused by over-crowding and destitution. |
In scarlet fever, infection is due to the particles which peel off from the skin, the patient should be anointed once a day with carbolic oil, made with 1 part carbolic acid to 50 of olive oil. The efflorescence (peeling off) occurs first on the skin of neck and arms, sometimes as early as the fourth day. The anointing should include the head, the oil being freely applied to the roots of the hair, and continued for 6 weeks, a warm bath being given weekly during that time. After 6 weeks, the patient may mix with the other members of the family; but children should not return to school for 2 weeks longer.
In measles, the same rules are to be observed, with the addition that the discharges from mouth and nostrils should be received on rags and destroyed by burning.
In typhoid fever, the poison is chiefly contained in discharges from the bowels. These may infect the air of the sickroom, the bed, body-linen, w.c., and drains, and, by soaking into wells, they poison the drinking-water—a common and dangerous way by which this fever spreads. The discharges should be disinfected immediately on their escape from the body as will be directed.