A dictionary of domestic medicine and household surgery / by Spencer Thomas.

Date:
1883
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A dictionary of domestic medicine and household surgery / by Spencer Thomas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    ABO ABO tt fact, that in many persons, and especially those of gouty habit, the use of the cold bath, in the morning, is injurious, unless it be followed by active exercise, which thoroughly restores the excretory functions of the skin. After washing, it is always desirable to rub the surface thoroughly with a towel till a warm glow is produced. For washing at night, water slightly warm is always to be preferred. The feet require very frequent washing. It is surprising how insensible individuals, even otherwise respectable, are upon this point; were it not so, they would never expose them- selves to medical men in the disgusting state of dirt they frequently do. Happy are those who can have the use of baths for the purposes of ablution, but any man who can command water and a towel need not dispense with the luxury. For the aged, frequent and thorough ablution is most requisite; the often shameful neglect of this by those who have the care of old people, is visited upon them in querulous- ness, and ti’oublesome bodily ailments, which attention to the duty would have prevented. When patients are confined to bed, it is very necessary that they should be washed or sponged daily, and afterwards carefully dried with a towel, well aired. This is the best 2ireventive for bed sores,- which are most liable to occur on the backs of dirty and neglected ^latients. Refer to—Bath—Children—Shin. ABORTION—Miscaeriage.—The terms abortion and miscarriage are apj)lied to the •expulsion of the human foetus from the womb of the mother, previous to the seventh month of pregnancy, that is, before it is sufficiently develoiied to maintain its own independent existence; when the process occurs after that period, it is named premature labour. Mis- carriage involves pain and weakness, in addi- tion to the loss of offspring, and is often a severe trial to the maternal constitution. It may occur at any period of pregnancy, but particular stages are more liable to the accident than others; i.hese are generally considered to be about the time of the first menstruation after conception; again at the twelfth week, and towards the seventh month; the liability is increased at those times, which correspond to the menstrual period. When abortion has once taken place, it is more liable to occur again, and some have so strong a tendency to it, that they never go beyond a certain stage, at which they invariablj’’ miscarry. The cause of abortion may exist in the constitution of the female herself, and be the result of weakness and irritability, of over full habit, or of a diseased condition of the womb; the foetus may die, or be deficient in development, when it is cast off like a blighted fruit. Suckling after conception has taken place, is not unfrequently a cause of miscarriage. Active disease occur- ring during jiregnancy, such as severe inflam- mation, fevers, eruptive fevers, &c., is almost certain to occasion expulsion of the uterine contents. Continued diarrhoea, and the action of strong purgatives, particularly of the aloetic kind, are dangerous. This is a very cogent reason, for those who are pregnant, avoiding all quack aperient medicines; they almost all contain aloes, and may be very injurious. All undue exertion or agitation of body or mind, sudden jerks or jumps, riding on horseback in the early, or in a shaking carriage in the later, stages of pregnane}^, may any of them bring on the mishap; to these may be added, exertion of the arms in doing anything on a level above the head; costive bowels and straining conse- quent thereou, sensual indulgences, and luxu- rious habits. Those who have once aborted ought to be extra careful in succeeding preg- nancies, and all ought to bear in mind the possibility of the occurrence. The symptoms of threatened abortion vary with constitu- tion; in the strong and plethoric, it is often preceded by shivering and febrile symptoms, and by feeling of weight in the lower bowels; in the weak, there is languor and faintness, flaccidity of the breasts, and general depression, and pains in the back and loins. Intermittent pains, and discharge of blood from the passage, tell that the process has begun. If miscarriage occurs within the first month or two after concejition, the ju’ocess may be accomplished with so little inconvenience as to escape notice, and to be mistaken for a menstrual period; more generally, however, the severity of the pain, and unusual clotted discharge, render the case evident. The pain, the discharge, and at the same time the danger of an abortion, are in proportion to the advancement of the preg- nancy. When miscarriage goes on, the pains increase in force and frequenc}q and continue with discharge of blood, fluid, or in clots, until the ovum is expelled; after which, both become moderated, till they cease altogether, and the red flow gives place to a colourless one. It is very important that those in attendance upon the patient should examine every clot which comes away,—if large, tear it in pieces,— that they may ascertain whether the contents of the womb are expelled or not, for there is no safety or rest where miscarriage is progressing, till this has taken place, and everything cast off. MTien a medical man is in attendance, and in such cases he ought to be, all should be reserved for his inspection. As soon as a female experiences threatenings of abortion, she ought at once to retire to bed, upon a mattress, and keep perfectly quiet till every sj^mptom has disappeared: sometimes this simple measure, j)ro7n])tly adopted, is sufficient to avert the threatened evil. If there is much feeling of fulness, and the patient is of full habit generally, eight or a dozen leeches may be aq)plied to the lower part of the bowels ; if there is fever, salines may be given, such as the common effervescing draught of carbonate of soda and tartaric acid, or lemon
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