On cholera, its nature and treatment : being the debate in the Harveian Medical Society of London / edited by C. Drysdale.

  • Harveian Society of London.
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On cholera, its nature and treatment : being the debate in the Harveian Medical Society of London / edited by C. Drysdale. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    that a great deal has been justly urged against the use of astringents in cholera, by Dr. G. Johnson, Dr. Markham, and other eminent phy- sicians, the majority of practitioners think that, when copious serous diarrhoea has lasted for some time, astringents should be employed. The best astringents are either drachm doses of the aromatic confection of the London Pharmacopoeia in a wineglassful of water, or thirty drops of dilute sulphuric acid in a wineglassful of water, every two hours for a grown-up person. M. Vel- peau’s advice, namely, that five drops of laudanum be taken every two hours on a lump of sugar, has met with much approval. If the tongue is coated, and the patient have nausea and vomiting, then, ipecacuanha and castor-oil may be used; but in hospital or dispensary practice, the patients have almost always been under the influence of diar- rhoea for two or three days previously, and in such cases no evacuant is required. As most of such patients are very weak, it is as well to commence by a slight stimulant. This may be followed by a tablespoonful of port wine every two hours, into which five drops of laudanum may be dropped. A little beef-tea or chicken- broth may be taken at the same time; but no solid food should be given. Kepose in bed is absolutely necessary. Drinks should be used in moderation. Toast-and-water is a good drink, and cold boiled water is to be preferred to raw water. Rest in bed, I repeat, is the most essen- tial part of the treatment. By the use of means similar to those above detailed, patients who pre-