Volume 1

The household physician : a family guide to the preservation of health and to the domestic treatment of ailments and disease, with chapters on food and drugs and first aid in accidents and injuries / by J. McGregor-Robertson ; with an introduction by John G. McKendrick.

  • M'Gregor-Robertson, J. (Joseph), 1858-1925
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The household physician : a family guide to the preservation of health and to the domestic treatment of ailments and disease, with chapters on food and drugs and first aid in accidents and injuries / by J. McGregor-Robertson ; with an introduction by John G. McKendrick. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    574/602 (page 502)
    [Sect. XVII. thumb” procedure in dealing with it. If the condition be mainly caused by a bad state of general health, it cannot be supposed that ap- plications to the affected parts will cure it while the general bad health remains. Even though such a cause has not been at work in its pro- duction, tli£ disease cannot have lasted any time without inducing some degree of bad health, which will stand in the way of a cure. Then if a displacement of the w'omb is the cause of the inflammatory ])rocess, nothing short of restor- ing the organ to its j^roper position can be ex- pected to promote a permanent recovery. A mother who suckles her child beyond the neces- sary period, and suffers from some disorder of the womb, cannot expect to cure by injections what is maintained by the drain u|5on her sys- tem of prolonged nursing. So with other causes. Now, it wmuld be the business of a medical man, well acquainted with such conditions, to deter- mine the cause at work in each jmrticular case, and to apply his treatment accordingly. It is plain, therefore, that it is really quite impossi- ble to state any definite plan of treatment wdiich a patient might herself adopt with good ])ro- spect of recovery from her trouble. The best advice that could be given would be to place herself under the care of a physician from wdiom she might confidently hope to receive skilful and conscientious treatment. At the same time it is only right to state some sinqole means of treatment which a patient may herself adopt, when skilled advice may be for the time beyond her reach,—some means which cannot be hurt- ful no matter what may be the exact cause of the disorder, and which will give some relief in most cases, and in some may be sufficient for a cure. The first thing, then, to be done is to I’estore, if possible, a good measure of general health. The means to that end are, good food of suffi- cient quantity and easily digested, the regula- tion of the bowels, avoidance of overwoik and excitement of any kind, a fair amoinit of exer- cise, exercise short of fatigue, and plenty of fresli air—sea-air is specially beneficial. Con- cerning food the mistake must not be made of living on slops, corn-flour, arrow-root, and foods of that kind mainly. Milk should bulk largely in the diet, but also other animal foods, soups, eggs, fish, and a fair daily supply of butcher meat. A great many women make a grievous mistake in avoiding as much as possible such animal foods, and half-starving themselves on sloppy diet. For the regulation of the bowels nothing is better than a wine-glassful or thereby of the Hunyadi Janos mineral water taken the first thing in the morning. Over and above this some quinine and iron tonic will be of much value in depressed states of health. As regards applications to the affected parts one thing can be very strongly advised, namely, the use of hot water injections. To obtain the full benefit they must be given in the w’ay to be described. The patient lies across the bed, a pillow under the back to raise the hips, the feet resting on chairs. A piece of mackintosh cloth is placed under her, and arranged to cause wa- ter to flow off into a pan at the side of the bed. The injection is given by some one assisting her. About one gallon of hot water should be used, w'ater comfortably w^arm to the hand, by the thermometer about 110'’ Fahrenheit. An enema syringe is employed, with a nozzle of vulcanite or similar material, about 6 inches long. The end of this tube should not have a single opening at its point. It should end in a blunt form, and several openings should exist round it. The syringe being properly filled and in good working order, the nozzle is oiled and passed into the passage gently near the back wall and directed backwards. It should be passed in as far as it can easily slip, and then the water should be steadily and slowly injec- ted. Owing to the hips being raised the pas- sage will become filled with the hot water before any flows out, and this is what is desired by the method. At the same time care must be taken that there is no obstacle to the free escape of the water as soon as it has filled the passage. The injection should be given in this way at bed-time, every night or every second night. A little patience will render it comparatively easy, and the })atient will speedily discover the ease and comfort it affords. If there is any insuper- able difficulty in giving it in this way, the pa- tient must content herself by using the enema syringe while she sits over a pan or bath, but the water should be used at the same heat and with the enema, the nozzle being passed well' in. If the patient is very anxious to try some medicated injection, any of those mentioned on p. 499 may be employed, after the hot water, but their use is not to be persisted in for long periods if they fail soon to give relief. Ulceration of the Womb is a phrase that strikes terror to the ears of most women. It used to be far too commonly employed, and is probably still. The condition which it is fre- quently used to signify is jiractically that al- ready described. Owing to chronic swelling the