Treatise on the diseases of the eye : including the anatomy of the organ / by Carl Stellwag von Carion ; tr. from the 3rd German ed. and ed. by Charles E. Hackley and D.B. St. John Roosa ; with an appendix by the editors.
- Karl Stellwag von Carion
- Date:
- 1870
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Treatise on the diseases of the eye : including the anatomy of the organ / by Carl Stellwag von Carion ; tr. from the 3rd German ed. and ed. by Charles E. Hackley and D.B. St. John Roosa ; with an appendix by the editors. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
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![eye, the otherwise customary but time-consuming preparations for the innnctica treatment. Warm baths, even in tlu existence of severer inflammations of the eye, are contraindicated, and, in such cases, should be replaced by washing the parts of the body which are to be anointed with lukewarm soap and water. For an in- unction, about one to two scruples of the gray ointment—best a mixture of three parts Ung. Hyclrarg. Gin. comm., with one part Ung. Hyclrarg. Gin. fort., is used. This, in small quantity, is gradually rubbed into the parts with a rotary motion of the hand, and best by the patient himself. On the first day, it should be rubbed in the calf and the popliteal space; on the second day, on the inner surface of the thigh; the third, on the surface of the chest and abdomen; on the fourth, on the inner side of the forearm and arm, including the elbow, and then the s:ime course is gone over again. The nipples, navel, very hairy parts, or those covered with moist eruptions or ulcers, are to be avoided in the application. After the inunction, the parts should be wrapped in a linen or woolen cloth. The best time f r the inunction is an hour before going to bed, because during the night perspiration is the least interfered with. In the morning the perspiration should be increased by an additional cover- ing, but care should be taken at that time, as well as during the night, that the month is not covered, and the patient thus breathe the mercurial vapor developed in the bed. After this perspiration%the body should be washed in lukewarm water and dried. Then the patient should get up and remain in his room completely dre;sed. The bed should always be placed in a part of the room free from draughts and changes in light, but it should not be surrounded by shades or curtains, because interference with the free circulation of air favors ptyalism, and the seclusion of the patient in a narrow space annoys him unnecessarily, and may be positively harmful. Daily and careful ventilation of the room is not to be neglected. It is better, where prac- ticable, that the patient should have two rooms, and the temperature should be uni- form, and should never fall below 15 degrees R. [63 degrees F.] The imperative necessity of securing good ventilation (while administering mercury) has been very clearly shown by recent experiments on men and animals, and from observations on workers in quicksilver, miners, manufacturers, etc. These observations prove that mercury does most harm in the form of vapor, and that the stomatitis appearing during the inunction treat- ment, together with its consequence, salivation, is generally if not exclusively caused by inhaled mercurial vapor. The tendency of the mucous membrane of the mouth to inflammatory affec- tions from this vapor, is explained by the severe rubbing and pressure to which the membrane is subject from the teeth. In old persons without teeth, and children, this tendency is said to be absent. The fact also comes into consideration in the pathogenesis of mercurial stomatitis, that the mercury taken into the body is chiefly removed through the saliva. It thus comes in immediate contact with the mucous membrane of the mouth, and may cause inflammations by the me- chanical irritation, just as occur on the sensitive skin of delicate persons It is of the highest importance to take the greatest care of the mouth and teeth. The mouth should be cleansed every hour by gargling and rinsing, and the teeth with a soft brush. In the existence of abra- sions or ulcerations in the mouth or pharynx, solutions of the bi-chloride of mercury, one to two grains to the ounce, or the chlorinated soda, one to four drachms, or chlorate of potash, one drachm to the pint of water, may be used as gargles. If there be no ulceration, a solution of alum, one to two drachms to the pint of water, tincture of galls, two to four drachms, or borax, from one to two drachms in the same quantity of water, may be used. If the gums are already affected, loosened, spongy, or bleeding, they should be painted several times daily with the tinc- ture of galls or opium. During the whole time of treatment, the patient should take five grains of iodide of potassium or chlorate of potash three times a day. The diet should be restricted, but not so much so as to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2107902x_0040.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
