Volume 1

The standard physician : a new and practical encyclopaedia of medicine and hygiene especially prepared for the household / edited by Sir James Crichton-Browne [and others].

Date:: 1908-1909

Credit: The standard physician : a new and practical encyclopaedia of medicine and hygiene especially prepared for the household / edited by Sir James Crichton-Browne [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

359/430 (page 329)

$Cod-Liver Oil ^Iiicli moic inipoi tcint und iicijiicnt is tho cJiyoiic toriii wliicli occurs in those individuals who habitually indulge in the use of the drug. The vast inajoiity of these victims accjuire the habit through the use of the mere- tricious catai 1 h-cuies so widely ad\’ertised, most ot which contain this deadly poison. 1 he affection manifests itself by bodilv, but especially by mental, weakness. Loss of memory, disturbances of sight and hearing, fainting s])ells, loss of flesh and strength, and even severe mental disturb- ances are the most prominent symptoms. There is but one remedy for this form of poisoning—a living death, even more terrible in its effects than that due to morphine. This is the immediate and complete withdrawal of the drug. This, however, can be successfully accomplished only in an institu- tion, as the unfortunate patients re(tuire careful supervision, owing to the occurrence of still more severe mental disturbances (often suicidal attempts) during the withdrawal of the drug. The public should be extremely cautious with regard to catarrh-cures ” of unknown composition ; for many of these remedies, which purport to cure bodily ills, have not onlv no cura- tive effect on the disease for which they are used, but in manv cases are the direct cause of acquiring a lifelong habituation to a deadly drug. COCCYGEAL PAIN.—A violent and stubborn ]min at the lower extremitv of the vertebral column, in the coccyx, and which is particularly aggra\’ated by every movement of the l)owels. If the trouble is caused by malignant ulcers or by bone ulceration, the only remedv is surgical interference. In most cases, however, it is the result of a fall or of a blow upon the parts in question. If hot compresses and hip-baths do not accomplish desired results, operation on the sacrum may be necessary. CODEINE.—An alkaloid which, like morphine, is obtained from opium. It is a dimethyl-morphine. Codeine is generally used in the form of codeine sulphate, in doses of a quarter of a grain to a grain or two. It is used to (piict cough and produce sleep. Its effect is much more uncertain and less ])owerful than that of morphine, but it is not followed by the same distressing nausea, and is less apt to cause constipation. In diabetes it sometimes acts favourably when given in increased doses. COD-LIVER OIL.—A complex oil obtained from the fresh or i)artly decomposed liver of the codfish. The oil is light to dark-red in colour, has a mild, fishy taste, and contains, in addition to various fats and their acids, small (piantities of iodine. It also contains iodine com]X)unds in com- bination with fats or proteids, or both. It is ])robable that the value of cod-liver oil is due to the fact that it represents a food which is readily assimilated, and which may cf)ntiibute very mateiially to im])io\e the state of nutrition in all wasting diseases of adults as well as of children, such as scrofula, tuberculosis, chlorosis, and anaemia, lickets, and diabetes mellitus. It should never be administered when the digestion is impaired. The most suitable time in the day to administer the oil is one or two hours after supj)ei.$