Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1878 — THE HOME DOCTOR. [ARTICLE]

THE HOME DOCTOR.

REMEDY FOR CONSUMPTION. The following remedy for consumption seems rather like a good stimulant than anything else, but it is said to produce wonderful effects: One-half pound finely-cut-up beefsteak (fresh); one dram pulverized charcoal; four ounces pulverized sugar; four ounces rye whisky; one pint boiling water. Mix all together, let it stand in a cool place over night, and give from one to two teaspoonfuls liquid and meat before each meal. BEWARE OF COLD. A cold is often the precursor of serious illness and death. Whatever weak place we have, whatever constitutional disease we are subject to, cold will surely discover. We take cold because our vitality is too low to ward off the effects of the reduced temperature around us. As a matter of the first importance, then, to resist cold and the various derangements of the system consequent, it is necessary by proper nutrition to maintain our natural animal heat; second, to retain this heat by a sufficient quantity of clothing; third, to regulate with care the temperature of the air we breathe. Contrary to the opinion current among lovers of cold weather, a fire in a bedroom in the winter is cheaper and better than a doctor’s bill; for, owing to our inactive condition during sleep, the circulation of vitalizing blood is both slow and imperfect, and hence the danger of taking cold by breathing cold air is greatly increased. Never neglect a cold; it is a dangerous liberty to take with the healthiest constitution.

TREATMENT OF SLEEPLESSNESS. So many persons suffer nowadays from sleeplessness that every contribu* tion to the literature of the subject is of interest. Dr. Ainslie Hollis, in the London Practitioner, maintains that, although the quantity of blood in the brain is diminished during sleep, this diminution is not the sole cause of slumber, for we may have the former without the latter. One of the most efficient means of inducing natural sleep is the application of mustard plasters to the abdomen. Preyer, of Jena, advocates the administration of a freshlymade solution of lactate of soda, or of some milk or whey, on the hypothesis that sleep may be induced by the introduction of the fatigue products of the body. Where the insomnia depends upon brain exhaustion, Dr. Hollis recommends the administration, just before bed-time, of a tumblerful of hot claret and water, with sugar and .nutmeg. The alkalies and alkaline earths are useful when acid dyspepsia is associated with the insomnia. Electricity has been used in the paresis of the vaso-motor nerves due to an overworked brain. In hot weather, sprinkling the floor of the sleeping apartment with water lessens ' the irritant properties of the air, adding much to the comfort of the sleepers; possibly the quantity of ozone is at the same time increased. When sleep is broken by severe pain, opium or morphia is of value, not only by relieving the pain, but by its action in producing anaemia of the cerebral vessels. In the wakefulness due to neuralgia, it is often better to inject a small,dose of morphia hypodermically near the branch of the aftected nerve than to administer it by the mouth. It is doubtful whether the bromides possess hypnotic properties, although they undoubtedly act as sedatives on the nervous system, and as such may occcasionally induce sleep.—Journal of Chemistry.