The practical housewife : $b A complete encyclopædia of domestic economy and family medical guidePhilp, Robert Kemp
General
The practical housewife : $b A complete encyclopædia of domestic economy and family medical guide
Philp, Robert Kemp
Formulas, recipes, etc.; Home economics; Medicine, Popular
Where a person is seized as described, a medical man should be sent
for, and the patient should be carried into a cool room and placed in a
sitting posture, in such a situation that the air may be freely admitted
to him. The neckcloth, shirt collar, waistband, and other ligatures
should be unfastened, and cold water should be poured over the head.
Mustard plasters may be applied to the soles of the feet and the calves
of the legs, or where the mustard cannot be immediately procured, the
feet and legs should be placed in hot water.
If the attack occurs with a person of _full habit_ of body, a dozen
leeches may be applied behind the ears and on the temples. It is of
great importance that the bowels should be freed of their contents, and
as there is a great difficulty in swallowing, _one drop of croton oil_
should be placed on the tongue and repeated every two hours, until
the object is entirely accomplished. Blood-letting should in no case
be attempted by a non-professional person. Where the fit arises from
enfeebled strength (which is indicated by a small irregular pulse) the
remedies should be of a milder form, and stimulants may be cautiously
administered at intervals.
The most common _immediate cause_ of apoplexy is pressure of the
brain, either from an effusion of blood or serum, or from a distention
of the vessels of the brain by an accumulation of the blood in them,
independently of effusion.
The _predisposing causes_ are the habitual indulgence of the appetite in
rich and gross food, or stimulating drinks, coupled with luxurious and
indolent habits, sedentary employments carried to an undue length; the
habit of sleeping, especially in a recumbent posture, after a full meal;
and lying too long in bed.
The _exciting causes_ are excesses in eating and drinking; violent mental
emotions; the sudden suppression of piles, gout, rheumatism; or any other
cause which augments the circulation of blood to, or extracts the flow of
blood from, the brain.
Persons below the middle height, robust, with large hands and short thick
necks, are generally recognised as apoplectic subjects; but it is, in
truth, confined to no particular conformation of the body, _all persons_
being alike liable to be attacked by it.
Persons, however, who are _predisposed_ to this disease should not fail
to profit by the warnings of its approach mentioned at the commencement
of this article. Their diet should be light and nutritious; all luxurious
habits should be abandoned, and moderate exercise should be taken. Above
all, they should avoid giving way to their passions, as it is well known
that many persons have been struck with death in the midst of a fit of
anger.
EPILEPSY, OR FALLING SICKNESS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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