Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/162

 stomach fomented with hot flannels. One of the best emetics, of course, is ipecacuanha powder or wine, and warm water and mustard. If there is a stomach pump it will save much trouble. If any length of time elapses before any effect is arrived at, an enema should be given of warm gruel. Rust, I believe, is another good thing to give. All these remedies are intended for a case of sudden poisoning by arsenic; for the slow, lingering poisoning by the drug, only a medical man can treat.

ASTHMA.

Asthma.—There are two distinct kinds of asthma, chronic and spasmodic. With the former the patient is affected with every change of the weather, any sudden draught, puff of wind, or even the air from a fan will sometimes bring on an attack. Spasmodic asthma comes often from a severe cold. It is better known to many people as hay fever, simply because it is very prevalent at the harvesting season, the fine dust from the dry hay causing it, by choking the bronchial tubes and air passages to the lungs. People liable to these sudden attacks should never, if possible, mix dry linseed, mustard, or any fine meal at all; it is bound to induce an attack, nor should they sweep a carpet unless the nostrils are protected by a handkerchief tied over them. It sounds almost absurd to say that such things will bring on hours, and even days, of suffering, but, nevertheless, it is a fact, and though the old adage says "Asthma never kills," still it is a very unpleasant ailment to suffer from in any form. For spasmodic asthma or hay fever there seems to be no cure; it just has to take its course. The sneezing is most distressing, and for that reason all draughts must be avoided. The patient should be kept in one room, with a fire, if possible. When the chief symptoms are difficulty of breathing and sense of tightness in the chest, some benefit may be derived from taking from five to ten drops of in a tablespoonful of water every two hours, for three or four times. There are several kinds of cigarettes prepared for asthmatic people, and to some they give more relief than any other treatment. The best of these are Joy's cigarettes, to be had from all chemists; there are others, the names of which I forget, but any chemist will have them. Blotting paper, soaked in a solution of saltpetre and water, dried in the air, and then the fumes inhaled while it burns on a plate, often gives relief. Sometimes an emetic, composed of ten grains of ipecacuanha and one grain of tartar emetic, mixed in a cup of warm water, if given in the early stages of the attack, and followed up for some hours by nauseating doses of antimony and squills, as in the following mixture: one ounce, water four ounces and a half,  three drachms; mix, and give a tablespoonful every hour, so long as the urgency of the symptoms continue. This treatment is very severe, and should never be resorted to unless the patient is strong, and can bear the retching. But, as a rule, it is successful getting rid as it does of all the phlegm and clogging substances at once. In slight and simple cases of asthma a dose of chlorodyne will often arrest it. The asthma of old age is a very different matter, and requires different treatment. Instead of debilitating the patient it is necessary to support and stimulate under the exhaustion of the paroxysms. For this purpose the body should be kept very warm, hot bottles being applied to the feet, the chest rubbed a few minutes with hartshorn and oil, linseed poultices applied to the chest and back, in which a little mustard is mixed, being the best; hot coffee, or small doses of brandy and water, must be given occasionally. But, in bad cases, a medical man should be called at once.