Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/384

 MEDICAL 362 however, the heart is much affecced, and there is great breathlessness and any tendency to dropsy, the patient should be in the care of a doctor. This disease is so common that it is important for everyone to know something of the treatment of bronchitis. If the patient is well enough to get about, chill and exposure should be avoided, and elderly people who are subject to bronchitis should especiallv avoid damp. Warm woollen underclothing, simple diet, well-ventilated rooms, are all important points. If there is tendency to gout, a wineglassful of mineral water, in a little hot water, hall an hour before breakfast each morning is useful. Rubbing the chest with cam- phorated oil is quite a good thing, owing to the friction of the body. In severe cases it may be necessary to keep the patient in one room at a temperature of a little over 60°. When the cough is irritable, and there is soreness of the chest, a steam-kettle will be found useful. Cancer is a malignant growth occurring in certain tissues in the body, characterised by a tendency to forming secondary growths along the line of the lymphatic vessels. The cause oi the disease is not yet known. It occurs in middle and adult life, and is said to be more prevalent in certain districts where unhygienic conditions prevail. The diseace is not hereditary, but as it occurs often in two or three succeeding generations it would seem as if certain familie? .showed a tendency to develop cancer, under suitable conditions. Mechanical irritation has an important influence in the causation ol this disease. The irritation of a tooth stump or a pipe, for example. may often be found to be associated with cancer of the lip. Cancer may also sometimes appear upon an old inflammation or a chronic ulcer. These features are, however, merely predis- posing, and at the present time (Dec, 1910), the real origin of cancer is not determined. The best treatment is early operation by a surgeon. In the early stages the result or prognosis is extremely hopeful, but when allowed to develop and the doctor's advice is not sought the disease advances, and the chances of recovery are reduced. Any abnormal growth or swelling should be shown without delay to a surgeon, because, although most of these cases are not malignant, the risk of cancer cannot be altogether eliminated, and the importance of early diagnosis cannot be over-estimated. Cancrum Oris is a gangrenous inflammation on the interior aspect of the cheek or lips which occurs in badly nourished infants. The con- dition generally begins with a catarrhal inflamma- tion of the mucous membrane of the mouth, with redness, tenderness, and grey patches on the tongue, gums, and inner aspect of the cheeks. In its simplest form, catarrh of the mouth occurs in teething. A more serious variety appears in badly-fed children, while cancrum oris in its worst form is apt to complicate measles and other exhausting fevers in weakly children living under unhygienic conditions. These mouth catarrhs are probably microbic in origin, and the best treatment is to' use borax and glycerine in the strength of a teaspoonful of borax to a wineglassful of glycerine. The mouth should be sponged with this, applied with cotton- wool, which should always be burnt after use.. In the more severe cases, when ulcers are present, the spots require to be treated with nitrate of silver applied by a doctor, as the condition is serious, and indicative of prostration and feebleness of constitution. Carbuncle is an inflammation of the skin and underlying tissues, terminating in the form of a slough. It differs from a boil in being larger and flat instead ol conical, in its tendency to spread, and the fact that it has several openings instead of one. It is a much more serious condition than boil, and it is accompanied by severe constitutional symptoms. The chief causes are any drain on the vitality, such as poverty 01 ^ living too well, gout, or exhaustion after any severe illness. It is more common in men than in women, and it frequently occurs on the nape of the neck because of the friction of the collai on that part. It begins as a hard, painful swelling, which rapidly spreads and forms a flat elevation of the skin, surrounded by redness. The swelling becomes dusky in colour, and vesi- cles form on the surface, which burst and leave a number of apertures through which a greyish- yellow slough is seen. In favourable cases the slough is thrown off, leaving a healing wound. In fatal cases the inflammation continues to spread, the patient sinks, and blood-poisoning supervenes. Surgical treatment is necessary. The strength must be kept up by fluid nourish- ment. The patient must have plenty of fresh air. The medical and surgical treatment must be undertaken by a doctor. Cardiac Disease. (See Heart Disease.) Cataract is the name applied to an opacity of the lens ol the eye, caused by certain struc- tural changes. Hard cataract usually appears in old people, signs of the condition being failing sight, spots before the eyes, and the ability to see better in the dark, because in darkness the pupil dilates, and rays of light can thus pass through the outer portions of the lens, which may still be unaffected by disease. Cataract, however, may appear in young people, and is sometimes even congenital or present at birth. In the early stages of senile cataract, medicinal " drops " will often tem- porarily improve the sight, but must be ordered by an oculist. In a later stage, when the vision is sometimes reduced to mere perception of light, extraction of the lens is the proper treatment. Catarrh is an inflammation of the mucous membrane, which forms a fine transparent lining to the entire length of the digestive tract from the mouth downwards, and to the respiratory tract, including the nose, throat, trachea, and bronchial tubes. Shreds of this membrane can sometimes be pulled off the inner side of the lips, ^t is, in a sense, an. internal skin. It, like other tissues, is liable to be attacked by microbes, especially when the vitahty is low. When the catarrh is limited to the nose, it is called nasal catarrh, cold in the head, or coryza. This catarrh may spread to the throat, the trachea, the bronchial tubes, producing laryngitis, tracheitis, or bronchitis, as the case may be. In the digestive tract we may have a catarrh of the stomach mucous membrane caused by the irritation of unsuitable foods, or we may have catarrh of the bowels, or enteritis, causing diarrhcjea. The eyelids and eyeball are also covered with mucous membrane, which is subject to catarrh, the signs of which are running at the eyes, redness, and general discomfort. Thus it can be seen that catarrh is due to an irritation which maybe mechanical, chemical, or microbic. The proper treatment for these catarrhs vtdll be considered under their several headings, when it will be shown that removal of the cause of irrita- tion and soothing applications are the best methods of dealing with the condition. il