Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/531

 507 MKDICAL tlij heart to every point of the body. Aerated blood goes to the muscles, which derive energy from the blood to do their work of locomotion. It goes to the skin, and keeps it healthy and " alive." It goes to the brain and nourishes the nerve cells, where consciousness lies, where ideas are generated, where abstract thought is evolved. The lesson to be derived from the description of digestion is that the human body is a self- repairing machine. If we supply this machine with the right sort of fuel or foocl at the proper intervals of time it will have its due supply of energy for work. If we, in ignorance or from deliberate foolhardiness, ignore the needs of the digestive system, sickness and ill-health will inevitably follow. In the next article we shall consider the physiology of the nervous system, and study the functions of the brain. COMMON TeOR AILMEHTS AMD TREATMENT CoHtiii ucd from Colic is the name given to an acute attack of pain in the abdomen. The pain comes on suddenly, the patient feels sick, and may even vomit from the severity of the pain. The face may look drawn and pale, but — this is the important point in colic — the temperature will be normal. There are three kinds of colic : 1. Intestinal Colic. It is in this case a spasm of the bowel due to the irritation of undigested food, very commonly of unripe fruit taken in a large quantity. It is accompanied by diarrhoea, which is Nature's effort to get rid of the cause of the pain and disturbance. This intestinal colic is also associated with chronic lead -poisoning, which is very common amongst the lead-workers, both men and women. 2. Liver, or Biliary, Colic. This is due to a gallstone passing along the bile duct to the intestine. The pain passes upwards towards the right shoulder, and the attack is followed by jaundice. 3. Renal Colic — i.e., the pain associated with the passage when a stone from the kidney radiates downwards. In such cases there is generally a history of similar attacks. The domestic remedies for colic include a warm bath, hot drinks of milk and gruel, and hot poultices or fomentations. If one is absolutely sure that the colic is due to having eaten some- thing that has " disagreed," a dose of castor oil may safely be taken, but when the cause of any abdominal pain is not known, a doctor should be called at once, and no medicine given until he arrives. In certain serious abdominal cases, such as intestinal obstruction, a purgative is the very worst thing the patient can be given. Coma is a condition of unconsciousness or semi- consciousness due to some poison circulating in the blood. It is found in severe cases of typhoid fever, diabetes, kidney disease, malaria, etc. It is a common symptom in apoplexy, due to haemorrhage or injury of the brain. It is often associated with a low, muttering delirium. A patient who is comatose is in a serious condition, and should be placed under the care of a doctor. Constipation is a very common condition, and is the cause of many other ailments, such as headache, depression, dyspepsia, anaemia, and sleeplessness. The chief cause is error in diet. The absence of vegetables and fruit from the dietary, taking too little food or food not suffi- ciently varied will produce this condition, especially in those people who take too little exercise. Sedentary habits is one of the chief reasons why the ailment is so prevalent in large cities. Certain ailments, such as anaemia or sluggish liver, predispose to constipation, and Pai'" 3(>3, Part 3 the drinking of hard water is another cause. In obesity, weakness of the abdominal muscles produces constipation, and certain nervous ailments, such as neurasthenia and hysteria, are associated with the condition. Constipation ought not to be neglected. The diet is the most important thing. The amount of fluids taken should be increased, but not in the form of milk or hard water. A tumbler- ful of hot water sipped slowly morning and night is a good thing. Plenty of fruit and vegetables should be taken. Tomatoes are excellent. Well- boiled porridge with cream, brown bread or wholemeal bread, and a dish of stewed figs or prunes make an ideal breakfast. Active outdoor exercise and regular habits must be attended to. A very good exercise indoors is to lie flat on the floor and rise to the sitting posture without the aid of the arms ten times each morning. A wine- glassful of mineral water in equal quantities of hot water night and morning may be taken instead of the plain hot water advised above. It is much better to deal with the condition by hygienic and dietetic measures. In the case of children, syrup should be given at one meal of the day, and olive oil is also excellent. A banana cut in thin slices, served with olive oil, is a good way to give this. Cascara is a useful aperient medicine, but it is very much better to have any medicine ordered by a physician, in order to regulate the dose and to guard against establishing the habit of drugging. Consumption (See " Tuberculosis.") Convulsions are muscular contractions, or spasms, with or without loss of consciousness, which occur in certain diseases. Epileptic and hysterical convulsions will be described under those diseases. Convulsions may occur in certain brain affections and in chronic Bright's disease. Various toxic or poisonous conditions, such as alcoholism, lead -poisoning, and certain drugs will produce convulsions. Tetanus, or " lock- jaw," is associated with convulsions. Convulsions in infancy and childhood are very frequent, and sometimes alarming. Con- vulsions in a child may be due to many causes associated with an unsuitable condition of the nerve-centres of the brain. The most frequent cause is digestive disturbance. Errors in diet, the giving of food unsuitable for infant con- sumption, the overloading of the stomach with indigestible food, will also cause convulsions, unless a child has a very stable nervous system. " Teeth " alone is a very rare cause of con- vulsions, although the popular idea is that convulsions are invariably associated with denti tion. The vast majority of deaths from