Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/84

 of mental diseases becomes expert in distinguishing the marked odor attached to most lunatics. Even in the milder nervous derangements, such as hysteria, the odor of the body becomes distinctly changed, and is frequently noticed by the patient himself. Efiluvium is present in many disease symptoms other than those of the mind and of the nerves witness, for instance, the distinct odor characteristic of tuberculosis of the lungs. In the fast the one function paramount is that of elimination ; and due to this fact the body odor at this time is decidedly more noticeable than in ordinary disease when food is supplied. So true is this that the presence of a fasting patient in a closed room can at once be detected by one familiar with the treatment and its results.

In cases of acute disease and in what is known as bilious temperament, after the fast has begun, annoying symptoms may develop, dizziness on rising suddenly, spots before the eyes, and general malaise and weakness. But these signs are not found in every instance and cannot be established as guides. Some there are who may abstain from food for from thirty to forty days without any disagreeable symptoms save an offensive