Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/234



1. DISEASES IN GENERAL.—The principal diseases to which natives are liable,are Intermittent and Remittent fever. Cholera, Diarrhœa, Dysentery, and Small-pox. Many of them are so accustomed to ague, that they do not feel much inconvenience from it,they lie down for an hour or two till the paroxysm is over, and then get up and return to their occupation. In long continued cases of ague, the spleen becomes enormously enlarged, and so fragile, that a blow or a kick on the belly very often causes its rupture and death. In all such cases, the use of mercury is strictly forbidden.

Dysentery is probably the most fatal of all diseases, and carries off the largest portion of the population.

2. CATARRH.—This is a frequent complaint, and it is not uncommon during the hottest weather. Persons predispose themselves to it by undressing immediately on returning home after a visit during the heat of the day; leaving an out-door temperature of 102°, and sitting down in shirt and pyjamas