Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2055

Rh Treatment.—When the chilly feeling is experienced, the patient should go to bed and keep there till he is warm again; in this way an attack may be checked in a short time. The air should be warm, and for this purpose a fire should be lighted and the temperature kept at about 60° F. A bronchitis kettle of boiling water placed on the fire, and the steam allowed to pass into the room, will help to keep the air moist. Inhalations of steam are very soothing, and may be obtained through an inhaler, or by holding the face over a jug of boiling water and wrapping a towel round the head and jug so as to prevent the escape of the steam. The inhalations may be medicated by the addition of a few drops of Eucalyptus oil, Terebene, or compound Tincture of Benzoin, to the boiling water. A warm bath before going to bed is also useful, as it encourages free perspiration. A hot linseed-meal poultice may be placed on the chest, and renewed every few hours if necessary. A piece of gutta-percha tissue may be placed over the poultice to prevent the moisture from wetting the clothes. Rubbing the front of the chest with turpentine liniment often gives great relief. Turpentine stupes (cloths steeped in hot water, wrung nearly dry, and made irritant by moistening with a few drops of some volatile liquid) and sinapisms (mustard plasters), may be useful, should milder measures fail to give relief. A mixture such as the following may be given: ipecacuanha wine, 2 drachms; concentrated infusion of senega, 1 oz.; water to make 8 ozs.; a tablespoonful to be taken every 3 or 4 hours. Should the case be one in which stimulation seems necessary, as in old or debilitated subjects, carbonate of ammonia may be given with advantage in doses of 3 to 5 grains. A drachm to a drachm and a half added to the above mixture would answer very well. Five to ten drops of ipecacuanha wine mixed with thirty drops of syrup of squills, and a teaspoonful of glycerine every four hours, is also useful. In children, this disease is at all times to be regarded gravely. The above treatment should be adopted with the modifications necessary to the child's age, and the avoidance of turpentine stupes and sinapisms unless ordered by a medical practitioner. The diet should consist of milk, beef-tea, veal-broth, milk, arrowroot or cornflour.

Chronic Bronchitis is a very common disease, and is very prevalent during winter, causing considerable mortality. It is most usually met with in middle-aged or old people. Cough, shortness of breath and expectoration, are the three most constant symptoms of chronic bronchitis. This disease may occur as a consequence of old age merely, or it may come on as a sequel to an attack of acute bronchitis. Cab-porters, costermongers, bargemen, and others whose occupation exposes them to all kinds of bad weather, are extremely subject to this disease.

Treatment—Removal of the sufferer to a warmer climate for the winter and spring, if possible. If this is out of the question, the treatment must be directed to avoiding, as much as possible, any exposure