2-1 



SKA -Mt KNF.SS 



SKA-SNAKKS 



with disturlnce of the action nf tin- liowels, usu- 

 ally constipation, Imt occasionally diarrlm-a. The 

 susceptibility to this troublesome affection varies 

 extremely indifferent |H'I-<HI-. Snme ne\cr Miller 

 fniiu it, others only on their liist voyage, ami others, 

 again, like Nelson, in every fresh voyage they 

 take ; with mine it com nun's Imt a few hours, while 

 others suffer almost continuously ttuMghaat a 

 long voyage. Ill the great majority of coses the 

 icknexg disappears in a few days, unless the 

 weather he very boisterous. It almost always 

 coancn on landing. although more or lew giddin.-- 

 may prevail for some hours. Though a very dis- 

 tressing malaily it i rarely seriou>. hut some- 

 times is BO severe ami prolonged its to prove fatal. 

 Infants mid aged pel-sous are supposed to possess 

 a coni|Minitive immunity from sea sickness, while 

 M a general rule women suffer more than men. 

 According to Dr Althaus, persons with a strong 

 heart and a slow pulse generally suffer little from 

 Ben-sickness, while irritable people, with a quick 

 pulse and a tendency to palpitation, are more 

 liahle to lie affected; nnd ne thus accounts for 

 different liability of different nations to this 

 affection ; ' for, as a rule, the French and Italians 

 being of a more irritable temper suffer most from 

 the disorder, the Germans less, and the English 



The primary cause (or rather condition) of sea- 

 sickness is the motion of the ship ; and the pitching 

 of a vessel, or alternate rising and fulling of the 

 IHMV and stern, is es|iecially apt to produce it. It 

 is less felt in large and heavily ballasted vessels, 

 liecnuse the movements referred to are least per- 

 ceptible in them. Other mote or less regularly 

 repeated oscillatory movements produce a precisely 

 similar condition iii some people ; the motion of a 

 swing or a tolioggan in particular. Some suffer in 

 a railway journey, especially when sitting with 

 their backs to the engine ; wliile a few individuals 

 are so intensely susceptible that even a short drive 

 in a carriage or omnibus is enough to induce nausea 

 and vomiting. 



The mode in which such causes produce sea- 

 sickness has been much discussed ; but it is no\v 

 generally believed to be by a reflex disturbance of 

 the nervous system, induced by the unusual and 

 violent otimuhition of the sensory organs concerned 

 in the maintenance of the equilibrium of tin' liody. 

 particularly the semicircular canals (see EM:) and 

 the eyes, and also of the viscera, particularjy the 

 stomach. This is not inconsistent with the view of 

 Dr Chapman, who gave much attention to the sub- 

 ject, and hold that the motions of the vessel cause 

 the accumulation of an undue amount of ' blood in 

 the nervous centres along the back, and especially 

 in those segments of the spinal cord related to the 

 stomach, and the muscles concerned in vomiting.' 

 He accordingly U-lieved that the only scicntilic 

 and really effective remedy for this disorder must 

 be one which has the power of lessening the amount 

 of blood in the whole of the nervous centres along 

 the back, ami this can he done by lowering the 

 temperature of the spinal region by the local appli- 

 cation of ice. For a description of I >r Chapman's 

 spinal ice-bags' (which may lie obtained from 

 any respectable surgical instrument-maker), and 

 for the method of applying them, we must refer 

 to his work OH SKMMBMM ( 1864). They have un- 

 doubtedly proved of gient value in many < 

 Another melhitd of treatment, which if less difli- 

 cult to employ ami sometimes gives good results, 

 It to make the sufferer breathe deeply and regu- 

 larly. timing the respirations by the watch at about 

 fifteen to the minute. 



Those who are susceptible to this distressing 

 affection and have not the oppoitumty of trying 

 the ice-begs, may, at all events, diminish the sever- 



it\ nf the vomiting by assuming, and as long as 

 possible letaining, the hori/ontal position as nearly 

 as imssihle in the centre of the ship's movement, 

 and keeping the eyes closed. Compression of the 

 alxlomen by means of a broad tight belt sometimes 

 ghes relief. Krcsh air and light diet are un- 

 doubtedly of great imjmrtance. A little arrow- 

 root, flavoured with brandy or sherry, is usually 

 a kind of food that will most easily remain on the 

 stomach, when the severity of the symptoms is 

 abating. The maintenance of the surface tern- 

 gelatine, by warm blankets anil hot bottles if 

 necessary, should be attended to. The applica- 

 tion of a mustard poultice or stimulating lini- 

 ment to the epigastrium is often useful. Sucking 

 or swallowing small lumps of ice also tends to 

 diminish the tendency to vomiting. As soon as 



! possible the sufferer should go on deck, and try 

 to move nliont: if this can be done the nervous 



1 system undoubtedly becomes more quickly accus- 

 tomed to the unwonted conditions under which it 

 is placed. 



With regard to drugs, no specific has been dis- 

 covered, nor is it likely that there ever will \>e. 

 Itut something can often be done by medication 

 both before and during a voyage. 1 ii-i in import- 

 ance are purgatives. The bowels should be freely 

 relieved the day before the voyage begins, and 

 should never lie allowed to become constipated. 

 The administration of a tonic (e.g. Ka-tou's syrup) 

 for a few days before starting is also useful ; and 

 regular doses of the bromides, commenced just 

 before going on board, sometimes diminish the 

 intensity of the malady. When it has set in, 

 chloroform (a few drops on a piece of sugar), 

 opium, chloral may do good ; and cocaine, nitrite 

 of amyl, nitroglycerine, and antipyrin, drugs more 

 recently in trounced, have all been strongly recom- 

 mended. But with all such remedies disappoint- 

 mi-lit is only too common. 



See Dr T. Dutton. Sm-rirl-nen (2d ed. 1891); and a 

 small monograph by Kuseubach ( Berlin, 1891 ). 



Seaside Grape (CmvoMia wifera), a small 

 tree of the natural order Poh/tfttitnr, a native of 

 the West Indies. It grows on the seacoaste, and 

 receives its name from the bunches of its violet- 

 coloured fleshy calyx which envelop the nuts or 

 seeds. The Meshy part is pleasantly acid, and is 

 eaten with or without sugar ; it is esteemed astrin- 

 gent and aulidyseuteric ; is used in making refresh- 

 ing drinks. The extract of the wood is extremely 

 astringent, and is sometimes called Jamaica Kino. 

 The wood itself is heavy, hard, durable, licauti- 

 fully veined, and capable of taking a line polish. 



Sea Sing. See HOLOTHVRIANS. 



Sea-snakes (Hydrophidie), very Tenomons 



marine snakes, inhabiting the tropical parts of the 

 Indian and Pacific Oceans, especially iibiMit the 

 East Indian Archipelago, and Itetween China and 

 Australia. The body is compressed lie-hind, and 

 the tail is often markedly paddle shaped ; the 

 ventral scales are very slightly if at all specialised ; 

 the nostrils arc valvcd, and lie on the tip of the 

 snout ; the eyes are small, and most of the sea- 

 snakes are very blind and helpless when taken out 

 of the water; the fangs are like those of cobras, 

 and the venom is very virulent. The sea snakes 

 feed on fishes, which they kill almost instantly with 

 their poison and swallow head foremost. They are 

 themselves preyed upon by sharks and rays. They 

 not unfreqncntly attain a length of eight feet, but 

 are not large enough to lie mistaken for 'sea- 

 serpents.' All are viviparous. Among the common 

 forms are species of Jfifi/ro/iltis and the yellow- 

 bellied Pelamyi bicolor, while the genus Platurus 

 is in several ways half- way lietwccn the typical 

 Hydrophido; and the terrestrial Elapidce. 



