MEDICINE. 



The cough soon acquires a harsh ringing sound, 

 and respiration becomes more and more difficult. 

 Inspiration is prolonged so as to produce a peculiar 

 crowing sound, which cannot be described. The 

 inside of the throat is red and swollen, the tonsils 

 are enlarged, and are usually covered by a quantity 

 of tough mucus. The treatment is to place the child 

 immediately in a warm bath, give a tea-spoonful 

 of ipecacuanha wine to a child two years of age 

 (and less or more according to age), apply a warm 

 poultice to the throat, and send for the doctor. If 

 no doctor can be found, give doses of ipecacuanha 

 wine till the child becomes sick and vomits freely. 

 The act of vomiting causes coughing, which dis- 

 lodges the false membranes in the larynx, and 

 clears the respiratory passage. Keep the child in 

 a warm room, wrapt up in hot blankets or flannel. 

 This is all that can be done by a non-professional 

 person. 



There is a kind of false croup, known as Laryn- 

 gismus stridulus, which attacks children during 

 teething, not to be confounded with true croup. 

 It is a spasmodic closure of the glottis. The 

 attack is sudden ; the child screams and kicks, 

 and seems in danger of perishing from suffoca- 

 tion. In a very few moments, there is a loud 

 whistling or crowing sound, produced by the air 

 again rushing into the lungs through the glottis, 

 and the child is soon well. This affection is 

 an example of what physiologists term a reflex 

 action. Irritation of sensory nerves is caused by 

 teething, or by undigested matters in the bowel ; 

 this irritation goes to a nerve-centre, such as the 

 brain or spinal cord, and from the centre, an influ- 

 ence passes along another nerve, called a motor 

 nerve, to the muscles of the larynx, causing them 

 to contract so as to close the glottis. The treat- 

 ment is to excite inspiration by dashing cold 

 water on the face and head, slapping the chest, 

 &c. Afterwards the bowels should be unloaded 

 by castor-oil. 



Diphtheria is a disease caused by a specific 

 poison entering the blood, which affects the ner- 

 vous system, and manifests itself by a peculiar 

 inflammation of the throat or respiratory pass- 

 ages, or both. It frequently occurs during epi- 

 demics of scarlet fever, to which disease some 

 suppose it to be allied. There is no doubt that 

 many cases of sore throat are stated to be 

 diphtheritic which are not so; indeed, it requires 

 considerable experience to enable one always 

 to identify the disease. The early symptoms 

 are those of a cold with sore throat. On exam- 

 ining the interior of the throat, a few specks or 

 patches of a gray ash colour may be seen on one 

 or other tonsil, or on the back of the throat, or on 

 the uvula. These patches spread so as to form a 

 membrane like a slough or bit of washed leather, 

 which can be separated from the mucous mem- 

 brane, leaving exposed a raw-looking and bleeding 

 surface. Coincidently with these appearances, 

 there may be difficulty in swallowing, or in respi- 

 ration, and the strength of the patient diminishes 

 at an alarming rate. Death may occur from ex- 

 haustion, or from suffocation owing to the spread 

 of the exudations or patches to the air-passages. 

 In cases of recovery, the patient remains some- 

 times weak for several weeks, with partial loss of 

 voice, squinting of the eyes, and even of partial 

 paralysis of the lower limbs, shewing that the 

 poison has attacked the nerve-centres. A disease 



so serious must be treated by a medical man. In 

 his absence, gargle the throat with a strong solu- 

 tion of Cond/s Fluid (permanganate of potash), 

 and support the patient's strength by strong beef- 

 tea, and a glass of good port wine every few hours. 

 The room should be warm, and the air moist, and 

 relief may be obtained from distressing symptoms 

 by inhaling the vapour of warm water. 



3. The Bronchial Tubes. These tubes serve 

 the function of conveying air to and from the 

 lungs. They are lined by a delicate membrane, 

 which, when inflamed, causes the disease known 

 as bronchitis. This affection may be acute or 

 chronic. In cold and damp climates this dis- 

 ease is common, acute at all ages, and chronic 

 chiefly among old people. The symptoms of 

 acute bronchitis are fever, pain in the chest, 

 cough, and the expectoration of viscid or pus-like 

 mucus. There is also loss of appetite, head- 

 ache, and other constitutional effects. These 

 symptoms are present in other diseases of the 

 lungs, and an examination of the chest with the 

 stethoscope is necessary to discriminate the one 

 disease from the other. It is beyond the province 

 of this article to describe the sounds heard by this 

 instrument, which serves as a conductor of sound 

 between the chest of the patient and the ear of the 

 physician. Without it, our knowledge of chest 

 affections would be meagre indeed, and one can 

 scarcely over-estimate the importance to humanity 

 of the invention of this little instrument The 

 application of mustard plasters to the chest, and a 

 cough mixture (No. 7), will usually relieve the 

 patient, who should remain in bed in a warm 

 room. If there be much debility, beef-tea and 

 arrowroot and milk should be given freely. 

 Chronic bronchitis is the winter-cough of old 

 people. If it has occurred frequently, it may 

 lead to dilatation of the bronchial tubes, causing 

 condensation of lung-substance, and consequent 

 breathlessness. Occasionally it assumes an acute 

 character, passing rapidly to the smallest bron- 

 chial tubes, when it is usually fatal. Substances 

 which stimulate the secretion from the tubes are 

 prescribed in this disease, such as squills, ipeca- 

 cuanha, &c. a useful combination of which will 

 be found in a prescription (No. 8). 



The smaller bronchial tubes are surrounded by a 

 layer of muscular tissue, which, by its property of 

 contractility, is capable of changing their calibre. 

 A spasmodic contraction of this layer constitutes 

 the disease called asthma. This affection is often 

 hereditary. It may be caused by inhaling irritant 

 vapours, or, in some individuals, by the presence 

 of too much food, or of irritating food in the 

 stomach. The fit comes on suddenly. There is 

 a sense of suffocation. The patient sits or stands, 

 and seizes hold of some article of furniture, so as 

 to fix his arms, and thus allow the muscles of in- 

 spiration to act to the greatest advantage. He 

 gasps for breath, and sometimes throws open the 

 window, even during the night, to admit air. The 

 countenance is slightly bluish in colour, the ex- 

 pression is anxious, the skin is cold and clammy, 

 the pulse is feeble. At length the sufferer coughs 

 up a few little masses of mucus, and obtains 

 relief. All of these symptoms are referable to 

 deficient oxygenation of the blood, from the ob- 

 struction to the free ingress and egress of air to the 

 air-cells of the lungs. An asthmatic person should 

 seek to improve the general health as much as 



