612 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



Treatment.— Tlie successful treatment of this con- 

 dition consists chiefly in the application of such means 

 as will restore the general health of the patient. Not 

 infrequently indigestion and the resulting disturbances 

 of nutrition, impoverishment of the blood, etc., will 

 be found to be the real cause of the disease. In such 

 cases, special attention must be given to improvement 

 of the digestive process by a careful adaptation of the 

 food to the patient's condition. These patients are 

 generally suffering from hypopepsia, as we have found 

 by a careful study of the stomach fluid in a large num- 

 ber of cases. 



It was formerly supposed that the blood, in case of 

 chlorosis, might be enriched by the administration of 

 iron, the iron directly aiding in the formation of blood 

 corpuscles; but it is now quite well established that 

 iron cannot be directly assimilated, but aids in these 

 cases only as it may aid some process in the digestive 

 canal. An examination of the stomach fluid should 

 be made in every case, when possible, as this is the 

 only means by which a sound basis for treatment can 

 be found. 



Improvement of the general health is one of the 

 principal things to be aimed at in treatment. As an 

 aid to improvement in nutrition, the following simple 

 means will be found advantageous : At 10 a. m. every 

 morning, the spine of the patient should be sponged 

 for fifteen minutes with water as hot as can be borne. 

 Fomentations should be at the same time applied over 

 the region of the stomach and liver. At the conclusion 

 of the treatment, general perspiration will be found 

 present. The whole surface of the body should be 

 quickly sponged with cold water, taking care to keep 

 the patient covered, so as to avoid chilling, quickly 



