368 ADMINISTRA TION OF FOOD AND LIQUID 



regards insufficient air and exercise, under which 

 most of us have to live, necessitate attention to these 

 points. By all the remedies above referred to the 

 removal from the blood of fluid holding in solution 

 various substances is insured. Neither perspiration, 

 nor diuresis, nor purgation can occur without the 

 escape of much watery fluid. By the removal of this 

 fluid, thirst is excited, and a demand for the introduc- 

 tion of more fluid which, in its turn, is got rid of 

 soon follows. In this way various soluble and some 

 imperfectly soluble substances which had accumulated 

 in the blood in undue proportion are gradually 

 removed, and the feverish condition may cease. In 

 other words, the healthy state may be restored by the 

 use of appropriate remedies in efficient doses. The 

 illness consists of the non-removal of these substances 

 and their gradual accumulation, until the normal 

 action of many tissues, and particularly that of 

 muscle and nerve, is disturbed. In slight cases a 

 similar result is obtained by rest and by withholding 

 food for four-and-twenty hours, and the cure (!) of the 

 feverish condition is brought about as effectually as 

 by the administration of remedies, though perhaps 

 less pleasantly, and oftentimes more slowly. 



The Administration of Liquids, Food, and Stimulants 

 in the Febrile State. 



Liquid. During the feverish state there is usually 

 much thirst, and patients crave for drink. Con- 



