ALCOHOLISM. 91 



cv.-rv degree of fatness, from the unwieldy bulk of the country publican, who 

 fuddles himsrlf with beer, to the slight frame of the London hairdresser, who 

 often enough makes away with two or three quarterns of gin or mm in a day. You 

 can often tell that a man drinks by his face. It is flabby and bloated, with red 

 watery eyes, the whites of which have a tendency to become yellow from slight 

 jaundice. Every one recognises the significance of a red nose, although in certain 

 exceptional cast's this condition arises from. mere dyspepsia. The smell of the breath 

 is usually very characteristic, and there is no mistaking it, even if spirits have not 

 been recently taken. 



The first thing to be done in the treatment of chronic alcoholism is to knock off 

 the drink entirely. If you are not prepared to do this, it is of no use going further 

 into the matter, for we can do you no good. This is a point on which we must 

 positively and absolutely insist. But this alone is not enough ; you will have to 

 take medicine as welL A very good prescription is the following : Epsom salts, 

 one ounce ; infusion of quassia, eight ounces ; mix. Two table-spoonfuls three times 

 a day. We have given this in hundreds of cases, and with the greatest success. It 

 does not as a rule purge. Sometimes it is advisable to add five drops of tincture of 

 nux-vomica or two grains of sulphate of iron to each dose. Very often a table- 

 spoonful of the tonic quinine mixture (Pr. 9) taken three times a day answers admirably. 

 When morning vomiting is the chief symptom a small tea-spoonful of the arsenic 

 mixture (Pr. 40) three times a day is the best remedy. The first dose should be taken in 

 the morning before rising. "Very often the great trouble is the persistent wakefulness 

 and the appearance of black specks or flashes of light before the eyes. It would Ije 

 a mistake to take any narcotic, such as laudanum, with the view of inducing sleep, 

 for it often does more harm than good. The prescriptions we have already given 

 will generally remove this condition in a day or two. Should they prove insufficient, 

 it is a good plan to take half a drachm of ether in a wine-glassful of water three 

 times a day, or a single dose of a drachm at bed-time. Another good remedy is 

 bromide of potassium two table-spoonfuls of the mixture (Pr. 31) three times a day, 

 the last dose being taken on retiring to rest. Sometimes it upsets the stomach and 

 cannot be taken, but this difficulty is not of frequent occurrence. The oxide of zinc 

 pills (Pr. 66) have often a powerful effect in inducing sleep. It is best to take one twice 

 a day, and two at bed-time. They should be taken shortly after a meal, and never 

 on an empty stomach, or they may produce nausea. But a medicine which is quite 

 as effectual in many cases is good bottled stout taken in one single dose of half a 

 pint at bed-time. This is the only exception to the rule that no alcohol is to be 

 taken. When the more prominent and distressing symptoms have been relieved, but 

 the patient is still suffering from the effects of his indiscretion, hypophosphite of lime 

 does good. The dose is from one to two table-spoonfuls of the mixture (Pr. 54) 

 three times a day. Phosphorus pills, each containing one-tenth of a grain, usually 

 succeed equally well ; or the capsules, or the phosphorus solution may be used (Prs. 

 53 and 55). Cod liver oil taken systematically three times a day for a couple of 

 months or longer will do much to restore the general condition* of the health. 



We have no intention of entering into the question of drink as a national vice. 

 It is a subject too vast for discussion in a work on domestic medicine. We have, 



