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THE TREATMENT OP DISEASES. 



In Bleeding from the Lungs 



The patient has previously suffered from 

 cough, shortness of breath, or other chest 

 symptoms. 



The hlood is coughed up in mouthfuls. 



The blood is frothy, and of a florid red 

 colour. 



The blood is mingled with phlegm. 

 The bleeding is not followed by blood in 

 the motions. 



In Bleeding from the Stomach 



The patient has previously suffered from 

 loss of appetite, vomiting, or other stomach 

 symptoms. 



The blood is vomited up profusely. 



The blood is not frothy, and is dark- 

 coloured. 



The blood is mixed with food. 



The bleeding is often followed by black 

 motions, or they may contain blood. 



These are the rules, but there are many exceptions. On paper, it looks a 

 very easy matter to distinguish f .between these two different kinds of bleeding ; but 

 practically there is often a difficulty. For instance, a man who is spitting blood 

 from his lungs may accidentally swallow some of it, and then that may give rise 

 to nausea and vomiting ; or, on the other hand, a man who is vomiting blood may in 

 his hurry and excitement draw some into his chest, and then it would set up cough- 

 ing, and might be expelled again, mixed with phlegm. These rules will help 

 you in making the diagnosis; but your own common sense will do more for you than 

 anything. 



Sometimes bleeding from the nose is mistaken for spitting of blood. When 

 a person is lying down, blood from the nose readily passes backwards into the 

 throat, and when spat up might excite unnecessary alarm. Bleeding from the 

 gums has, in some cases, been mistaken for something more serious ; but an 

 examination of the mouth will at once show the real nature of the case. 



What is to be done when any one is spitting blood ? In the first place send for 

 the doctor ; and if it is coming up quickly, remember that there is no time to be lost. 

 If you have any gallic acid or tannic acid in the house, put half a tea-spoonful into 

 a little water, and make your patient drink it off at once ; or if you have the 

 perchloride of iron mixture (Pr. 1), or the acetate of lead mixture (Pr. 30), give two 

 table-spoonfuls of either, the latter by preference. If you have nothing else, give 

 some pounded alum and water, or even salt and water. Half a tea-spoonful of 

 common salt put on the tongue dry, and gradually swallowed, is by no means a bad 

 remedy. Send for some ice, and give the patient some to suck, directing him to 

 swallow the small pieces. If the bleeding is not arrested, put some ice on his 

 chest or back next to the skin ; you may wrap it up in a towel or handkerchief, 

 if necessary. If you can get no ice, and the bleeding is very bad, you may throw 

 some cold water over the chest and back, or use a towel wrung out of cold water. 

 A very good remedy, and one that is easily obtained, is turpentine. Put some on 

 a handkerchief, or into the palm of your hand, and hold it under the patient's nose, 

 directing him to inhale the vapour. This will often succeed when everything else 

 has failed, and it is a method of treatment which is available even when the patient 

 cannot swallow. 



The energetic treatment we have advised is necessary only in bad cases where 

 the blood is really coming up in gushes, and life is endangered. When the blood is 



