164 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



gressive weakness, a feeble and perhaps rapid pulse, faintness on the least exertion, 

 pain in the region of the stomach shooting through to between the shoulders, a 

 pearly aspect of the whites of the eyes, loss of appetite, sickness, flabbiness of the 

 limbs, or perhaps loss of flesh, and a brownish or dingy discoloration of the whole 

 surface of the body. The browning, or bronzing, is not diffused uniformly over the 

 surface of the skin, nor have the darker parts any definite outline. It occupies 

 principally the front of the body and of the limbs, and is usually most marked about 

 the face, neck, arms, armpits, and around the navel. Spots that have been blistered 

 become very dark, as do sometimes the rings made by the pressure of the garters. 

 The colour varies considerably in intensity. Usually the skin assumes a dingy or 

 smoky hue, somewhat like the stain produced by the juice of walnuts ; but in one 

 instance we are told that the patient was so generally and deeply darkened that 

 but for his features he might have been mistaken for a mulatto. 



This is often a serious complaint, and no time should be lost in consulting a 

 doctor. You must be careful not to mistake a slight attack of jaundice for Addison's 

 disease. In jaundice, the whites of the eyes have a yellow tinge, and the urine 

 is distinctly light-coloured. Moreover, you must not confound it with a skin 

 disease called chloasma, which forms light-brown spots on the surface of the body. 

 The margins of these spots are well marked, whilst in Addison's disease the bronzing 

 has no definite outline. 



We may take this opportunity of mentioning that in women a little darkening of 

 the skin occasionally occurs as a temporary condition, and is of not the slightest 

 importance. Some women always get a little darker at the menstrual periods or 

 when in the family way. The case is recorded of a lady who began to get brown as 

 soon as she became pregnant, and before the termination was as black as a negress. 

 After delivery the colour gradually disappeared. Fortunately, such cases are rare, 

 although a brown stain may often be noticed on the forehead in women who are 

 pregnant, or who are suffering from some derangement of the womb. Every one 

 must have noticed the dark rims under the eyes which many people present when, 

 they are a little out of health. Young ladies in their first season often exhibit this 

 symptom, and it is not uncommonly a source of anxiety to mothers. It is, how- 

 ever, easily got rid of. A gentle galvanic current passed through the part from 

 a battery will in most cases remove it in a few minutes. 



BRUISES. 



A bruise, or contusion, is an injury inflicted by some blunt instrument without 

 breaking the skin. Bruises vary much in severity, but it is only in the more serious 

 forms that it is necessary to call in a doctor. Ordinarily, a little simple treatment 

 will soon set things right again. Tincture of arnica is one of the very best remedies, 

 and its use is indicated in all injuries arising from mechanical violence. It is not to 

 be used undiluted, but a lotion should be made by mixing one part of the tincture 

 with ten of warm water. It should be applied immediately by saturating a piece of 

 lint with it, and then covering it with a rather larger piece of oiled silk to prevent 

 evaporation. An infusion or decoction of arnica, when it can be obtained, succeeds 

 even better than the tincture. In addition to the external application, tincture of 



