192 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



At all events you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have done your 

 duty. After a few weeks you will in all probability tind that your bowels act with 

 the regularity of clockwork. 



Defaecation. is an important matter. It is not a thing to be done in a hurry. 

 Many of us spend an hour over dinner, and never grudge the time, but five 

 minutes spent over an equally important matter is all too long Many people rush 

 to the closet, and if Nature is not prepared to relieve herself at the very instant, they 

 never think of allowing her even a minute's grace, but simply get up and come away 

 again ; and the consequence is that they suffer from constipation and all its attendant 

 evils and serve them right too. Attention to a few little points in the regulation of 

 the diet will accomplish much in constipation. Coarse brown or bran bread, oat- 

 meal cakes, or porridge, often prove efficacious, and figs, primes, or ripe fruit, may be 

 taken with benefit. An orange or two eaten before breakfast is a pleasant and often 

 effectual way of overcoming moderate habitual constipation, and sometimes, indeed, 

 this simple plan will cure the more obstinate forms. A glass of cold water before 

 breakfast, and an orange or two soon after, is another excellent mode of treatment. 

 With many people coffee acts as a slight purgative, and where the patient has been 

 accustomed to take tea at breakfast it may be substituted with advantage. Bacon, 

 either broiled and eaten hot, or boiled and eaten cold, at breakfast, is a useful 

 auxiliary in regulating the bowels. It often happens that people who are bilious and 

 quite unable to take rich dishes, eat bacon not only without unpleasant consequences, 

 but with decided advantage. Of drinks, beer and cider are the best suited to 

 constipated habits. 



It is not always easy to avoid going beyond or falling short of our aim. To 

 produce diarrhea is not to cure constipation, and is only substituting one disease for 

 another. It is a good plan in cases where the walls of the abdomen are relaxed to 

 give them artificial support. Wearing a broad bandage firmly applied round the 

 body often proves of service, especially in women. Change of scene, to those who 

 suffer from habitual constipation, has often a marked salutary effect. Exercise must 

 also be considered as a mode of treatment. 



So far we have said nothing on the subject of drugs, but if the above measures 

 prove inoperative they will have to be resorted to. A few drops of tincture of 

 colocynth, taken several times a day, may be used with advantage. It is especially 

 indicated when the constipation has given rise to griping. The tincture of colocynth 

 to which we have referred is officinal in the Prussian but not in the English 

 Pharmacopoeia. 



A drop of tincture of nux vomica taken four or five times a day, or a tea-spoonful 

 of the mixture (Pr. 44) is very useful in some forms of habitual constipation. As 

 our knowledge of the action of nux vomica in its relation to constipation is at present 

 imperfect, the results appear to be capricious. It is as well, therefore, not to be too 

 sanguine of success, for in some cases it answers beyond all expectation, while in 

 other apparently similar cases it completely fails. It is usually found of most service 

 when the habitual constipation is accompanied by frequent ineffectual efforts, and 

 when there is morning headache. It is said to be especially useful when the com- 

 plaint is associated with indigestion resulting from the excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, 



