CONSUMPTION. 199 



lu- application of the iodine paint will do as much good as anything. It is an 

 excellent remedy, and ranks high in the treatment of consumption. 



A blister, too, is useful. One may be placed under each collar-bone. They 

 should not be larger than a two-shilling piece, and should be kept on for from 

 seven to eight hours. The blister need not be cut, but should be covered with 

 a layer of cotton-wool. The fluid in the blister will be partly re-absorbed, and 

 l>y not cutting the bleb you prevent the access of air to the raw skin beneath. 

 Tin-so small blisters are not at all painful, and in fact many people say they hurt 

 less than a coat of iodine. 



The use of the cod-liver oil and the hypophosphite of lime mixture will have to 

 be continued for many months in fact, till the prominent symptoms have entirely 

 disappeared. The dose of the cod-liver oil may gradually be increased from a 

 tea-spoonful to a table-spoonful ; but beyond this it is seldom necessaiy to go. The 

 hypophosphite may be occasionally omitted for a day or two, and it should not 

 be taken when there is any spitting of blood. Sometimes it is advantageous to take 

 the hypophosphite in the form of " Churchill's Syrup of Hypophosphites," a prepara- 

 tion kept by most chemists. Directions as to dose, &c., are given on the bottles. 

 We are told that no other medicine is to be used whilst taking the syrup, and that 

 cod-liver oil and alcoholic stimulants are to be discarded, but this rule need not be 

 observed. 



Arsenic is a good remedy in consumption, especially in chronic cases. A dose 

 of the arsenic mixture (Pr. 40) should be taken four times a day, shortly before 

 meals. It may have to be continued for some weeks, or even months, and it may 

 be some time before any improvement becomes manifest. Should it cause sickness 

 or diarrhoea, its use should be suspended for a few days, and then, when resumed, 

 it should be taken after meals. In some cases it is necessary to reduce the dose 

 or frequency of administration for a time. Many chemists keep little arsenic 

 granules, each containing a dose nearly equivalent to two drops of liquor arsenicalis. 

 They are quite white, not much bigger than a pin's head, and are put up in glass 

 corked bottles, each containing some two or three dozen. They are of French 

 manufacture, and can be, obtained through any of the leading London chemists. 

 They are more convenient to take than the arsenic mixture, for the bottle can 

 readily be carried about in the waistcoat pocket. 



When cod-liver oil cannot be taken, or the repugnance to it cannot be over- 

 come, pancreatic emulsion will be found useful. One or two tea-spoonfuls should 

 be taken in a tumblerful of milk, with a table-spoonful of brandy, twice a day, 

 half-an-hour after meals. 



A remedy called Chaulmoogra oil has been recently introduced as a remedy for 

 consumption. It is expressed from the seeds of a tree known as Gynocardia 

 odorata, and is said to have been known for years to the Fakirs of India. The 

 dose is from two to twelve drops in a little cod-liver oil, two or three times a day. 

 We find that most patients can take this dose without difficulty. The oil is semi- 

 solid at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, but soon liquefies if held in 

 the hand or placed in tepid water for a few minutes. It can be obtained in London 

 without difficulty, and is often sold in capsules which effectually disguise its 



