IUAI; 225 



f a man who from tin' rommencement 

 -> illness had acquired a ivmarkaltlf immunity iVoiu tin- causes of drunkei, 



itly ilrunk a ! <>f 1 -randy in two hours 



On one occasion h- laid a wagrr th;t lie would drink 



of wine at a Mli-lr Bitting, Mid he won it, without the Wst dLs- 



t' the m -i tarn. 



i-laim curable I What is th- hrst method of tivatinu, it? We 



there is no remedy equal to the liquid extract of ergot. Go to a 



:id p-t half an ounce of it. It i> a Mack Jluid in appearance, not unlike 



.urn. Take thirty drops in a little water tlin-e times a day, or half the dose 



It is a perfectly .safe ivmedy, and no harm will come from its 



If you tell the chemist how much you are going to take, he will probably 



.on that the dose is exc< you had better say nothing about it. Measure 



all your water passed in the twenty-four hours for several days before you bruin 



nit-Tit, and continue to do so whilst taking the medicine. If your mine 



;uses in quantity you will have a good proof that it is doing you good. Do not 



-api>ointed if you fail to {>erceive much improvement for the first week ; 



Miedicine takes a little while to do its work. We once saw a man's urine 



reduced from twenty pints to the normal quantity in less than a month, and all 



siiii^ symptoms left him. When you have got your w.tter down to three 



in the twenty-four hours you had better discontinue the medicine. If you 



will take the trouble to take the specific gravity of your urine every day, you will 



find that it rises as the quantity of water passed decreases, and this of course is 



a good sign. In the man to whom we have referred the specific gravity of the 



urine rose under the treatment from a little over 1,000 to 1,017. 



We have known cramps in the legs occurring in a patient suffering from insipid 

 diabetes quickly cured by the ergot. Of course, in the case of children and young 

 people smaller doses than we have mentioned should be given. 



Although we have the greatest faith in the ergot as a remedy for insipid 

 diabetes, we must not neglect to mention other remedies. Common nitre is often 

 given with success. The best way is to buy half an ounce of nitre, shake it up 

 in a pint bottle of water, and take a tea-spoonful every hour or every two hours. 

 The urine should be measured, to see what effect it has on the quantity. 



The use of valerian in large and repeated doses has sometimes been attended 

 with success. The application of a blister to the nape of the neck has in some 

 cases done good, but in others it has succeeded better when applied to the pit of 

 the stomach. 



There is no occasion to restrict the diet in any way in the insipid form of 

 diabetes. You may eat what you like, and as much as you like. Enforced absti- 

 nence from fluids aggravates most of the symptoms ; the skin becomes unbearably 

 hot, a sense of intolerable sinking, or even of intense pain, is felt at the pit of the 

 stomach, and the mind becomes confused. Only take one medicine at a time, and 

 give it a fair trial. Do not say that it is useless because you are not cured straight 

 off. Chronic diseases often take a long time to get rid of, as you have probably 

 .already discovered. 

 15 



