TORATION. 



275 



does most good in the simpler forms wh^re no W mude their 



trance on the surf:,. ltod when there is violent headache 



niou, or l,roNvnish-red thick urine. It is also useful when either 

 delirium or lethar-y is B prominent symptom. In the early stages of the disease 

 iftdj with aconite, first a dose of one and then of the other. 

 ay be conveniently adminisU-red in the form of the belladonna mixture 

 onful every quarter of an hour for the first hour, and subse- 

 quently hourly. 



!i then for tin' internal remedies. We must now consider the best method 



:il treatment. It is very desirable to avoid exposing the affected part to 



-.rmperature, and with this view it maybe lightly covered with dry 



:i wool so as to protect it from draughts. Ointments and cooling lotions, by 



: upting the natural functions of the skin, often do mischief. 



A solution of nitrate of silver has been strongly recommended as a local appli- 



u-l.is. The success of this mode of treatment depends entirely on the 



of t -ouducting it. In the first place the skin of the affected part must be well 



washed with soap and water so as to remove greasy matters, then again with simple 



i then it must be wiped quite dry. Finally a solution of four scruples of 



rittle stick of nitrate of silver in four drachms of water is to be applied twice 



or three times to the inflamed surface, extending for two or three inches in each 



.d the margin. 



Collodion is not unfrequently used as a local application in cases of erysipelas. 

 Mallv proves far less efficacious than the solution of nitrate of silver, and when 

 d over large surfaces it often not only fails to do good, but in consequence of 

 i eking and leaving rough edges, not unfrequently does positive harm. 



EXPECTORATION. 



Expectoration is merely a symptom, and is not in itself a disease. It seldom 

 occurs except as an accompaniment of cough. The secretion of the lining membrane 

 of the bronchial tubes in a perfectly healthy person is almost entirely destitute oi' 

 matter to be expectorated. In the normal state, the secretion of the bronchial 

 mucous membrane, though continually present, scarcely ever exists in superfluous 

 quantity, for a certain proportion of it is carried off by exhalation or absorption. 

 The moisture secreted by the lungs should contain nothing that the expired air 

 cannot carry away in vapour, nothing that would leave any residuum which by its 

 accumulation would at length require to be expectorated. A perfectly healthy person 

 living in a pure atmosphere has no expectoration whatever. We say living in a 

 pure atmosphere, for town-dwellers commonly hawk up a little black phlegm the 

 first thing in the morning. This, consisting as it does chiefly of " blacks," is not 

 considered as any indication of a departure from the normal condition of 

 !i"alth. In disease there is a secretion of unhealthy mucus which cannot be got 

 rid of in the usual way, and must be expectorated. Hence it is that persons in 

 whom a chronic condition of congestion of the bronchial tubes has been generated 

 by repeated colds have a secretion of superfluous matter always going on, and are 



