382 THE TREATMENT OP DISEASES. 



be found most useful. It will often give relief even when the symptoms have 

 existed for years. Another useful remedy is tincture of nux-vomica five or six 

 drops in a glass of water three times a day. Its efficacy may often be increased by 

 the addition of five drops of laudanum to each dose. Twenty drops of tincture of 

 belladonna in a glass of water three times a day is another good prescription. The 

 iron mixture (Pr. 1) occasionally proves successful, especially if twenty drops of 

 liquid extract of ergot be added to each dose. In obstinate cases the gelseminum 

 mixture (Pr. 41) may be used. A little attention to diet will often work wonders, 

 for there may be some one special article, such as tea or coffee, which is the cause 

 of all the trouble. It is a good plan to sleep on a hard mattress, and the bed- 

 clothing should not be too warm. At bed-time cold sponging of the lower part of 

 the back will often prove useful. 



In cases of prolonged inability to pass water a surgeon should be sent for with- 

 out delay, or there may be danger of the bladder bursting. 



LOSS OF APPETITE. 



Loss of appetite is known medically as " anorexia." It is of common occurrence 

 at the onset of many fevers, but usually it is a far more chronic complaint. Nothing 

 is commoner in London than to hear people say that they " have gone off their feed," 

 they " have no appetite," they " do not care for anything," or that they " hate the 

 sight of food." It is often enough associated with a condition of debility and general 

 inaptitude for work. It is by no means uncommon in those who are worried and 

 anxious, and find it difficult to make both ends meet. People who devote too much 

 attention to the brandy-bottle generally find meals rather a trouble than otherwise ; 

 breakfast, especially, is a difficulty. These individuals are generally very dainty 

 and fanciful, and when at home grumble at everything that is set before them. 

 They are very fond of abusing the cook for what is in reality the morbid condition 

 of their own digestive organs. Tobacco-smokers, or, at all events, those who smoke 

 in any quantity, are seldom great performers with the knife and fork. Tobacco and 

 opium and alcohol seem all to have the power of deadening the appetite. People 

 who take little or no out-door exercise generally complain that they do not eat well, 

 and no wonder. If a man wants a good appetite, he must earn it somehow or other. 

 Home one may give him his dinner, but if he is to enjoy it he will have to bring his 

 own sauce in the shape of an appetite. 



Irregularity of meals is another common cause of loss of appetite. The stomach 

 appreciates regularity, and likes to have its want attended to at the proper time. 

 It is curious how in a well-regulated body the desire for food is experienced day by 

 day at exactly the same hour. We all know how dreadfully bad-tempered many 

 people get if their dinner is only five minutes late. It is all very well to say that 

 they are stupid, and should not be put out about trifles, but it must be remembered 

 that it is no trifle to them, and that even a slight delay may give rise to a consider- 

 able amount of bodily discomfort. The stomach has been accustomed to receive 

 supplies at certain regular intervals, and, if it fails to receive them, it objects most 

 emphatically. Nothing is more likely to spoil the appetite than eating or drinking 

 between meals. You hear a man complaining that he cannot eat his dinner, and you 



