462 THE TREATMENT OP DISEASES. 



or cough with expectoration of glairy sputa ; laboured, short, and rapid respirations ; 

 weariness, disposition to retain the recumbent posture, irritability, and restlessness. 

 A dose of Pr. 49 may be given every two hours, either alone or alternately with 

 aconite. A recent writer says : "In pleurisy, bryony is an exceedingly valuable drug; 

 it is usually in the second stage, in which general pyrexia (fever) has diminished or 

 disappeared, but exudation continues, that the best effects of the remedy are seen. 

 It is just in those cases in which aconite is so effectively employed' in the earlier 

 feverish stage that bryony afterwards proves most useful ; it limits the extent of 

 serous effusion, and actively helps its removal by absorption." 



Iodide of potassium is a drug frequently given in the treatment of pleuritic 

 effusion, with the view of aiding the absorption of fluid, but it is very doubtful 

 whether it has any such effect. By many it is considered that the tincture of 

 perchloride of iron, given in fifteen-drop doses in a tea-spoonful of water three times 

 a day, is a more efficacious remedy. It forms an admirable tonic and restorative in 

 the anaemia which often follows an attack of pleurisy. 



In many cases of pleurisy with effusion it becomes necessary to resort to the 

 operation of tapping the chest. This plan of treatment has inaugurated a new era 

 in the management of these cases, and many lives are now saved which formerly 

 would have been inevitably sacrificed. When carefully performed by means of an 

 instrument called the aspirator, it is not only devoid of danger, but is practically 



PYROSIS, OR WATERBRASH. 



We have already had occasion to refer to this complaint as a symptom of 

 dyspepsia. It is characterised by a burning sensation at the pit of the stomach, 

 followed by the vomiting or rather the eructation of a thin watery fluid resembling 

 saliva, sometimes sourish, but usually insipid and tasteless, and often described by 

 the sufferers as being cold. It is stated that it sometimes occurs without any other 

 evidence of dyspepsia, but such is not often the case. It is, however, often a 

 symptom of some of the more serious diseases of the stomach. It is a disorder far 

 more common in the lower ranks of society than in the upper, and among women 

 than men. It is of common occurrence in Scotland, and is there ascribed to the 

 large employment of oatmeal as an article of diet. It is said to be even 

 more prevalent in Lapland, and is not at all uncommon in Wales, and in various 

 parts of England where the diet is chiefly vegetable. The paroxysms usually come 

 011 in the morning and forenoon, when the stomach is empty. The first symptom is 

 usually a pain at the pit of the stomach, often very severe, and increased on assuming 

 the erect posture. The sufferer usually obtains relief by bending the body fore- 

 wards. The pain continues for some time, and is then followed by the eructation of 

 .a thin watery fluid in considerable quantities. A case is recorded in which no less 

 than three pints of this tasteless fluid were brought up everyday. It has been sup- 

 posed that when the fluid is tasteless and insipid it is formed in the mouth or 

 throat, and does not come from the stomach at all. When, however, the fluid is 

 acid, it may be taken for granted that at all events some of it comes from the 

 stomach. 



