8o2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Apoplexy. — The proximate cause of apoplexy is due to a con- 

 gestion of the cerebral blood-vessels, induced by alcoholism, dietetic 

 excesses, combined with the influence of sedentary habits. Conscious- 

 ness, at least, can generally be restored by lessening the tendency of 

 the circulation toward the head. The patient should be propped up 

 in a sitting posture, with his head erect, his neck bared, and his tem- 

 ples and occiput moistened with cold water, while friction or a warm 

 foot-bath should determine the circulation toward the extremities. 

 Open every window of the sick-room, and, after the patient has suffi- 

 ciently recovered to sit up in his bed, direct him to turn his face 

 toward the cool draught, and now and then cool his temples with a 

 cataplasm of crushed ice. For the first twenty-four hours let him ab- 

 stain from all solid food. 



Persons with an apoplectic diathesis should adopt a frugal and 

 aperient diet, and avoid prolonged sedentary occupations, especially in 

 a heated room. They should also avoid superfluous bedclothing, and 

 open their bedroom- windows in all but the stormiest nights. The feet, 

 however, ought to be kept warm under all circumstances. Plethoric 

 gourmands ought at least to renounce late suppers and alcoholic stimu- 

 lants. 



Burns and Scalds. — Loose cotton, slightly moistened with lin- 

 seed-oil, has an almost magical effect in relieving the pain of severe 

 burns. When inflammation has supervened, the feverish condition of 

 the patient requires cooling ablutions and the free use of ice-water, 

 both topically and as a sedative beverage. Slight burns can be treated 

 with any emollient application, and a piece of common court-plaster is 

 sufiicient to protect the sore till a new skin has formed under the 

 blister. 



Chilblains. — The effect of frost-bites is often aggravated by a 

 too sudden change of temperature, or rather by the application of 

 the wrong kind of caloric. The restoring warmth should come from 

 within rather than from without. It is not necessary to scrape a frost- 

 bitten person with icicles, after the Russian plan ; friction of any kind 

 above or around the affected part will restore, as far as possible, the 

 suspended circulation of the blood, and thus initiate the remedial func- 

 tions of Nature. Deep foot-sores should be bandaged with linen rags 

 and clean, warm tallow. 



Dropst. — It is a suggestive fact that the prevalence of dropsy 

 has decreased since bleeding has gone out of fashion. There was a 

 time when venesection was resorted to in nine out of ten kinds of dis- 

 eases, and at that time a complaint which in its chronic form appears 

 now almost only as a consequence of outrageous dietetic abuses was 

 nearly as frequent as consumption. Bleeding impoverishes the blood, 

 and dropsy, in any of its forms, can nearly always be traced to a dep- 

 ravation of the humors by unwholesome food or drink, or a disorder 

 of the blood-making organs. As a symptomatic complaint, for in- 



