INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 191 



ever, be assured that the inilaminatioii is suhsiding, aiid there 

 must be considerable constipation, or the purgative had better be 

 let alone. 



If we must not give physic, we must endeavor to find some 

 other auxiliary to the bleeding, and we have it in the compound 

 of digitalis, nitre, and ennetic tartar, which has been so often 

 recommended. 



The greatest care should be taken of the patient labeling under 

 tills complaint. His legs should be well hand-rubbed, in order to 

 lestore, if possible, the circulation to the extremities. Comfort- 

 able flannel rollers should encase the legs from the foot to the 

 knee. He should be covered up warm. There cannot be a doubt 

 about this. As for air, in warm w^eather he cannot have too 

 much. In cold weather, his box must be airy, but not chiUy. 

 We want to determine the blood to the extremities and the skin 

 but not all the clothing in the world will keep our patient warm 

 if he is placed in a cold and uncomfortable situation. 



As for food, we think not of it. In nine cases out of ten hs 

 will not touch anything ; or if he is inclined to eat, we give him 

 nothing but a bran-mash, or a little green feed, or a few carrots. 



We now look about us for some counter-irritant. Therefore 

 we blister the sides and the brisket, and produce all the irritation 

 we can on the skin ; and in proportion as ■we do so, vire abate, or 

 stand a chance of abating, the inflammation within. 



We have recourse to a blister in preference to a seton ; and 

 decidedly so, for our stimulus can be spread over a larger surface, 

 — ^there is more chance of its being appKed to the immediate 

 neighborhood of the original inflammation — and, most assuredly, 

 firom the extent of surface on which we can act, we can employ 

 a quantity of stimulus beyond comparison greater than a seton 

 would permit us to do. Rowels are frequently excellent adju- 

 vants (aids) to the blister, but should not be depended upon alone. 



In the latter stage of disease the blister will not act, because 

 the powers of nature are exhausted. We must repeat it, — we 

 must rouse the sinking energies of the frame, if we can, although 

 the efibrt will generally be fruitless. The not rising of a blister, 

 in the latter stage of the disease, may, too often, be regarded as 

 the precursor of death, especially if it is accompanied by a livid 

 or brown color of the membrane of the nose. 



Pneumonia, like bronchitis, requires anxious watching. The 

 first object is to subdue the inflammation, and our measures must 

 be prompt and decisive. If the mouth continues hot, and the 

 extremities cold, and the nose red, we must bleed again and again, 

 and that in rapid succession. The good which we can do must 

 be done at first, or not at aU. 



When we have obtained a little returning warmth to the ex- 



