MENTHOL AS A CURE FOR CONSUMPTION.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7141, 31 August 1888, Page 3

MENTHOL AS A CURE FOR CONSUMPTION.

4 most' important discovery in medica science has just been made by an Austra lian student in Edinburgh—Dr. A. J. Bee hag, B. A. of Sydney University, an< M. B. of Edinburgh. The details of thi discovery are contained in an artich pubUshed in the Edinburgh Medica, Gazette, which has attracted great atten tion in Edinburgh and other medica schools. A correspondent writes: An in teresting paper on menthol, and its valut in the treatment of consumption ant other diseases, has lately been publishec by Dr Beehag, late clinical assistant ir the throat department of the Edinburgi Royal Infirmary- Dr. Beehag's papej U an important contribution to raedi cal literature, and does more than any other since the publication of Koch* discoveries to place the treatment pi phthisis on a rational basis. The pro nerties of menthol which render it service, able in lung diseases are:— a.) its volatility, which makes possible its direct aßDlication to every part of the respiratory tract- (2) its great antiseptic power even iathe'gaseoufstate, by which the vitality S the fubercle bacillus or disease germ of Consumption is lowered and even destroyed; (3) its anesthetic power, by whicbpainis alleviated or wholly removed: and (4) its power of stimulating the bloo£ vessels, and of putting them into a fit condition for maintaining and improving the nutrition of the tissues. In pulmonary phtMsis Dγ Beehag advises that twenty or thirty minims of a 20 per cent solution of menthol in olive oil be injected into the trachea or windpipe by means of a fivrinjre devised by himself, and made by Gardner, of Edinburgh. This, of course, must be done by a physician, and is fol- ; ' lowed by no worse results than some I difflettlty in drawing breath for a few seconds- The menthol, under the influence of the heat of the body, begins at once to pass into vapour, and so is borne into even the most distant and minute ol i 'jibe bronchioles, and exerts its healing in-

nuence on ■ every part of the lungs. Another bat less efficacious method of securing the same end is by the use of the respirator, upon which 15 minims of the oily solution should be dropped, and which should be worn as much as possible, both night and day. Very soon the effects of this treatment become apparent. The breathing gets to be lighter and freer, the other unpleasant symptoms disappear, the body gains in weight, and the whole system acquiresthevigourand vitality ofperfect health. Or Beehag tells of a patient whose recovery from phthisis was so perfect that he was able to pass the examination for life assurance at the hands of a wellknown expert in lung disease. Of course, such results cannot be obtained in the later stages of the disease, when great portions of lung tissue are destroyed, but even in those cases many are alleviated and life is prolonged. Consumption is not limited to the lun^s —it may attack every organ of the body—but it evinces a special predilection for the larynx or organ of voice. In phthisis laryngea, as the disease is then called, the principal symptoms are alteration and gradual loss of voice, cough, expectoration, and difficulty in swallowing. By the aid of the laryngoscope the condition can be fully studied, and the remedy accurately applied. Menthol in oily solution squirted once or twice a day on the affected part by means of the laryngeal syringe already mentioned, or blown by means of the insufflator in the form of Beehag snuff, soon works a striking change in the patient's state—lessening secretion, healing ulcers, and making the whole surface clean and healthy. After even one application the pain is so reduced that swallowing can be accomplished with comparative ease, and thus an improvement in nutrition is made possible.