MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10009, 21 December 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

NEURALGIA AND ITS TREATMENT. IN the first place, you need, to be sure you havo gob neuralgia, that is, a pain really in a nerve or its endings, and duo to nerve pressure or nerve disease, and nob a pain due to inflammation, abscess, or decay. This caution is especially necessary in regard bo facial neuralgia, because here almosb all pains are really due to tooth decay, and so long as you have one booth decayed and tho pulp exposed you can't be sure that you havo any real neuralgia ab all; and, again, even the cutting of a wisdom tooth, withoub decay, may cause longcontinued face pain. In the limbs and body the tendency is to confuse neuralgia with pains of a rheumatic nature, such as lumbago and sciatica, or with the wandering pains of a gouty origin, However, when you have made up your mind you really have neuralgia do nob ab once fly bo specific remedies, nor to quack cures, nor to deadly pain-killers. It is always wise to commence with a thorough purification of the stomach and intestines, as by a blue pill or pill of podophyllin at bedtime, followed by a black draught nexb morning. This treatment clears off many neuralgias; bub, if ib fail, there are two othor simple remodies which should be tried before sedatives. First, the old-fashioned muriatoof ammonia (or purified sal ammonia) in dosos of 20 to 30 grains ; and then quinino. Thab latter remedy, when used to improve appetite, is given in doses of ono to two grains, and then has a tonic effect; but as a remedy for true neuralgia the first dose needs to bo of eighb or ten grains, followed by othor dosss of five grains, until the full effects of tho drug come on, as is shown by a ringing noise in the oars. Very few cases are found which do not givo way to those remedies. Others of less frequent uso are salioin, which is a drug similar to quinino, bub obtained from the willow tree; iron preparations and arsenic in small doses ; and, lately, tho new remedy, antipyrin. When pain is very severe and comes in sudden outbursts ib will sometimes be necessary to administer sedatives. Of these chloral is often effective in a single doso of 20 grains, bub its use must be avoidod by patients who suffer from weak heart.

HOW TO TREAT ASTHMA. •«) At the moment of the attack «pray rapidly the back of the patient with chloride of methyl, from above downward and from below upward. The attack will coase in a fow moments; if not, epray lightly the upper part of the chest. If tho skin bo delicate, as in women, cover the parts with a bib of fino gauze, and make the strength ot tho spray proportionate to tho strength of the (übiciit and the violence of the attack.— Medical Record (Tsakiris). HEARTBURN AND WATERBRASH.

These arc two common ailments, and thoy very often go together; they are signs of indigestion or dyspepsia. The firstnamed symptom has nothing at all to do with tho heart. It means that somewhere between tho root of the neck and the pit of tho stomach a burning pain is felt, which is continuous and not spasmodic. lb may last for only a few minutes or for hours ; it may come on once now and then, or ab a certain time after each meal. The pain is due to sonio fault in the stomach, by means of which acid liquids and alkaline secretions ab the neck of the stomach meet together, and irritation is produced. Certain foods and particular drinks are specially liable to produce this unpleasant disease. Waterbrash, which medical raon call pyrosis, is an unpleasanb regurgitation or rising up into the swallow, or oven into tho mouth of a mawkish, bilious-tasting watery liquid. This is sometimes an occasional event, bub in some cases of dyspepsia this symptom occurs after each meal or several timos daily. The quantity may bo slight, or ib may extend to many ounces. Some patients say it tastes salt, others acid, while to some it has a burning sensation. There are cortain little glands which are placod in the stomach coats near where tho gullet open; into in, and these secrete an alkaline liquid, which protects tho parts against tho gastric juico, which is of a very acid nature. This acid character of the stomach juices is necessary to dissolve the fibres of meat, bub if it bo excessive then a form of indigestion arises which causes pain. The old simple treatment of these ailments was to give magnesia or chalk suspended in water to chock tho heartburn, which results from excess of acid fluid rising in the gullet; and alternately to givo acid medicines to correcb the alkaline, mawkish, salt-tasting waterbrash or rising of liquid into tho mouth; and no doubb this treatment often gives relief, bub in many cases these ailmonts are vory persistent, and more thorough measures are needed. A change of diet or a lessening of the amount of food is generally needed. Mosb people oab much more than is any use to them; almost all well-to-do porsons eat too much meat, and, remembor, ib _ is the digestion of meat which is tho special duty of the stomach, while tho intestines aro raoro concerned with tho digestion of starchy food and all fatty matters. A person whilo oating too much may got rapidly thin if his stomach digestion is imperfect, and if by faults in tho stomach juices tho meat eaten is transformed into unhealthy products instead of into a chyme or pulp which contains nutritious substances. So that when a case resists mild treatmont, it is always wise to try a good washing out of the stomach by warm water and emotics, such as mustard and ipecac. In some of those cases the stomach never gets properly emptied day after day, instead of between every meal, and such pationts may rapidly gain in woighb when made to clean out their stomachs by emetics about twice a week. Thoro are some other medicines which help tho cure, such as vegetable tonics, calumba, or gentian, and if the (low of stomach juices be coo free, then astringents, such as rhahany and kino, may do good.