MEDICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13193, 2 June 1906, Page 7 (Supplement)

MEDICAL NOTES.

11 CAUSE OF DEATH AFTER-BURNS.. 'W'* " : - . • -V* " Wht should intestinal ulceration follow extensive burns on the sKili? What is the |©i<V . cause of death after burns? These and simi- ? »C'; Jar questions Pfeiffer ha. attempted to •S< - solve in an experimental manner on r.nipi* 1 roals. He discovered <• toxin which,' cireuj Ming in the blood, cause; cerebral symp!i toms and degeneration in the kidneys, heart ■ . and liver with ulceration of the stomach |f}.' and intestine. The urine of such animals is very toxic io other animals. The toxin ' has a smguar affinity foi the intestinal milcosa. But the source of this toxin was, unfortunately, not exactly determined, ; aljjKjtev; though lie surmises that it must 'riginate '■) in the altered proteid of the burned area. H FIRST AID IX FRACTURED KNICK- | CAP. |5 ;1 ; Fracture of the kneecap i.apjjens the most commonly from tails where it lias pVti come in contact with a sharp, hard edge, $$*:•' as of curbstone or stairway; but the atI' :■ " tempt to regain balance ufter slipping on an orange-peel or banana skin lias I.ecu known to snap the bone. The instinctive feature of this fracture i? utter inability to |i. draw the leg forward or lift, the knee. Treatment consists in loosening the big thigh I&; muscles, which draw the free fragment up, g; and endeavouring to keep the flagmen • down besido its fellow, says a surgton in the People's Friend. The patient sits, with yv his injured leg well raised 011 a firm supc ' port, and a board long enough to reach i' , ! from the foot almost to the top of the thigh ti is raised below it. Then, while the upper half of the broken bone is squeezed into V position, a bandage is laid to keep it so, carried underneath the splint, crossed, drawn tight, and tied in front. Two other i ; bandages are used to fix the splint, and 1 cold water cloths 01* an ice-bag applied over the knee to restrain swelling. A NEW PHASE OF INFLUENZA. I Since its reappearance, about 1890, Russian influenza, or grippe, lias . ppeared year after year, jacli season accompanied by different symptoms. At firs'- it was the j rheumatic type, which affected the- lungs 1 in its later stages. ThL was the most lata! form the -disease took after many variations, Physicians report that the influenza this year is of the neuralgic type. Attacks of neuralgic headaches and facial 1 .-.ins are now enormously prevalent. A Harley-street j; specialist says he believes we ai<s in for a repetition .of the headaches ,and neuralgias of ilie sixties. - These followed the outbreak of influenza of 1849-50. .after which, % so far as lie has been able to retrace it. the disease pursued the samo cycle, finishing I' . with an epidemic of neuralgia headache. He expects something of the same- sort for a year or two to come. Another authority, who confirms what- the specialist says, looks forward to the disappearance of influenza + •' after a season or two. As some 90 per cent. of the population must now have suffered j from the disease it will probably not return until thirty or fifty years from now, . according as the immune population dies , out. '*, - ' - ' A COLD IN THE HEAD. Discussing the seasonable question of colds, a. prominent, practitioner recently said. "Medical science lias yet- to discover precisely what a col dis! "its cause? A j sudden change in the weather, a chill caused by getting wet, leaving a warm atmosphere for a cold, insufficiently clad, and, lastlymost significant of allthe close proximity of others affected. We do not know vet," continued the doctor, " whether there is 0 'cold' microbe. We suspect there is, for it is proverbial in a household that if a cat sneezes someone else will have a cold, and very often the disorder will run through the house." Whilst the medical profession is striving to-day to find cures for . cancel and consumption no certain remedy has yet been found for a plain, simpie, , homely "cold in the head." Some struggling student will one day make this astonishing discovery*, and will leap immediately to the pinnacle of fame. • Meanij . while, here are some old-fashioned suggested cures: —Hot spirits and hot water before - going to bed. Sleep between blankets. Put your, feet in mustard and hot water before retiring to bed. Take a teaspoonful of sweet spirits of nitre, and sleep between blankets. - A half-teaspoonful of salt in hot milk, taken frequently. Infuse dried hops in boiling water, and inhale on retiring to rest. ' A few drops of camphor on a piece of sugar, and taken at intervals. Pour a ? : few drops of oil of eucalyptus upon a cigar- : ette, allow it to dry, and inhale the smoke, j