HEALTH NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1511, 14 February 1901, Page 59

HEALTH NOTES.

NEURALGIA

(By Dr Andrew Wilson.)

Popularly regarded “neuralgia” implies inflammation which specially affects a nerve or the sheath which encloses the fibres of which a nerve is composed. Regarded in this light “neuralgia,” may he regarded as a general condition of which pain in the track of a nerve is the main feature. Thus, toothache is really neuralgia affecting the nerves which supply the teeth, while the pain may be confined in the jaws rather than in the teeth themselves. Earache, I should say, is another form of this ailment. Then we have neuralgia proper, as it might be called, when it affects the temples, and when it spreads over the side of the face and brow, and constitutes what is known as “tic doloureux.” When, also, a person is troubled with “sciatica,” which affects the big nerve running down the outside of the thigh, Ave meet with another case of neuralgia. Finally, there are forms of internal pain Avhich come under this head, and which may cause very great suffering indeed. From all these considerations we see that the one great feature of this ailment is pain, Avhich affects a particular nerve or set of nerves, giving us varying ailments as I have just noted. It is a common complaint this, and one which it is therefore desirable avc should know something about, especially in respect of its causes, knowledge Avhich, of course, is the foundation, of all preventive measures . ITS CAUSES. There is one characteristic of neuralgia Avhich renders our recognition of it a fairly easy matter. The pain may be, and often is, severe, but there is no great “inflammation” attending the, ailment. By inflammation, one means to impty that condition in which the temperature or heat of the body rises, and in which when t-he inflammation runs its course, “matter” is apt to be formed. Internal inflammation is thus a very dangerous ailment, Avhile pure internal neuralgia is not. The pain in neuralgia besides, is a gnawing, worrying kind of pain, which robs us of sleep and rest, and renders us very irritable. An attack of toothache stands as a very fair example of such an ailment, and we see ■ then hoAV aggravating the pain may be. The causes of neuralgia are very varied. Colds and chills, that cause so much illness, are the most frequent sources of the trouble. But an equally common cause is a loav state of the general health. When Ave get “run down,’ as the saying goes, neuralgia is very apt to attack us. We may be underfed in such a case, or Ave may be taking improper foods, or we may be taking an excess of one kind of food. The result is, that the quality of the blood is not wliat it should be, and this last is an allimportant condition in starting many ailments from Avhich we are liable to suffer. Indeed, one distinguished physician once said t-hat pain was “the cry of a nerve for healthy blood” : and I think that expressioii’ very fairly describes one fertile cause of the ailment we are considering. WEAKNESS AND NEURALGIA. In proof of this fact av© very often find pain to be present in people Av'ho are anaemic and bloodless. Many girls and women are terrible sufferers from neuralgia, and the only sure cure of this ailment in such cases is for them to get rid of the anaemia, and to restore the blood to its proper standard. Then it is tolerably certain that people who live in unhealthy places will suffer from this ailment. Four air, want of light, and overcrowding Avill tend to produce it, because there are exactly the conditions Avhich cause anaemia. We see that bodily weakness, therefore, is the most common source of this ailment, and the inference to be drawn from this fact is that such Aveakness must be corrected if we are to be successful in our attempts to remoA’e the pain. Regarding the pain, there is another point about this symptom which marks neuralgia. The pain, as a rule, is apt to come on

fact, the person avlio suffers is perfectly well when the pain ceases, so to speak, but it re-appears on the least provocation in the Avay of cold or chill, or any other condition which I have mentioned as likely to induce the ailment.

THE TREATMENT

If the pain can be traced to the teeth, it is obAborts that the dentist must be consulted if the teeth are decayed. When the teeth are sound, then we may suspect that it is some general state of body Avhich lies at the root of the trouble. Decayed teeth are a frequent source of neuralgia, Avhich, mark, may extend to the eyes, and even affect the head at large. Nothing is more common than to' find pain in tne ears as a result of bad teeth. The pain ceases when the teeth are extracted or otherwise treated. Let this fact he impressed on the minds of any sufferers, for no more common cause of the trouble can be found than cold acting on defective teeth. Where no other cause than, bodily AA r eakness is to be discovered, then we must proceed to correct that condition. There is one food which stands out prominently as a nerve food, and that is fat. I should at once advise any sufferer to increase the amount of fat he consumes. Let him take Virol after his meals, and as regards his ordinary food let him see that a sufficient amount of fatty matter is included therein. Substitute cocoa, for tea and coffee, for cocoa is rich in fat, and it is more than likely speedy improvement Avill result. The diet all round should be generous. No greater mistake can be made than that of .starving or under-feeding a neuralgic person. In some case a glass of stout given tivice a day Avith the meals will do good, and a glass of Australian burgundy at dinner is also an admirable tonic. SOME OTHER HINTS. Of course, the clothing must he seen to, and it must be amply sufficient to guard a sufferer against chills. Women, I am convinced, suffer frequently by reason of the thin soled boots and shoes they Avear. Their feet get chilled, and they acquire cold which often results in internal neuralgias common amongst Avonien at large. To relieve the pain various remedies may be tried. Thus, tAvo five-grain tabloids of antipyrin, or two tabloids of antikamnia may be given every four hours Avhen the pain is severe. Twenty grains of bromide of potash, taken in water, at bedtime, Avill often act as a soothing measure ; Avhile chloride of ammonium, .twenty-five grains taken in water every four hours, has also been recommended. I believe in such treatment for the pain rather than that of applying lotions or embrocations to the painful parts ; but a hot cloth or poultice may be tried, especially for the internal variety of this ailment. Then there aaull be need for a # tonic to brace up the system, in addition to the sufficient dietary. A quinine pill (tAvo grains) taken tAvice a day between meals may be effective, or a teaspoonful of compound syrup of the hypophosphites in water, after meals, twice daily may be recommended. But • the nmi-n, point is to attack the ailment through the system, and care .in diet and; the correction of the real means of fighting this complaint.