Inflammatory Diseases of the Upper Air Passages—Their Treatment.

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 88

Inflammatory Diseases of the Upper Air Passages— Their Treatment.

Prevention ia of great importance, but it is not strictly a method of treating disease, since were it successful, no disease would be there to treat. The prevention, however, of constantly-recurring attacks is attained' in part at least by the effective treatment of the early acute attacks 1 , since if they are allowed to reach a sufoaoute stage, and especially when in a mild form, they are persistent and chronic, and new exacerbations or recrudescences are more liable to occur. We shall deal, then, with the treatment of the acuter stages of inflammations of the throat and nose, so that chronio cases amongst our readers may be the less likely to occur in the future if only they will j attendl to the advice given. ' |

When sneezing and l coughing announce to a .patient that he is about to have an attack of catarrh, and especially when with it there is a slight running from the nose, or a feverish condition, he may relieve the symptoms by the use of a snuff, of which the chief component is menthol. Occasionally the attack may cease, but it is difficult to determine whether this or any other treatment will of it&elf abort a cold. In any case, however, active treatment of the throat tends to limit the severity of the attack, and! restrict the extent of surface which is involved in the catarrhal condition. Antiseptics, which tend to destroy the vitality of the bacillus, while they do not injure the tissue of the mucous membranes to which they are applied, will do good. The effect may not really be greater, but the result of such treatment is more when the throat condition consists chiefly of a highly-inflamedl and swollen tonsil or limited area of the throat than it is when the general surface is involved in a less intense inflammation.

Carbolic acid in dilute solution, and just strong enough to taste a trifle sharp when placed on the tongue, is a very useful application, and may be used freely as a gargle when a gargle is capable of reaching the part involved. A tablespoonful of a 1 in 20 solution of carbolic acid, added to half a tumblerful of warm water, will be found to suit very well. It can also be used freely as a mouth wash, and the swallowing of a small quantity of it is of no consequence. In fact, a teaspoonful of the 1 in 20 solution is not much more than half the orthodox dose of the acid taken internally, and it is likely to be beneficial rather than otherwise.

It must be remembered, however, thai any gargle can only reach that part of tho throat directly behind the mouth, since the soft palate automatically closes the upper part of the throat off from the lower part when fluid is introduced into the back part of the mouth. If it fails to do this, the fluid is apt to pass upwards and to come down the nostrils. This is somewhat unpleasant, but the part can undoubtedly be reached by the fluid if it is passed into one nostril and allowed to come out at the other. This can be done by injecting it up one nostril by means of a syringe, or much more satisfactorily by a syphon. This simple tube syphon is supplied under the name of a. "nasal doviehe." — Liverpool Mercury.