Simple Remedies for Distressing Disorders
Whooping-Cough, Headache, Neuralgia, and Toothache
Sometimes a very simple measure, one which many would pass by as unworthy of trial, proves to be exceedingly efficient in the treatment of disease. Whooping-cough is a dangerous disease with a high mortality in some places; and, as a rule, when the little patients recover, they show the effects of the disease for a longer or shorter period, sometimes permanently. It appears that in this disease the violent coughing and gasping increase the irritation, and tend to prolong and intensify the trouble. One authority (Niemeyer) says: “If we could arrest the spasm of the glottis, the backbone of the disease would be broken.” Another says: “Spasm of the glottis is the sole cause of the acute suffering in uncomplicated whooping-cough, and could this element be removed, the disease would be reduced to the level of an ordinary catarrh. Spasm of the glottis being not only the sole cause of the terrible suffering in whooping-cough, but of most of the danger as well, the main object of medication is the relief of this symptom.” The Experiment has shown that when the jaw is forcibly drawn forward and downward, the tendency to spasm is much diminished, if not altogether broken. Any intelligent nurse or mother can administer the treatment. The little sufferer should be in the horizontal position, and when a paroxysm comes on, the nurse should step behind the child and grasp the lower jaw with thumbs and fingers, the thumbs at the chin, and the index fingers at the angle of the jaw, and draw forcibly forward (that is, vertically upward, when the child is lying on its back). Those who have tried this treatment have found it a great aid in shortening and mitigating the attacks of whooping-cough. The treatment is not so successful in the very young. It is well to remember in this connection a very successful mechanical treatment for headache, facial neuralgia, and toothache. Elevating the larynx sometimes causes almost instant cessation of these disturbances. The cartilages forming the “Adam’s apple” under the chin should be grasped with the fingers, forced well upward toward the base of the tongue, and held there for about a minute. It is sometimes necessary to repeat the treatment two or three times in order to cause relief. Another suggestion is made for the relief of pain at night. It has been observed that pain is more severe at night, and, as a rule, does not diminish until the next morning; also that pain is apt to be more severe after the lights are turned out than before. For this reason Goldscheider, of the Vienna University, advises, in case of pain or uneasiness, that the patient be allowed a light at night. These measures may seem too simple to be worth a trial. Like Naaman, the Syrian, we are sometimes tempted to treat with scorn a procedure which, if put to the test, might prove a great boon. The reader is asked to make a note of these suggestions, and put them into practise at a favorable opportunity. They can certainly do no harm.—Pacific Health Journal.