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No. 10.

VOL. IX.

For the Summary. COMMENTS, ETC.

BY J. F. GRIFFIN, M. D., CLOUTIERVILLE, LA.

It was Galileo who said, "E pur si muove," when the Inquisition branded him as a heretic for asserting that the world moves around the sun. Whether the astronomer was right then or not, certain it is that the world now moves, as evidenced by recent advancement in therapeutic knowledge.

Dr. Geo. W. Callis, of Dyer's Station, Tenn., pp. 152 and 153 in October SUMMARY, tells that he had a case of meningitis in a child, which had effusion "in the sub-arachnoid," etc., and looking up the literature of the subject, he found that honey was good for such effusions. Accordingly he made the following

prescription:

R. Tr. nux vomica (specific tr. Lloyd Bros.) Apis mellifica ää gtts. iv. Aqua pura. 3j. M. Sig.-Teaspoonful every hour, until three doses were taken, then continued every two hours; the next morning the case was much better. The medicine kept the kidneys almost streaming all night. I attributed the removal of the effusion to the effect of the apis.

It will be seen that the dose of honey was half a drop. I shudder to think what the con

sequences would have been had the doctor been bold enough to have given a whole drop! The doctor seems to think some one will accuse him of drifting into eclecticism." It looks more like drifting into homeopathy. If he drifted no farther than eclecticism, there would be no danger of getting lost.

Eclecticism is a good thing, whether it be in medicine, philosophy, or religion, and it is not as new as some think. The apostle Paul was an eclectic; for in his first epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 21, he says: "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good "--the very essence of eclecticism.

I am not an eclectic physician, yet willing to accord justice where it is due.

Going back to mel apis, I have often seen in the journals that a tea made of the honey bee

is an excellent diuretic, but have never tried. it. One could readily believe that bees may contain a principle that would have great activity, knowing the activity of Spanish flies. Having seen people eat honey in quantity without producing any diuretic effect, my credulity would never make me believe that half a drop could have any effect in any way upon the most delicate child.

Given homœopathically, there is no telling what it would do, however, for Hahneman asserts, on the authority of Pereira, that how

the vial is moved, and the number of times it is shaken, has a marked effect in every atten uation. "Circa axin suam"-"Bis, brachio quidem bis moto, concute."

I trust that Dr. Callis will take what I have written above in a good spirit, for who knows after all whether the doctor may not be right? "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy."

As

"A little nonsense now and then

Is relished by the best of men."

This fact must account not only for the preceding, but for the following, which being an ode, and a debt of gratitude being due to the "small bugs," bears the title

"OWED" TO BACTERIUM.

Oh, bacterium, thou diminutive wonder,
Though sausage-like in form, thou little thing,
The microscopist tears thee still asunder,

Ptomaine in strength, thou epidemics bring.
What would the surgeon do without thy aid?
There's no suppurating wound, but for thee,
And were not septicemia by thee made,

The doctors oft would fail to get a fee.

Thou art the streptococcus pyogenes,

And sometimes the staphylococcus, too.
I swear by the memory of old Diogenes,
Ever to be a friend to thee, and true.
Thou dost delight to feed on human blood,
Amounting almost, indeed, to a mania,
Fairly doting on pus, and filthy mud:

At least, so they say up in Pennsylvania.
Schizomycetes claim thee as their own,

Each and all working with a magic spell, Bringing disease, pain, anguish, and a groan, And now, oh bacterium, now fare thee well!

mucous membrane of the alimentary tract, it should be discontinued. This is a good general rule, and one which most medical men follow. In one dread disease, however, namely, diphtheria, it is to be doubted whether it is ever contra-indicated. Here we have the system profoundly affected by a specific poison, and antiseptic treatment should be followed by the best results. As to any specific antiseptic for the germs of diphtheria, it yet remains to be discovered, as is witnessed by the countless methods of treatment we see vaunted by various writers in all countries. Since the introduction of the potash treatment, some five and twenty years ago, nearly every important drug in the pharmacopoeia has been used, and with alleged success, for the amelioration of the symptoms and cure of the disease, and the results obtained, as shown by statistics, vary greatly, owing no doubt to the varying circumstances of environment, the virulence of the epidemic, the previous condition of the patient, etc. It is doubtful whether any drug, save tinct. fer. mur., receives the same recognition in the treatment of diphtheria that alcohol does. It is an antiseptic of high value, as well as a general stimulant, and is therefore indicated both on account of its specific action upon the germs of the disease, which have found their way into the blood, and for the purpose of tiding the patient over a very difficult place. Some of the oldest, most thoughtful and most successful of our practioners believe that the alcohol treatment alone would be perhaps the best and safest which can be undertaken. Under its influence the patient improves as to the worst symptoms; the mem

THERIA.

The rule usually given by lecturers in medicine as to the use of alcohol in various diseases, is that its action should be watched, and that if the pulse is found to become slower and fuller, the temperature lower, and the tongue more moist, continue to give it; but if on the contrary the pulse and temperature are not favorably affected, or the tongue shows no sign of an improvement in the condition of the

lowered, the pulse is slowed, and a sense of well-being is given to the patient, which places him in the best possible position for recovery.

But to get the full benefit of the drug, it must be given in large quantities. The best method of administering it is to prescribe small and repeated doses, to be given by the clock. It is best given diluted with water, and the amount which even a child of two or three years will take with great advantage,

is astonishing. Many give it in milk, by which means nourishment is supplied at the same time, a matter of great importance; but whatever method is adopted, the great point to be remembered is to give it freely. Dr. Richardson, the late president of the Ontario Medical Association, states that he has known a child of two years suffering with diphtheria, take a bottle of port wine in 48 hours with the happiest results, and that he has the fullest confidence in the action of alcohol, not only in diphtheria, but in all its congeners, depending upon the presence of specific germs in the blood. Potter recommends it as a local antiseptic, diluted with equal parts of water, and applied as a spray every half hour. The editor of the N. Y. Medical Times says:-" Alcohol, we make bold to say, is the prince of the antiseptics, and the most perfect and reliable medicine of which we have any knowledge in diphtheria. Diluted with equal parts of water, and given in small and repeated doses, the malignant symptoms of this most fatal malady soon disappear, and convalescence becomes assured." It is said to be an excellent prophylactic, used as a gargle three or four times a day.-Canada Lancet.

[For the Summary.]

CASE IN OBSTETRICAL PRACTICE.

BY J. R. GARNER, M. D., ASH FLAT, ARK.

I was called on the 27th of October, 1887, to see Mrs. M. When I arrived I found an old woman in attendance. I asked her what was the matter. She said Mrs. M. was in

labor, that it was a breech presentation, and she had brought the knee down, but there wasn't sufficient labor pains to be delivered. In due time I examined the woman, and found it to be a dorso-pubic position of the right shoulder; and the old lady had pulled at the arm so that the whole arm and shoulder had become black or ecchymosed. The woman had been in labor fifty hours; she had become moribund. I made an effort to turn and deliver by podalic version; failed to do so-so Dr. W. was called to my help; and also we

both failed to deliver the woman: and Dr. W. left, to return in the morning, and Dr. R. was sent for. Dr. R. and I delivered that night by hard work. Three o'clock in the evening of the 30th, 1887, she died. This is the first case on my record. I will not comment.

[For the Summary.]

MEDICAL CHIPS WITH COMMENTS.

Chronic Sore Throat: A disease affecting the larynx-not pharynx-indicated by some little irritable cough, hoarseness at times, tenderness upon deep pressure externally, and occasionally pain in the act of swallowing; has been cured by small doses of corrosive sublimate ro gr. doses 3 or 4 times daily; by

the third decimal trituration of biniodide of

mercury; by bichromate of potassa, same trituration, of which 5 grs. are given, being equivalent to the 10 gr. Recently have had a very chronic case in a girl aet. 22, who had tried various prescriptions, and who was promptly benefited by ' gr. doses calomel at bedtime (to clean a dirty tongue), and the following: R. Fl. ext. Yerba Santa, Glycerine, each 2 oz. Teaspoonful, 4 times daily. In another case of irritable larnyx in an elderly gentleman, this prescription was also prompt in relief.

Cough Mixture: A very excellent syrupus pectoralis is this: Pulv. mur. ammonium 1⁄2 oz., syr. senega I oz., mist. glycyrrhizæ comp., q. s. ft. 8 oz. Dessertspoonful 4 times a day.

Cholera: In Cincinnati, 1850-1-2, the following R. speedily checked vomiting, etc., when other remedies failed. Black pepper and salt each 1 teaspoonful, vinegar 5 teaspoonfuls, hot water half tumblerfull. Give I tablespoonful every 5, 10 or 15 minutes.