The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English Part 87

Motion, properly transmitted to the human system by mechanical apparatus, is transformed into other forms of force identical with vital energy, by which the ordinary processes of the system are greatly promoted.

It increases animal heat and nervous and muscular power to the normal standard.

It removes engorgement or local impediments to the circulation.

The electrical induction produced, renders it a most efficacious remedy for paralysis of all kinds.

It removes interst.i.tial fluids and causes rapid absorption and disappearance of solid and fluid acc.u.mulations.

It is a powerful alterative, or blood-purifier, increasing oxidation and stimulating excretion.

It diminishes chronic nervous irritability and promotes sleep.

It hardens the flesh by increasing muscular development and improves digestion and nutrition.

ANIMAL JUICES, OR EXTRACTS.

The use of animal, nerve and gland extracts has proven of surprising efficiency in the treatment of paralysis and locomotor ataxia. They furnish a pabulum in concentrated form for the nourishment and restoration of the weakened nerve cells and fibres.

In the vast majority of cases, we have been able, by the use of these recently discovered curative agents, when a.s.sisted by other means at our command at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Inst.i.tute, to arrest the progress of these nervous affections, hitherto so generally considered incurable, and bring about restoration of the paralysed functions and a renewal of lost power.

These comparatively new remedial agents have been very thoroughly tested by us. Their merits are more fully considered in a preceding chapter of this treatise, under the head of treatment for Nervous Exhaustion, or Debility.

EPILEPSY ("FITS").

Epilepsy, or falling sickness, is a disease which is characterized by attacks of sudden loss of consciousness, together with convulsive movements of the muscles. The paroxysms occur at irregular intervals, the periods between them, in some cases, being only a few minutes or hours, while in others, several months elapse.

There are two cla.s.ses of Epilepsy: 1st. The general form, with a convulsion that usually involves all the muscles of the body simultaneously. It begins suddenly with little or no warning, commonly with a cry or scream. The convulsion may last several minutes and is followed by a deep sleep for some hours.

2nd. The local or Jacksonian form in which the attack begins with a peculiar sensation in some particular region of the body, either in one extremity or one half of the face. This sensation is followed by a twitching of the muscles of the part. The sensation and spasm extend or advance gradually to other parts. Consciousness is not usually lost, though it may be when the spasms culminate in a general convulsion.

Great weakness generally follows in the parts convulsed, gradually pa.s.sing away. When the attack begins on the right side of the face it is a.s.sociated with an immediate inability to speak.

SYMPTOMS. In the severe forms of the disease, the subject suddenly loses consciousness and falls; there is rigidity of the muscles, which causes a twitching of the face and limbs; the eyes are turned up, and there is foaming at the mouth. In the severe form of the disease, the respiration is arrested, while in the milder attacks, the breathing is difficult, slow, deep, and snoring. With the commencement of the spasm, the tongue is sometimes caught between the teeth and severely bitten. During the paroxysm, the countenance changes from a livid hue to dark purple. The convulsion continues from one to three minutes, and is followed by a deep, sighing inspiration; the subject then sinks into a deep sleep, which continues for half an hour or longer. When consciousness is first regained, the subject appears confused, stupid, and usually complains of headache. He has no recollection of what has occurred during the attack, he p.r.o.nounces words indistinctly, and if he attempts to walk, he staggers like a drunken man. Sometimes, several attacks occur so closely together that there is no interval of consciousness between them.

In some cases, there are premonitory symptoms, such as giddiness, drowsiness, headache, and irritability of temper, which warn the subject of an approaching paroxysm. Occasionally, a wave of cold commencing at the feet and proceeding to the head, is experienced. This is called an _aura_. When it reaches the brain, the subject becomes unconscious, falls, and the convulsion commences. If the disease be allowed to proceed unchecked, it almost invariably leads to great impairment of mind, insanity, or paralysis.

CAUSES. The _predisposing causes_ are an hereditary tendency to the disease, and everything which impairs the const.i.tution and produces nervous prostration and irritability. Syphilis, phimosis, s.e.xual abuses, uterine disease, and the use of alcoholic liquors are prominent predisposing causes. Many of the causes treated by us have been brought on by masturbation. Others are the results of injury to the head. Often fracture of the skull is followed by epileptic attacks.

_The exciting causes_ include everything which disturbs the equilibrium of the nervous system. Indigestible articles of food, intestinal worms, loss of sleep, great exhaustion, grief, anger, constipation of the bowels, piles, and uterine irritation may be enumerated among such causes. Convulsions of an epileptic character may also be induced by a poisoned condition of the blood, from malaria and disease of the kidneys or liver.

TREATMENT. When the time of an expected paroxysm approaches, great care should be exercised that the patient be not suddenly attacked while carrying a lighted lamp, or that he does not fall in some dangerous place, strike upon a heated stove, or in some similar way inflict great injury. If there be warning symptoms before the attack, the subject should carry a vial of the _nitrite of amyl_ in the pocket, and, when the premonitory symptoms are felt, two or three drops should be poured on a handkerchief and held about an inch from the nose and inhaled, until flushing is produced, or a burning sensation is felt in the face.

During the paroxysm, the subject should be laid on the back, with the head slightly elevated, and the clothing about the neck and waist, if tight, should be loosened. If there be sufficient warning, a folded napkin, or a soft pine stick covered with a handkerchief or cloth, should be placed between the double teeth, to prevent the tongue from being bitten. During the fit, the head may be bathed with cold water.

A person who suffers from this disease should avoid everything which tends to excite the nervous system, or increase to any great extent the action of the heart. The sufferer should go to bed at regular hours, and take at least eight hours sleep. The sleeping-room should be large and well ventilated, and the patient should lie with the head elevated. All indigestible articles of food should be avoided and the diet should consist princ.i.p.ally of bread, vegetables, milk, and fruits. Meat should be taken but once a day, and then in very small quant.i.ties. The use of alcoholic liquors and coffee should be avoided, and tea only taken in small quant.i.ties. The bowels should be regulated with Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets and injections, if necessary. A thorough bath should be taken once or twice a week. If the attacks occur at night, the body should be sponged before going to bed with tepid water, to which should be added sufficient tincture or infusion of capsic.u.m, or red-pepper, to render it stimulating to the skin.

The causes, if they can be determined, should be removed, and those remedies administered which relieve nervous irritability and cerebral congestion. If due to worms, the proper remedies should be given; if to phimosis, the subject should be circ.u.mcised; if to pressure on the brain, from fracture of the skull, trephining should be practiced, and the depressed bone raised. There are no _specifics_ for this disease; each individual case must be treated according to the condition presented. The nostrums advertised extensively over the country as specifics for this disease, while they may, in some instances, prevent the attacks for a short time, irritate the stomach, impair digestion, lower vitality, and permanently injure the system, often rendering the disease incurable. They deceive the sufferer, leading him to think that his disease is being cured, until it progresses so far that he is beyond the reach of any treatment. As a rule, the longer the disease progresses, the more difficult it is to cure.

Epilepsy has by many physicians been regarded as incurable, but our extensive experience has convinced us that by an appropriate course of treatment, the _vast majority_ of cases can be cured. The animal extracts, or juices, herein more fully described under the head of treatment for Nervous Exhaustion, have proven curative in some cases that have resisted other remedies. This treatment requires the personal attention of a physician skilled in its employment. It is also of first importance that the extracts be properly made. We have discovered several new remedies, which undoubtedly exert a powerful curative influence over this disease, but it is necessary to vary the treatment so much in different cases, that it would be useless to enter further into details in this treatise.

SURGICAL TREATMENT. A considerable proportion of those cases of epilepsy, termed Jacksonian, have been found to be caused by new growth upon, or in, the substance of the brain. Sometimes cysts form as a result of small hemorrhages, or of spots of softening from clots in the cerebral arteries. Other cases are due to a small spot of hardened tissue or an inflamed centre of irritation in the outer gray matter of the brain.

The majority of these forms of disease can be exactly localized in a small area of the brain, and may usually be traced to a blow or fall on the head, or to fracture of the skull without depression. The discovery of the fact that such results of injury will produce localized spasm has naturally lead to the conclusion that similar products anywhere in the brain may give rise to epilepsy. In these cases trephining of the skull and the removal of irritation from the brain has been followed by the most successful results. It is seldom a serious or dangerous operation, but very few deaths having resulted in the practice of good surgeons in many hundreds of cases, and these were individuals who were not favorable for operation, and in whom it was undertaken as a last resort

In these cases of epilepsy, due to injury, the operation is fairly safe, and in carefully selected cases that have not been allowed to run so long as to bring upon the brain a general epileptic tendency, the results of operation are good and the procedure warrantable.

SEE TESTIMONIALS FROM A FEW OF THE MANY CURES EFFECTED BY OUR SPECIALISTS.

Ch.o.r.eA (ST. VITUS'S DANCE).

This disease is an affection of the nervous system, which is characterized by spasmodic contractions of certain muscles. It may affect the entire body, although it is usually confined to the left side, or to a special group of muscles.

SYMPTOMS. Twitchings of the muscles of the face are the most conspicuous symptoms. They are at first comparatively slight, but as the disease progresses, these spasms become more decided, and the face is twisted into various shapes and forms. The head, in some cases, is constantly jerking. It is with great difficulty that the tongue is thrust out of the mouth, and then, with a sudden jerk, it is quickly withdrawn.

These spasms or contortions, may affect the extremities in a similar manner, the hands and arms cannot be kept quiet, the gait may be unsteady, and one foot is merely dragged after the other. If one limb be forcibly held, to keep it quiet, some other limb will involuntarily move. Strange as it may appear, these contractions, which cannot be controlled by the will during wakefulness, are very much lessened or arrested by sleep.

Prior to the development of the spasmodic affection, there is usually a period in which the sufferer notes a want of appet.i.te, languidness, with disinclination towards mental or bodily pursuits, headache, restlessness, pains in the limbs and joints, with irritable temper and weakness of memory. There are many other symptoms in special cases. As the disease develops, the patient gradually begins to exhibit an awkwardness of movement in the extremities, and objects frequently fall from the grasp. Children thus afflicted, spill their food while eating, and it becomes difficult for them to stand still. Attempts to write, sew, or draw are imperfectly performed. Such children are very often punished for supposed ill-behavior or careless habits. Later on the symptoms become more unmistakable, and the presence of the disease is readily recognized. The patient may become incapable of dressing, and the limbs and face are no longer under the control of the will.

Uncontrollable movements of the fingers, hands, shrugging of the shoulders, dancing of the legs, grimaces of the face, and distortions of the body, become more or less constant. Speech and swallowing may be seriously embarra.s.sed. Any unusual excitement of the mind or body is apt to intensify the muscular twitchings. Severe mental application, the reading of exciting books, the witnessing of entertainments, and excessive indulgence in sports, have to be discontinued.

THE MOST COMMON CAUSES seem to be exhaustion of the nerve centres, due to the appearance of the second teeth in children and the development common to the age of p.u.b.erty. Other causes may be briefly mentioned as follows: rheumatic affections, constipation, a morbid state of the blood, suppression of the menstrual function, uterine difficulties, masturbation, or self-abuse, blows, injuries, or any cause which would give rise to nervous debility. Sometimes it is caused by obstruction in the alimentary ca.n.a.l, or by intestinal worms.

TREATMENT. The disease is one in which there is a debility of the nerve centres, complicated with a lack of a.s.similation and digestion. There is no affection more amenable to treatment in its early stages than this.

We are daily in receipt of correspondence from sufferers, or their parents, or friends, in which the most gratifying relief and a cure has resulted from the use of Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription used in conjunction with Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery. These two remedies should be used alternately, the dose being suited to the age of the patient.

A large majority of the cases of ch.o.r.ea occur in females and at the period of life when the nervous system is subjected to unusual requirements. In these cases the "Favorite Prescription" effects a gradual restoration of nervous energy, and improvement in the tone of the nerve centres, and by its direct effect upon the circulation in the ovarian region, eliminates the most potent causes of debility. In young people, we usually advise a dose of three drops for each year of the age. For instance, children of eight years of age should take twenty-four drops; those of twelve, thirty-six drops; those of fifteen, forty-five drops, which is about two-thirds of a teaspoonful. A similar dose of Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery should be administered, taking it before meals, and the "Prescription" after meals. Under their administration the patient will rapidly improve in health and strength; the circulation is materially bettered, the blood is purified, enriched, vitalized. The remedies effect a complete removal, from the blood, of the impurities that represent nerve waste, and as a consequence the nerve cells are properly nourished. The disease is gradually controlled, and when the favorable influences of quiet, nourishing food, with plenty of outdoor air, and not too active exercise is added, the progress is most gratifying. The patients, in a few weeks, are able to control much of the spasmodic movements, and gradually their restoration to a normal condition is accomplished.

In occasional cases, where there is some complication, as rheumatism or other severe affection, complicating and preventing their recovery, special treatment is required. We are always ready to advise in regard to such cases when consulted either by mail or in person.

TESTIMONIALS.